DENNIS:  If you had all the time and money to make a costume, what would be your dream costume? LINDZE: Kei from Adam Warren's Dirty Pair. Kei is me! I will make that costume someday, though. I want to have all her techy and sci-fi accessories, if I make her. Id have to lose a lot of weight too, to be in something that skimpy. That's one my dad won't like, most likely…. (laughing) DENNIS:  Have you ever worn your costume to an area that freaked people out? How was that experience? LINDZE: (laughing) The best thing ever was when me, my friends Twinkle, Jeff and Neal, all went to the grocery store wearing our "Battle Royale" costumes. The lady at the toll booth asked Neal, who was "bleeding" from the head, "Are you alright?!?" Neal responded all calmly, "I'm fine. I just need a band aid." Oh, now that's comedy. DENNIS:  Have you experienced any freaky or embarrassing situations from cosplaying? May it be the costume or even experiences from fans? LINDZE: I think every girl can say yes to this question. Fan boys are generally men with no social skills, no bathing skills and apparently think we're all here for they're personal fantasies. I am amazed every time but the things some of them will say.

PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as Shiva from "Final Fantasy X".

I've been asked to kiss them for pictures, been told exactly and graphically what body parts of mine they like, they touch and hug you without asking, you name it. Somehow, along the way, cosplayers got confused with playmates being paid to be nice to horrible guys like that. I refuse to accept that because we wear pretty or sexy costumes that we have to allow behavior like this. Many of the girls are too shocked to say anything back or retaliate, so it's been my personal crusade to cause as much public humiliation to these kids when they pull stunts like this. Someone has to do it or they will keep thinking its ok! (laughing) Like I said…I'm MILITANT!

DENNIS:  I'm curious. Does it get on your husband's nerves when a smelly otaku fanboy takes too many photos or tries to be part of the Lindze Merritt cosplay entourage?
LINDZE: Yes. But he's pretty easy going. He's definitly no meathead that has to threaten fanboys to feel better and also he knows that I can most likely hurt them myself. (laughing) But sometimes when a guy is overly persistant, he will warn them calmly but firmly. At AWA this year, a guy asked for a kiss and wouldnt take no as an answer. The kid acually had the audacity to ask Brad if it was ok, too! Brad then told him to leave if he wanted to keep his spine. (laughing) Since he's not in the scene, he is even more shocked at the things people say than I am.

DENNIS:  I have to admit that your website is among the most eye catching websites for any cosplayer that I have seen so far online and possibly one of the few that's Flash-based. Did you come up with the concept of your Website?
LINDZE: Brad, my husband, is a web designer by trade, so Iam a lucky little monkey. He made the design and built the whole site. I did all the art animations on the front page, told him my basic idea for what i wanted and filled in all the content. He also made my www.genkigang.com site for my buisness. He's amazingly talented and sweet to waste his time on webpages for me.

DENNIS:  How much longer do you want to cosplay? Or is this something you see yourself doing for a very long time?

PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as KIT from the upcoming video game "Blade Kitten" from Chrome Studios. Photo courtesy of RisingSun.net.

LINDZE: Probably not too terribly much longer. I'm no spring chicken and I have to grow up sometime. It also takes so much of my time, 'Ill have to forgo it to pay more attention to things like my career. Fortunately, my career will be in costume and clothing, so I'll never be completely out of the scene but the days of wearing 4 different costumes to a con may be over soon. I've already vowed to go to next to no out of state cons next year, to save money. DENNIS:  In the future, since you and your husband both cosplay, would you want your children to cosplay? LINDZE: My husband doesn't cosplay and he'd kill whoever told you that! (laughing) He's only dressed up once at a con and hated it. Believe me, I've tried to coax him into doing it more but no luck. He's just not the type. I think I'd like to dress up my really small child in costumes but I wouldn't want my pre-teen or young teenager to do it. I'll probably get flak for this but I don't think it's a good hobby for really young girls. It gives them a false sense of ego about being sexy for men they really shouldn't be sexy for...AKA the fan boys we discussed earlier. I don't think that's healthy for young girls figuring out they're sexuality and self worth. But that's just me and my decision for my kids. I don't think that's old fashioned, I just want my kids to be well balanced and mentally healthy. That's what every parent wants, right?

DENNIS:  One cosplayer I talked to told me that one of the things that make your site really cool are the photos. Are you very selective with the costume photos that you have. Do you like working with photographers?
LINDZE: Well, I would love to have professional pictures for all the costumes Imake and I love working with professional photographers but free photography doesn't always happen. I've been lucky to model for some amazing photographers for free, in exchange for them to have a model complete with costumes for their portfolios. My Dota, Ivy, Peach and Snakegirl pictures were all done by a friend, Dawn DiCarlo, who is awesome but now sadly in Los Angeles, so I don't get to borrow her anymore. Nowadays, there are some really talented photographers out there who go to conventions and take photos. RisingSun.net, Lionel from usagichan.com, Cosplay.com, etc...all take great pics and are nice enough to put them up for us to use. We're lucky to have that and I'm eternally grateful, since usually I'm way too lazy to organize a photo shoot outside of a con.

DENNIS:  You mentioned that you love video games and comic books. So, a video game question similar to the earlier questions. If a friend was to come over to visit you, which video game would they currently catch you playing?
LINDZE: Right now I'm playing Kingdom Hearts. Yes...still! Because i dont want it to end! Also, Animal Crossing, an addicting little game on Gamecube. I also have a million half finished RPGs and whatnot someday I'll come back to. I have a short attention span. I really want "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City".

DENNIS:  As for comic books, what are your favorite titles? Would we catch Lindze Merritt reading a copy of "Archie", "Strangers in Paradise", "Justice League", "X-Men" or "Transformers"? What titles do you enjoy reading?
LINDZE: My favorite comics now are "Hellboy", "Blade of the Immortal", "Mars", "Peach Girl", "Paradise Kiss", "Blue Monday", "Gold Digger", "Cannon God Exxaxion", "Grendel", "Sock Monkey", "Dirty Pair", "Danger Girl" and "Battle Chasers". Even though they both will never come out again..Grrr. Also, "GI Joe"...ummm.....i should probably stop the list now. I acually just got back from a small comic book convention today!

DENNIS:  Earlier you mentioned one of your favorite conventions is "DragonCon". In the West Coast we have a convention which is similar called "San Diego ComicCon", which many cosplayers in the West Coast are quite fond of due to the variety of cosplayers and also a better organized event for cosplayers. Being one of the few cosplayers who have a good balance of comic book, video game, anime and even a cosplay from a Japanese movie, what kind of cosplays do you enjoy seeing when you go to a con? LINDZE: Yeah! I went to it when Iwas a kid! My dad used to take me. We're sort of a comic book family. I want to go again someday. I love to see movie cosplay and comic book stuff that is not common. At DragonCon, there were "Moulin Rouge", "Clockwork Orange", "Nightmare before Christmas" and "Tank Girl" costumes. All which rocked! I got a picture of the "Clockwork Orange" guys "beating" me up. (laughing) I want to do a "Moulin Rouge" costume one day too. I adore that movie! Me and some friends also plan on doing a "Fifth Element" group too, hopefully. DENNIS:  If you look back to all the cosplay events you have done, the things you have experienced. If there is one cosplay moment you will always remember, what would that moment be?

PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as the November catgirl for the 2002 Studio Ironcat calendar.

LINDZE: When I entered Shiva FF8 in the AWA contest and won. I really didn't think I would and I don't think I've ever been so happy and delirious. I was still new to the scene and I had worked really hard on that costume. Even though I don't like entering anymore, at the time, it made me so happy to see all my friends cheering me on and Brad was yelling "THAT'S MY WIFE!" at the top of his lungs when I went on stage, it was great. Having all your loved ones proud of you is a great feeling.

DENNIS:  Well, Lindze. I can't end this interview just yet because I have a few special guest interviewers to ask you a question.

ROGER (Roger Fan, actor from movies such as "Corky Romano", "Rush Hour" and the upcoming MTV film "Better Luck Tomorrow"): With all the time cosplaying and people taking your photos, when do you get to eat? After all the stress of trying to prepare for a con, do you have a need for a therapist?

LINDZE: I don't eat much at a con during the day. I usually pig out once at night. And the best therapy at a con is to get together with your friends in your hotel room at night and party `till you pass out! But only if you're 21, says Beer-chan!

WAYNE (Wayne Kaa, West Coast-based cosplayer of AGSMA: Anything Goes School of Masquerade Arts): Let's talk about all the hats your make for people. How did you come up with that idea and which one is your personal favorite?

LINDZE: Me and Brad were going snowboarding up in Idaho one winter and we needed warm hats. I decided to make us some. We got so many compliments and questions about where we bought them, that I thought hmmm...I should market these. I made just a few here and there for people but once I got my website, it exploded into tons of orders. My personal favorite is my Beer-chan hat. Me and her understand each other. (laughing)

MIA (Mia Crowe, actress & model, host of the video game show "GamePro Minutes" and producer and host of the Superskirtz segment of TNN's "Pop Across America"): Who or what would be your ideal cosplayer counterpart? What genre of cosplay do you enjoy?

LINDZE: If you mean what character I've cosplayed do I identify with most, I would say Miki from "Secret Plot". (Laughing) Just kidding! I'd have to say I'm like Freefall from the comic book "Gen13", in personality. She's hyper, fun, bouncy, and impulsive. That's me, alright. And my Slytherin school, Harry potter, costume represents me well too. Slytherins are misunderstood. They're not all spoiled brats like Draco Malfoy, you know! Slytherins gotta do whatever they have to, to make their ends meet. Willing to do what others wouldn't. Resourcefulness versus Rules. My favorite genre is video game costumes but if you want to get particular to an actual series, I would say "Final Fantasy" has the best designs, time after time, in my opinion.

REX (Rex Navarrete, Filipino American Comedian, popular for comedy albums "Badly Browned", "Husky Boy" and "Bastos"): Have you ever met cosplayers who have mistaken the real world for that of a really good video game or anime?

LINDZE: Oh yeah. People who talk about their favorite characters nonstop and go by their psudonames and never switch out of that mode. I think they don't want to accept reality and there are the boys that think girl cosplayers are here from their favorite animes to fulfill some hentai dream just for them. That's when things get a tad scary.

KAT (Owner & Entertainment Consultant of the Mageborn Company, entertainment writer for KoreAm Magazine and also known for her work at Motown Records, Sony Music and Universal Records for finding and signing new popstars as well as new talent in urban and alternative music.): How important is cosplay to you? Is it more than just a pastime?

LINDZE: Well, cosplay as a hobby isn't so important, but COSTUMES are very important to me. I want to make costumes for movies, television, etc. or at the very least have a store selling them one day, so every costume I make I view as practice. When I get excited to see a costume, I want to know how its made, what materials they used, etc. So, i guess it is more than a pasttime.

GORAN (Goran Topalovic, co-founder of New York City's "Subway Cinema" (an Asian Film Festival company) and known for his entertainment PR activities for Samuel Goldwyn Korean film "SHIRI" and the "New York Tokyo Music Festival): What do you enjoy most about cosplay? Have you ever been heckled?

LINDZE: Figuring out how I'm going to make something. When that lightbulb finally goes DING! up in your noggin, it feels...oh so nice. Heckled? at cons or out? Out of cons, only if im walking to like, my car or something out of a con, and then I ignore it. In a con, I usually am not so nice to the heckler.

DENNIS:  Lindze, I want to thank you for taking the time for this interview. Do you have any final words to the people who support your work.
LINDZE: Ummm, thanks! I'm glad people are amused by my costume shenanigans and realize the hard work that goes into it!

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Check out Lindze's Genki Girl Cosplay homepage by clicking here.
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Note:  All photos on nt2099 Cosplay Underground has been taken by a staff member of nt2099 media and entertainment or has been supplied to us by the individuals being interviewed.

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Dennis A. Amith is an entertainment writer and celebrity interviewer and the Principal of nt2099 Media and Entertainment. Dennis A. Amith has appeared in many publications worldwide for his knowledge of Asian pop culture and for his entertainment articles. He is also known for his conversation-style celebrity interviews and continues to stick with his formula of promoting artists and professionals who are well-known to the up-and-coming, as well as his goal of helping to smash the barriers that exist for Asians in the entertainment industry and to continue in asking questions that will definitely grab your attention.

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