Anime Babes from Sailor Moon to Rei Ayanami: This Isn't Cosplay, This Is Burlesque
See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's gallery "Devil's Playground Presents Anime Babes."
Over the course of the past two years, we've seen the burlesque performers from Devil's Playground channel fan favorite characters like Link and Zelda (Video Game Girls), Catwoman (Comic Book Vixens), and, of course, the Stormtrooper from their now-infamous Star Wars tribute that took place one year ago. On January 8, the ladies took on Anime Babes.
From nostalgic shows like Speed Racer, Pokémon and Sailor Moon to more grown-up fair like Fullmetal Alchemist and Neon Genesis Evangelion, the troupe brought both humor and seriousness to the night. This wasn't cosplay, this was burlesque, with costumes that referenced the source material, but were made for dancing while taking the characters into different directions. We broke down the individual numbers below.
Shannon Cottrell
Lucy Fur as Pikachu (Pokémon)
From her moment as both Link and Zelda to Wonder Woman to a tassel-twirling C-3PO, Lucy Fur's performances are always witty and fun. For Anime Babes, she transformed into Pikachu. Sexy versions of the now-classic Pokémon character are pretty popular, and Lucy played up on that with a routine that was cute, silly and a little naughty. Amidst the round of applause, an audience member shouted "I choose you!" Yeah, there were probably a lot of long-time Pokémon fans there. 
Shannon Cottrell
Kitty Cadillac as Ichigo Momomiya (Tokyo Mew Mew)
Kitty Cadillac was introduced as a neko, or cat, girl, but her frilly pink costume pointed to one well-known cat girl Ichigo Momomiya from Tokyo Mew Mew. One of Kitty Cadillac's best known performances was as Catwoman in Comic Book Vixens, where she crawled through a cat habitat and poured what looked like milk all over herself. Ichigo is a striking contrast to Catwoman, she's cute and far more subdued. It was great to see Kitty keep with the feline theme while taking such a different approach. But, it doesn't seem to be as well known as some of the other animes represented, especially Sailor Moon and Pokémon, so it didn't have the same sort of nostalgic connection to the audience that other segments of the show did.
Shannon Cottrell
Olivia Bellafontaine as Lust (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Olivia Bellafontaine's turn as Lust from Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the more intriguing performances of the night. Her character is a Homunculus, an embodiment of crimes against alchemy (human transmutation, a huge taboo in the series) and one of the primary villains. Hers was the darkest moment of the night, one that flirted with issues of life and death as understood by a character that isn't quite human, but isn't immortal. By incorporating bits of dialogue with the music, Bellafontaine was able to help guide the story for those who weren't familiar with the series. If you're a Fullmetal Alchemist fan, you can figure out how this ended.
Shannon Cottrell
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