Interview with Akihara
Kazuha cosplaying as Yukimura Chizuru at ALA 2013. Photo credits: Kazuha Akihara
By Karen Wang
04 May 2013
I had the pleasure of interviewing Kazuha Akihara, an avid cosplayer of over six years. She speaks about her passion for cosplay, a typical day for a cosplayer at an anime convention, and the technical aspects of cosplay photography. Most of the pictures on this site are her works. You can see more of her works here:
Q: So first things first, how did you get into cosplay? When and what was your first cosplay?
A: How DID I get into cosplay? I would assume it's the same for most cosplayers: I was into an anime and decided, "Hey, it'd be cool if I could dress up as so-and-so character and interact with other characters." And that's how it started. My first cosplay was Allen Walker’s second uniform from D.Gray-man in 2008.
Q: Ah, I see. Did you come up with the idea on your own? Or did you go to an anime convention and realize, “Wow, people dress up as anime characters in real life!”
A: I forget how long I'd been staffing at the same convention, but no, it wasn't my idea. I saw others doing it first.
Q: What do you like about cosplay? The making of the costume, the social element, or anything else?
A: What I like best is probably the social element. As you can see, I've filled up a completely separate Facebook account just for cosplay. I've met many many talented people through cosplay. Making the cosplay itself is also interesting of course, but I think the social element is still more appealing.
Q: I noticed that you do a lot of cosplay photoshoots with other people. How did you initially connect with these people? For example, do you meet them online, at conventions, or on cosplay forums?
A: Most of them I meet at conventions, though there a few that I met online first through other friends, such as out-of-state people. But I eventually meet them in real life too.
Q: So a lot of them live out-of-state, but you meet up at anime conventions across the country?
A: Well, not a whole ton of them, but I do have friends in Washington mostly, and some friends of friends live in more remote places such as Utah and Arizona. I say mostly Washington because the out-of-state con that we most frequently attend is SakuraCon.
Q: In regards to your cosplay photography, what kinds of camera or equipment do you use? How do you go about taking and editing photos?
A: I personally use a Nikon D5100 and Tamron 18-200mm lens. I don't use any lighting equipment, which is probably one of my flaws. From what I've seen over the years, however, it would seem that the other photographers prefer Canon over Nikon, though I'm not sure about the reasoning behind that. I use Lightroom 4 to edit, but there are other editing programs out there.
Q: What is a day at an anime convention like for the typical cosplayer?
A: A day at a con usually starts late, around 10 or 11 in the morning, depending on whether you party or not. It takes about an hour to get dressed and do makeup; longer if we have armor, props, or other things that may require last-minute maintenance. After that, we usually get food, then head to the convention center to meet up with people. Meeting up may start with a call like "Hey, where are you guys?" from friends in another room. Like any social community, we each have our "group" of friends that we tend to hang around during a convention.
Other times, we may meet up with other cast members of a cosplay group if they're in another room. While we're in cosplay from the same series, we tend to stick together the entire time until we have other plans. Some cosplayers may decide to change out and take breaks throughout the day, especially those in heavy clothing, long or high maintenance wigs, or lots of armor. And that basically continues through the rest of the day, until late at night; usually sometime past midnight, when most people turn in.
Q: I see lots of group cosplays like that who take photos together and sometimes even role-play the characters. Have you ever role-played characters before? Are you more of a "serious" cosplayer who stays in character, or a "parody" cosplayer who likes to make their characters do funny, out-of-character stuff?
A: When I'm just standing around, no, I don't stay in character at all. Sometimes, if a fan of the character comes up to me, I'll reply as the character, and I'll pose appropriately for photos. But other than that, I'm still myself. And yes, we have a lot of crack photos
Q: Have you cross-played before? More girls cosplay than guys, usually. why do you think that is?
A: I'm not sure, really. Maybe guys don't have the patience for it, or they just have less fan tendencies. Maybe they think it's too much work don't feel that strongly for characters. And yes, I've cross-played before.
Q: How do you make your costumes? (hand-made, ordered online?) How long do you spend on one cosplay, usually? Do you have to buy your wigs and contact lenses online?
A: Yes, wigs and contacts tend to be bought online as there are no stores that sell what we need. Even if we do happen to find a wig shop, they usually don't carry animu colors, not to mention the quality is incredibly low. I've taken to making most of my cosplays. Sometimes, if I need it in a hurry, I'll get it tailored because they can do it faster, and then make my own later on.
Depending on how intricate the costume, it could take anywhere from a couple weeks to half a year. There's really no way to estimate, given the factor of everyday life obligations.
Q: Any cosplayers out there that you really admire?
A: Reika is definitely one of my favorites, along with Kiri Saki.
Q: As a final note: any tips for wanna-be cosplayers?
A: I would just say that if you really love the character, you should be able to overcome the hard work. It's worth it in the end, and you can really see it in the costume and how it's worn if someone really loves the character or not. A completely accurate, amateurishly sewn cosplay is always superior to the professionally sewn one that is missing essential details that a fan would notice. I've seen cosplays bring people together, and that's how you meet new people in the cosplay world; usually by going to the same gatherings and bonding over the love for the series.
04 May 2013
I had the pleasure of interviewing Kazuha Akihara, an avid cosplayer of over six years. She speaks about her passion for cosplay, a typical day for a cosplayer at an anime convention, and the technical aspects of cosplay photography. Most of the pictures on this site are her works. You can see more of her works here:
Q: So first things first, how did you get into cosplay? When and what was your first cosplay?
A: How DID I get into cosplay? I would assume it's the same for most cosplayers: I was into an anime and decided, "Hey, it'd be cool if I could dress up as so-and-so character and interact with other characters." And that's how it started. My first cosplay was Allen Walker’s second uniform from D.Gray-man in 2008.
Q: Ah, I see. Did you come up with the idea on your own? Or did you go to an anime convention and realize, “Wow, people dress up as anime characters in real life!”
A: I forget how long I'd been staffing at the same convention, but no, it wasn't my idea. I saw others doing it first.
Q: What do you like about cosplay? The making of the costume, the social element, or anything else?
A: What I like best is probably the social element. As you can see, I've filled up a completely separate Facebook account just for cosplay. I've met many many talented people through cosplay. Making the cosplay itself is also interesting of course, but I think the social element is still more appealing.
Q: I noticed that you do a lot of cosplay photoshoots with other people. How did you initially connect with these people? For example, do you meet them online, at conventions, or on cosplay forums?
A: Most of them I meet at conventions, though there a few that I met online first through other friends, such as out-of-state people. But I eventually meet them in real life too.
Q: So a lot of them live out-of-state, but you meet up at anime conventions across the country?
A: Well, not a whole ton of them, but I do have friends in Washington mostly, and some friends of friends live in more remote places such as Utah and Arizona. I say mostly Washington because the out-of-state con that we most frequently attend is SakuraCon.
Q: In regards to your cosplay photography, what kinds of camera or equipment do you use? How do you go about taking and editing photos?
A: I personally use a Nikon D5100 and Tamron 18-200mm lens. I don't use any lighting equipment, which is probably one of my flaws. From what I've seen over the years, however, it would seem that the other photographers prefer Canon over Nikon, though I'm not sure about the reasoning behind that. I use Lightroom 4 to edit, but there are other editing programs out there.
Q: What is a day at an anime convention like for the typical cosplayer?
A: A day at a con usually starts late, around 10 or 11 in the morning, depending on whether you party or not. It takes about an hour to get dressed and do makeup; longer if we have armor, props, or other things that may require last-minute maintenance. After that, we usually get food, then head to the convention center to meet up with people. Meeting up may start with a call like "Hey, where are you guys?" from friends in another room. Like any social community, we each have our "group" of friends that we tend to hang around during a convention.
Other times, we may meet up with other cast members of a cosplay group if they're in another room. While we're in cosplay from the same series, we tend to stick together the entire time until we have other plans. Some cosplayers may decide to change out and take breaks throughout the day, especially those in heavy clothing, long or high maintenance wigs, or lots of armor. And that basically continues through the rest of the day, until late at night; usually sometime past midnight, when most people turn in.
Q: I see lots of group cosplays like that who take photos together and sometimes even role-play the characters. Have you ever role-played characters before? Are you more of a "serious" cosplayer who stays in character, or a "parody" cosplayer who likes to make their characters do funny, out-of-character stuff?
A: When I'm just standing around, no, I don't stay in character at all. Sometimes, if a fan of the character comes up to me, I'll reply as the character, and I'll pose appropriately for photos. But other than that, I'm still myself. And yes, we have a lot of crack photos
Q: Have you cross-played before? More girls cosplay than guys, usually. why do you think that is?
A: I'm not sure, really. Maybe guys don't have the patience for it, or they just have less fan tendencies. Maybe they think it's too much work don't feel that strongly for characters. And yes, I've cross-played before.
Q: How do you make your costumes? (hand-made, ordered online?) How long do you spend on one cosplay, usually? Do you have to buy your wigs and contact lenses online?
A: Yes, wigs and contacts tend to be bought online as there are no stores that sell what we need. Even if we do happen to find a wig shop, they usually don't carry animu colors, not to mention the quality is incredibly low. I've taken to making most of my cosplays. Sometimes, if I need it in a hurry, I'll get it tailored because they can do it faster, and then make my own later on.
Depending on how intricate the costume, it could take anywhere from a couple weeks to half a year. There's really no way to estimate, given the factor of everyday life obligations.
Q: Any cosplayers out there that you really admire?
A: Reika is definitely one of my favorites, along with Kiri Saki.
Q: As a final note: any tips for wanna-be cosplayers?
A: I would just say that if you really love the character, you should be able to overcome the hard work. It's worth it in the end, and you can really see it in the costume and how it's worn if someone really loves the character or not. A completely accurate, amateurishly sewn cosplay is always superior to the professionally sewn one that is missing essential details that a fan would notice. I've seen cosplays bring people together, and that's how you meet new people in the cosplay world; usually by going to the same gatherings and bonding over the love for the series.