SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Guns, swords, and rope might be unconventional hardware for a family outing, but for a family of cosplayers, it’s business as usual.
The Shiotanis are getting ready for Comic-Con in San Diego, which they’ve been attending together for the last five years.
“So, of course, as Comic-Con veterans, we have different costumes for every day, but today we decided to go as a superhero family,” said cosplayer Sydney Shiotani.
Like Dr. Strange, Kipp Shiotani can conjure up anything. All actors, they’re a showbiz family, so dressing up and playing make believe is in the family blood, but cosplay was inspired by daughter Sydney.
“Well, it started out basically, I asked my dad to make me essentially a really elaborate Halloween costume,” she said. “And I said A. I’m from Attack on Titan, we have a reason to go to Comic Con now. And now we’re here and we’ve been coming for years.”
But this year is special. She just graduated and is getting ready to leave the nest and pursue her BFA at Rutgers University so it's no wonder she’s Wonder Woman. For dad, Comic Con is a chance for the family to work together.
“It’s all about the making of the costumes, it’s really what brings our family together for this stuff,” said Kipp Shiotani. “We’ll decide who we want to be, we’ll brainstorm ideas, what characters we want to be. Then we’ll get to brainstorm props, costumes, like what do we want to build. And then we’ll build it. For us, the whole thing is the together of building it, making it, showing it off.”
“Hey, can I get my picture taken with you?” asks a Comic-Con visitor to the dad.
“Sure!” he said as he posed for a photo.
At Comic-Con, it’s all about showing off your costume. As a family, they attract attention everywhere they go, and it’s as if the Shiotani family is part of a larger Comic-Con family.
“What I love about Comic-Con is how inclusive it is,” said Jennifer Shiotani. “You can do a feminine version of any male character you want. You can do any version of any character and everyone just roots for you. It doesn’t matter and that’s what’s so fun about Comic-Con.”
The family that sews together, stays together.
