This outfit was SUCH a good investment. First Rei, then Kikyo, now Maki.

Patti and Steph suckered me into Love Live!, the first new anime I've watched all the way through in at least five years. (It helped that it was available for free on Hulu, back when Hulu was still free.) Anyone who has ever done any performing arts should watch Love Live!; the amount of work the girls put in behind the scenes was very nostalgic for me. Plus, it's hard for a cosplayer not to love a series where the characters get a new, adorable costume at least every other episode. Each girl gets a chance to shine, too; while Honoka is mostly the main chararacter, the rest of them have their own well-developed personalities, with little quirks and foibles. There was no one girl that really spoke to me (though Honoka was close), but being the piano player among my friends (even if I rarely touch it anymore) initially drew me to Maki. When she offered (well, sort of) her large country vacation home to all of her (well, sort of) friends, that sealed the deal--I spend a good deal of my time trying to get people to vacation on my dime in the Adirondacks.