I (Kate) am the one who manages the accounts and does most of the cosplay work. Nana is there for support and helping me figure things out, and of course is a great model. We didn’t actually meet through any conventions- we’re high school sweethearts! We did get closer thanks to cosplay and cons however– I encouraged Nana to start cosplaying and we loved cosplaying together as couples. One thing lead to another and we ended up dating towards the end of my senior year in high school (she is one year older than me and had already graduated). A friend of ours actually gave us our cosplay account name, Katana Cosplay, by mashing up our names together! Kate + Nana = Katana! In a way, our relationship is the heart of our cosplay page; every project is made up of Kate’s technical skills and Nana’s encouragement and support. 

Haikyuu!! was an anime that Nana got me into, and we immediately fell in love with the characters Oikawa and Iwaizumi, seeing bits of ourselves inside of them. I was excited to cosplay them because for once it meant I could actually just order a costume instead of making it from scratch, haha! The most work was put into the wig styling, honestly. Both wigs were ordered from Arda and it was my first real attempt at styling wigs from scratch. It was a significant learning curve with Oikawa’s wig, between trimming and layering the wig to learning how to set spikes and texturize the flippy part of his hair. Luckily Iwaizumi’s came along pretty easily after that, with Nana being subjected to sitting there while I covered her in little wig hairs and hair spray. 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi are always great to wear at cons. This is our 4th time wearing them because they’re comfortable (especially in the 100+ degree heat at Sac) and well recognized. It’s always great to hear from people who say they love our characters and to know we’re bringing some of their favorites to life. We’ve met tons of really good friends through Haikyuu and always make sure to slip them into our lineup somewhere.