g33k 3

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INTERVIEW TWO: KYUU
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The first question is, how long have you been into Cosplay and generally Anime?

Anime in general about five years, now. And cosplay about four.

What got you interested into it?

I met a girl when I was in sixth grade who was way into anime at the time who got me addicted. And the, started talking about cosplaying once the first Anime Boston rolled around.

So, what really got you hooked into the whole Cosplay part of it?

When I made my first costume (Which was a terrible ghetto-Nami from One Piece, might I add) and attended part of AB '04 I met a ton of cool cosplayers. They were all so nice to me and had such great costumes. I decided that I really liked the energy and mood everyone was in, and really wanted to be a part of it.

Do you think the Cosplay community in general is growing or going stale?

It seems to me that it's growing. Some of the older cosplayers seem to be leaving, but in their wake there seems to come five or six new cosplayers. So, in some ways we're growing "stale" as you called it, but the growth of it all really seems to balance it out.

On the topic of the costumes themselves, how long does it take to make your typical costume?

Well, it depends. I handsew, so it can very well depend on the fabric whether it's a few hours or a few weeks. Generally I'd say five to ten hours sitting down and getting it straight with lots of coffee, but a week or two when time's spread liberally.

Do you prefer spending time making them or spending time wearing them?

One's a factor of the other. The more time I spend making it, the more time I like to spend wearing it. So, once again, it depends on the costume.

So it's kind of a "Look at this awesome costume I made" kinda thing?

Yes, definatly. If the costume-for lack of a better description-sucks, then I won't want to wear it for as long as a costume I put a ton of work into.

Do you think it's more important for a cosplayer to look good in a costume or enjoy doing it? Really, what do you think of those guys running around in Sailor Moon outfits but enjoying the hell out of it?

I think that enjoying it is definatly a huge factor, but you also have to keep in mind other people. Crossplay's one thing, but fat hairy guys in Sailor Moon outfits do it for just a reaction, it's not for the fun of the costume, but for the fun of the shock on people's faces. So, fun for the costume is good, but you definatly have to keep in mind what will be "con-friendly", in the how it makes other people feel, sort of way.

Speaking of that, what do you think of Crossplay? Can it go too far?

As a crossplayer myself, I don't see anything wrong with it. I love crossplaying, but it definatly can be taken too far. Like I said before, many people-specifically larger men, as I've taken note of-just use it in order to shock people. It's people like that that make cosplaying sort of undesirable to many other people who would otherwise find it fun. And can also keep parents from allowing their children to go to cons.

Last question on that subject, I plan to cover Furries soon (God help me), what do you think of the Fursuiters who claim to be cosplayers? Do you think their sexual take on Cosplay can still be considered cosplay?

Directly, "cosplay" is translated as "costume play", so anything can be taken as cosplay. But it's become more of a centralized definition as newer people come. The "play" portion has come to refer to role playing as an actual character. So, to many people now they aren't considered cosplayers. Personally, I think that if you believe that it counts (And, it follows the criteria of being a costume and you "play" as something. Be it animal, character, whatever) as cosplay, then it's a cosplay. But the whole "sexual take" can definatly be subtracted from the equation. Cosplay should be taken as a good, clean hobby in my opinion. And shouldn't be associated with the "yiffing" and other such things that go on behind closed furry doors.

Okay, onto a happier and less personally disturbing subject. Say I want to get into cosplay. What would you say are the steps to get into it? What would be the way to appropriately "Get" the feel/experience?

I'd say that con-going is a must. Go to a con out of cosplay first, to get a feel for the whole idea before gettin wrapped up in costume-making. Talk to cosplayers, too. Rarely are cosplayers shy about their methods and cosplay interests. Look at all the aspects, would you like to be in a masquerade? Are you there for simply pictures? Just for the fun of it? Also, consider what kinds of costumes you see on people that you like, what characters you think you could pull off well for your first few costumes, things like that.

Is there anything specific you'd want to say on the subject that I haven't explicitly asked?

Cosplay's about fun, you shouldn't get caught up in being the best or trying to beat someone else's costume. Focus on your own abilities and your own interests. You'll have more fun that way, rather than getting tied up in complications like perfection against all others. "I will prevail over everyone else!" Isn't a good thought in my opinion, I've seen people miserable at cons because of this. Just relax, let loose, have fun and meet new people.




Sounds like good to me. Cosplayers as a whole turned out to be very nice, amicable people. As sort of alluded before, I did run across some problems (Which, to be fair, I somewhat expected from some of the sources, but I didn't use most of their stuff anyway). They're nice, fun, and very knowledgable on the subject they are so interested in. This is one of the few times in which I can say as a whole, Cosplayers are good, normal, fun geeks. Next g33k, I'll try going over Technogeeks or some other subculture, I'm not sure how that will work yet. But keep checking on Gametrash!

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