Not only are these costumes impressive on a technical level, but the moody and majestic photography puts this cosplay heads and shoulders above the competition. Major props to both Dark and Ven on their phenomenal Birth by Sleep tribute.

Who: The Character 
The characters are Ventus and Aqua in Keyblade Armor from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep

Why: The Decision
We're long time fans of the Kingdom Hearts series. We saw the trailer for the game a couple of years before it came out and thought the outfits looked pretty intense. We enjoy a challenge, and up till then, we had never built armor before so it was a good match. 

What: The Process 
Each cosplay took around 300 hours to make over a year. We made our costumes mainly out of the thermoplastic sintra along with a combination of craft foam, soda bottles, paperclay and upholstery vinyl. Our keyblades also light up and make 'FWOOOSH' noises (sounds like a flushing toilet)! The most difficult part of making these costumes was patterning the armor and actually putting it all on and wearing them.

Where and When: The Debut 
We first wore these costumes to compete at the 2009 Anime Boston Masquerade. As for the photoshoot, we made a three and a half day trip to find a remote, desert area with cliffs and mountains to match the game trailer. Then we climbed a mountain in full body pleather. It was not a good idea!

Links: The Cosplayer
You can find us on our joint cosplay website and on DeviantArt:

Ven: http://venntus.deviantart.com

Dark: http://da-rk.deviantart.com

The Gallery
Photographer: Spleenie 

Miss the past few CosBlogs? Check out the CosBlog Hub for a full archive of past costumes.