It's that time of the year - the moment has come to officially reveal my cosplay plans for 2016.

Now, I'm not exactly sure when exactly I'll get to debut every one of these costumes - for some the dates are already set and the costumes are in the making, for others it's more of a general idea, but these five cosplays WILL happen in 2016 - just so you know what you may expect from me in the next 12 months.

Of course, I'll get to revisit some old costumes, if nothing else than for the purposes of studio photoshoots, and very probably there'll be a few casual cosplays squeezed in, as a surprise, so stay tuned for more announcements. But let's take a closer look at my main 2016 lineup:

1) Toshizou Hijikata. The vice-commander of the infamous Shinsengumi is one of the most controversial and fascinating figures of Japanese history. Born in 1835 in a merchant family in Hino, what is now a suburb of Tokyo, he wanted to be a warrior since the earliest age, spent his life bitterly fighting to preserve Japan's conservatism in the times of change, and died in 1869 in Hokkaido during the last days of the so-called Ezo Republic, perishing in battle but NOT the way he’d wished for ever since he was a young boy dreaming of samurai grandeur. My favorite pop-culture portrayal of Hijikata actually comes from "Peacemaker Kurogane", a manga I'd recommend to all Japanese history geeks - but given that it'd be a bit impossible for me to pull off that particular version (google it if curious, just to see those pecs and abs), I'll have to settle for the bishounen take on dear old Toshi, from the otome visual novel "Hakuouki: Bakumatsu Musouroku".

2) Jareth the Gobling King. I'll say it out loud: "Labyrinth" is one of the things that marked my childhood, and I've been in love with the Goblin King ever since the age of 8 - much before I watched the damn movie with adult's eyes and finally realized there's something quite fishy in the blatant innuendo between the ever so sexy Jareth and the painfully underage Sarah. And yes, I admit that I’ve always wanted to be that girl in the pure white ball gown dancing with the Gobling King in his palace, surrounded by luxury and decadence and Venetian masks, unsure if she wants to wake up and fight, or just stay in that fever dream forever. Alas, I’m a bit too old and jaded to play Sarah now – you cannot portray the coming-of-age heroine at the age of 35 – but, as for Jareth, yes, I can see myself turning into the Goblin King with ease. I even have the slightly mismatched eyes and the crooked teeth.

3) Ragyo Kiryiun. I’m not a fan of “Kill La Kill” – actually, in my articles where I lament the recent downfall of the anime industry, I often use this show as the sad example of what happens when smart people deliberately decide to produce a stupid series just because they know the fans will gobble up whatever you serve them. Yet, strangely enough, I totally fell for Ragyo, even though I do not believe she is a well written character. Maybe I liked her because she strikes that Sephiroth-esque chord of a white-haired villain with superiority complexes and megalomaniac ideas, only in the female form. Or I could relate to her glamour and dress code philosophy – clothes make me happy in a similar way that Ragyo purrs over her every new outfit. Or simply, the good guys of the anime annoyed me so much that I ended up rooting for the villain. Whatever the reason, I think I’ll have tons of fun in Raygo’s shoes – and mature women as anime characters are so rare that I just can’t let this opportunity slide.

4) Queen Ravenna. Fine, I agree, “The Snowhite and the Huntsman” is not an example of fine cinema, but its most memorable part was definitely the villainess, aptly named Ravenna and adorned with raven skulls and claws. Ravenna is the embodiment of the archetype I have a soft spot for: the Evil Queen, a woman in the position of power in a society where women held no power, nor positions. The Evil Queen maybe isn’t that plain evil – at least, not at the beginning – as she is ambitious and unscrupulous, until she’s cornered and forced to defend the results of her hard work from the Heroine, a straight-laced pure-hearted young girl who embodies the currently revered female ideals, and who’ll always have the society on her side. So, I’d like to dedicate my portrayal of Ravenna to all the Evil Queens out there. And if you ever found yourself sympathizing with the stepmother instead of Snowhite, do read Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples”.

5) Nuala, with my partner Endymion as Nuada. If you follow my work, you know that my partner and I have this thing going on – we often cosplay siblings, with our best known joint projects being Death and Dream of the Endless, and Cersei and Jaime Lannister. Nuada and Nuala of “Hellboy 2” are just the right roles to continue with this tradition: the beautiful matching costumes will be a delight to make, while the characters themselves are deliciously tragic, allowing us to explore our partner chemistry to the max. I can’t wait to see Endymion as the fierce warrior prince, who’s not really a villain but is driven to extremes in order to protect his people. Nuala, on the other hand, differs from my usual typecasting, but I look forward the challenge of transforming into the kind-hearted princess who loves her brother dearly yet knows he must be stopped. Reenacting the emotional, spiritual and even physical bond that these siblings share will be our perfect collaboration project for this year.