Interview with Tomohiro Sekiya, Organizer of Russia's First Large-scale Cosplay Event [1/2]

Hinode is the name of the first large-scale cosplay event held in Russia. We recently talked with Tomohiro Sekiya, one of the event’s organizers from the overseas division of Japan House Group’s E.N. International Inc., about the current state of otaku and cosplay in Russia.

TOM: Up until now, how has cosplay been in Russia?
Sekiya: There have been cosplay events held since 10 years ago, but mostly on a small scale with friends and fans getting together, similarly to a circle. The participants and the organizers both were people doing it on a voluntary basis, not as a pro event.

TOM: Why did you think about holding a large-scale cosplay event under such circumstances?
Sekiya: When I participated in WCS 2011(World Cosplay Summit 2011), held in Nagoya, there were representatives from 17 countries of the world enjoying cosplay, and I realized there were no representatives from Russia. Therefore, I asked Japan House Group, a company that performs cultural exchange with Russia, and they were on the move to spread Japanese pop culture into Russia and gave their name as the organizers of the representative selection meet for WCS. As a result, we received permission from WCS, and so Hinode started as the official screening event for WCS 2012.

TOM: When opening the event in Russia, did you have any problems?
Sekiya: It might be a national trait, but it felt as if they weren't so enthusiastic about new things, as if they had some doubts. At first, they didn't even believe the first prize of the WCS selection meet was a fully paid trip to Japan. They were like, "I'll only get tickets to Japan, the rest after arrival will be from my own pocket, right?" (laughs) It seems that such a luxurious prize was unimaginable compared to the events before. On the other hand, I also noticed that once mutual trust deepened, the relationship became stronger.

TOM: So, comparing last year's and this year’s event, did anything change?
Sekiya: Last year’s event was the first time Japanese companies participated. There was a lot of support from many sides, a lot of cosplay applicants, and the participants totalled about 1,200 people. However, there had already been events in Russia that gathered up to 2,000 people, so this actually reflects the fact that this event wasn't very well recognized.

However, for the second go-around we had 450 more applications for participation from cosplayers - 30% more than last year - and the cooperation with both Japanese and local businesses continued to become even stronger, with inquiries from Russian companies increasing as well. Most of the sponsors from last year were present this time too, and there were also new companies that were very happy about the event. Last year, Moscow TV was recording footage of Hinode, from the preparations to the closing ceremony, which was broadcast as a special program with extensive coverage, so I think that had a big influence.

TOM: Please tell us about the trends in Russian cosplay.
Sekiya: It’s just my personal opinion, but I think that Code Geass, Tiger & Bunny, Trinity Blood, Angel Sanctuary, and D.Gray-man are very popular with their wonderful and elaborate costumes. Naruto, as a ninja fiction, is also popular. Also, as a definite trend, I would say that the cosplay applicants are mostly from the young generation, from those in their teens to mid-twenties, and between manga and anime, anime definitely has a bigger influence. I would guess this is because it is easier to get information about anime from the internet.
(to be continued)

Hinode Official Site:
http://www.hinode.asia/ (Russian)