Introduction - What is it like being a Cosplayer?

Hello! I'm ParaPara Yukiko. I've been cosplaying for about 8 years now, and it brings me joy unlike anything else. I discovered a love of sewing after taking a class in high school, and soon after I discovered the amazing world of costumes. Cosplay is a very time-consuming, expensive and sometimes nerve-wracking hobby, but the experience of wearing a costume you've made yourself to a convention with a ton of other like-minded people makes it all worthwhile.

What are your next goals?

My goal is always to learn something new with every costume I make. I try to utilize new materials or techniques with each costume so I discover and improve even more. My next costumes will be my most ambitious ones yet! I plan on improving my prop-making by cosplaying Kyary PamyuPamyu's Fashion Monster video, and experiment with LED lights in costumes with Ragyo from Kill La Kill. Finally, my ultimate goal is to cosplay at a convention in Japan!

Cosplay Characters

My first cosplay was a really badly done rendition of the Devout from FFIII. My costume was awful and nobody recognized me, but I still had a ton of fun! The next year I cosplayed Battle Royale and Hatsune Miku and that's when I really started to improve my sewing and crafting skills. Since then, I have cosplayed several Pokemon characters (trainers and Pokemon alike), Fuu from Samurai Champloo, a few different version of Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka from Vocaloid, Kyary PamyuPamyu, Isabelle from Animal Crossing and Princess Hilda from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

What does Cosplay mean to you?

For me, cosplay is a way for me to explore another world and a different side of myself. I find that I have the most fun cosplaying when I really get into character, which allows others to see me as that character first and a cosplayer second. It's also a really great way of making friends! I've met more people at conventions from just cosplaying a particular character than I have in any other situation. But most of all, cosplay is a way of creating and showing off something that you're proud of, no matter your skill level. For me, no matter how many nights I spend furiously completing a costume, no matter how many band-aids I have to wrap over pricked or burned fingers, it is all worth it when you get to debut your costume at a convention and someone, even just one person, thinks you did a great job. It really makes me feel confident and part of a community.

Who have been your biggest influences/role models/mentors?

My first cosplay role models were Adella and PikminLink, who I looked up to with so much admiration when I first started cosplaying. I loved how they seemed to make it more than just about the costume: they became their characters. I'm mostly self-taught as far as sewing and crafting goes, but I would have gotten nowhere without the multitude of people who have paved the road of cosplay before me and posted their tutorials online. So, the entire internet cosplay community has really influenced me and my hobbies a lot!

Do you have any advice or suggestions for upcoming Cosplayers?

Don't be afraid to reach out to your fellow cosplayers. I've found that this is the most generous community I've ever been in when it comes to sharing tips and tricks for improving your skills. There are tons of tutorials online for just about anything you can think of. And if contacted directly, most cosplayers themselves are happy to explain how they go about making their costumes (just be sure to ask specific questions!). Secondly, don't ever be deterred by those who say that you can't cosplay due to your height, weight, race, or any other factor. I'm nowhere near the "typical" body type of an anime character, but that has never deterred me from having fun and participating in something I enjoy. In the end, we're all a bunch of nerds dressing up in costumes; as long as you're having fun, you're doing it right!

What is the most negative experience you've dealt with while cosplaying, and how did you handle it?

I feel lucky in that I haven't received too much negative feedback about my costumes. But one thing I have experienced is being inappropriately hugged, glomped, and otherwise harassed at conventions and by people outside of cons (walking between the convention center and the hotel, for example). This was a jarring experience, but luckily the cosplay community has largely been extremely proactive in educating people about what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior towards cosplayers. I hope that with even more education and advocacy about this issue, conventions will become the safe place that they should be for everyone. As for experiencing harassment outside of cons, it's important to take precautions like the buddy system when walking around in costume.

Any final remarks or shout-outs?

Thank you for offering me this interview! I'm going to use this time to shamelessly plug my Pokemon fan art, which is my other main hobby. Check it out at https://www.etsy.com/shop/mdugarchomp - Thanks!