Shopping Guide
Cosplayer Usako is pursuing the kind of cosplay that anyone who sees would think is cool. He is thorough not only in makeup and clothing, but in building up his physique, and his cosplays are so real, it’s like he is a character who has just stepped out of a comic. We sat down to talk with him about his distinctive cosplay that goes farther than the bounds of otakudom.
Creator Introduction
Name: Usako
Creator’s TOM Portfolio Page: http://otakumode.com/usako
TOM: Please tell us how you started cosplay.
Usako: My first time cosplaying was at a Halloween costume party event at a club called Ageha, it was the biggest such event in Japan with 5,000 people gathering there. I entered the photo contest in my Ace costume, and I got the second place. At that time, I was researching how to make a costume and learned about the existence of cosplay culture. I liked expressing myself to begin with, and through interacting with fellow cosplayers and the cameramen who took pictures of us, I realized there were a lot of people who were pursuing it as a serious hobby, and it seemed like fun. That’s how I got absorbed in cosplay.
TOM: Now that you mention it, your picture of Ace with the sea in the background is pretty awesome.
Usako: I like that one, too. It took a few hours to get to the sea. Actually, this picture was taken with backlight; usually it wouldn’t be this pretty. This photo only turned out this good because I took a giant stroboscope and adjusted the lighting well.
TOM: Is there something you fixate on in order to achieve the coolness in your cosplay?
Usako: It’s total balance. I think besides makeup and costume, building up your physique is also important. Close-ups are okay, but when you take a whole body picture, the line of your body stands out. Comic and anime characters have small faces and good style, so if the balance of your body isn’t right, it will feel somewhat weird. Cosplay thought of as cool or those that resemble the character usually have a good body line and balance.
TOM: On that Ace picture, the muscles are cool, too.
Usako: Yes. I liked training to begin with, but after I started cosplay, I started paying particular attention on not getting fat so that I can show my muscles. There are many people in Japan who like to portray rough, manly characters like Ace in a beautiful, androgynous fashion––very slim and and fair-skinned. I personally think that those don’t look like him at all and they’re uncool. But, since there are people who enjoy that kind of cosplay more, I can’t say that it’s absolutely wrong. However, if someone who doesn’t know One Piece were to compare them and say they don’t look like the character at all, that would be an objective fact. I like masculine cosplay for male characters and feminine for female characters. In overseas cosplay, that part is very straight and clear, so I like it. Also, it makes me happy that I get good reactions for my cosplay from people overseas.
TOM: Usako, could you tell us about your stance on cosplay?
Usako: I don’t really want to fit into the category of otaku in the first place. I want to do cosplay that makes even non-otaku think that it’s cool, that it looks well done, or that it’s amazing. If I upload it as a picture to the Internet, I will certainly get objective evaluations.
I think that one of the reasons that cosplay is still not entirely accepted in Japan is that if you look objectively, it doesn’t resemble the original character. Turning into a cool or cute character seen in anime is hard to begin with. Average people who don’t do cosplay totally ignore the efforts in trying to express a character, they evaluate purely based on their comparison with the original work. If you don’t have a certain level of perfection, they won’t understand it. I, for one, pursue cosplay with that kind of perfection.
TOM: Why do you think that is?
Usako: I think having a wide outlook is important in knowing the essence of things. I also like going abroad. I visit America, Asia, and Europe pretty often. During my visits, I have seen various stage shows, dances, and circuses. As a result, I have come to think that it’s easier to judge genuinely good and wonderful things if you’ve seen all kinds of things. If a person has only eaten inexpensive gyudon, and he is content with the taste, he doesn’t really know the taste of a really good gyudon, does he?
For example, let’s say we are taking a picture of a martial arts manga cosplay. A person who knows different things, such as the actions and the techniques for taking a photo as a cameraman, doesn’t just imitate the pose of the character, he puts forth more effort than that, and that’s why he is able to take a cool picture. For that reason, I think it’s easier to take great pictures of people who have a wider knowledge base. I want to use the things I have experienced and learned until now in cosplay, too.
TOM: Is there anything you have your sights set on for the future?
Usako: I want to do a high-level cosplay performance. I think that with the use of my experiences, I could raise the level of Japanese cosplay performances.
If I do it, I want to be serious, so I want to choose a genre in which I could make a shining performance, and I also want my costume to be easy to move in and flexible because cosplay for photography are amazingly well-made, but hard to move in and easily ruined.
TOM: Lastly, a message to the readers, please.
Usako: I think cosplaying is a wonderful hobby. I’d be very happy if reading this article would arouse your interest in doing cosplay or make you realize that such a great hobby exists!
Check out our picture collection of the talented Usako, and don’t forget to SUKI him! Keep it here for even more interviews with some of the most prominent creators in the otaku world!
TOM Portfolio Page:
http://otakumode.com/usako
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.
