Shopping Guide
The Japanese cosplay group “Panache!” recently attended China’s biggest comic event, CAF 2012, where they wowed attendees with their live performance, attended cosplay meetups, held meet and greets with fans, and more. We recently had a chance to sit down with the talented trio for an interview. Check out part two of our interview below!
TOM: I see. Well, progressing forward as a group might be a challenge for Panache!, but it seems like you guys have already cleared the first stage! By the way, Chengdu, China is the capital of Sichuan province, where pandas came from...
Panache!: Panda! We saw them on our off day! There were baby pandas too!
TOM: That's great (laughs). Aside from your Panache! performances, what are your thoughts on other parts of your Sichuan tour?
Enako: Even though this is not my first time in China, we always have such tight schedules, so being able to stay in China for five days and four nights is actually pretty long for me. Actually, I cannot take spicy food, and usually I don't it at all. I didn't know that most cuisine in Sichuan would be so spicy...it was tough. This coupled with the fact that everything else is extremely sweet, there was basically nothing for me to eat...I would give it 70 points! (out of a 100)
Akira: I thought I could handle spicy food pretty well...but the spiciness in Sichuan was a different dimension (laughs). It wasn't a fiery spiciness like chilli peppers, but an electrifying spiciness that was completely unfamiliar to me. Also, I usually eat healthily, but in China there wasn't anything like salad and we just ate whatever we liked, which sort of frustrated me. I'll give it 60~70 points.
Kuroneko: Even though it's my first time in China, everyone we met were so friendly, so I think I'll give it 80 points.
On top of their group activities, the members of Panachi! all participated individually during last year’s Winter Comiket, and will continue with their solo activities. In particular, Enako will continue her activities all over Asia, starting with an event in Yangon, Myanmar at the end of January, at which she will perform. Regarding Panache!, she feels like their next step will be Europe. Because of that, she says that the members of Panache! "want to level up our communication skills. On top of language learning, we also need to research on the countries we are visiting. We will also work harder on our dancing!". With that strong statement, Panache! powers forward into 2013.