After 4 years of hiatus, the Japanese pop culture event organizer Japan Culture Daisuki held Daisuki! Japan Ten on Sunday, 5 March 2023, at UMM Dome, Malang, East Java. The event is regarded as one of the biggest Japanese Pop Culture events in East Java. In the past years, several international guest stars had been invited to the event, including Japanese anisong singer Mika Kobayashi who guest starred in 2016.
For the 2023 event, the organizer invited four international cosplayers as guest stars. They are Ibun (Indonesia), Xiaoyukiko (Singapore), Jasper Z (Thailand), and Thames Malerose (Thailand). In this event, our East Java contributors are invited to a short interview session with four guest stars. For a brief moment, we talked about when their cosplay journey begin, how the cosplay landscape has changed over the last few years, and the social media that they use to promote themselves. Here’s the interview:
KAORI Nusantara (KN): Hello, thank you for your time. My name is Icha from KAORI Nusantara. First, can you introduce yourself to our readers, please?
Ibun (I): Hello everyone, my name is Ibun. I’m a cosplayer from Yogyakarta. Thank you.
Xiaoyukiko (X): Halo semuanya (Hello everyone). Nama saya (My name is) Xiaoyu. I’m from Singapore. Nice to meet you.
Jasper Z (JZ): Hello, I’m Jasper Z from Thailand, Nice to meet you.
Thames Malerose (TM): Halo, nama saya Thames. I’m from Thailand too.
KN: Just curious, when did you start cosplaying?
I: I started cosplaying in 2012. Back then, I was still in high school.
X: I’ve been cosplaying since 2016.
JZ: Ah, how long right? For me, I’ve been cosplaying for more than 20 years, maybe?
TM: (laughing) Really? As for me, I’ve been cosplaying for more than 15 years.
KN: Ah, so you’ve been cosplaying since a long time ago. How do you think the cosplay landscape has changed since you started cosplaying?
I: When I started cosplaying, it was hard to find the tutorial on how to make cosplay props. But with social media, we can learn about this from other cosplayers. Also, I think with technology like 3D printers, it’s certainly easier to make props and costumes for cosplay.
X: For me, since I only cosplayed for 6 years, there’re not so many changes. But after the pandemic, I saw there are a lot of younger cosplayers who are active on Tiktok. Cosplaying also becomes a lot more mainstream in the last few years. That’s the changes I noticed.
JZ: Okay, I’m a little exaggerating when I said that I’ve been cosplaying for 20 years. Maybe around 10 years lah, I’m not that old (laughing). But even back then, it was very hard to make a costume. It’s hard to find fabric, it’s hard to find materials. Today, it’s so much easier to create a costume and it’s easy to showcase yourself in an event because there are a lot of events nowadays.
TM: You already said everything (laughing). Yeah, it’s just harder to create a costume 15 years ago. It’s hard to find material, fabric, and cosplay events to express yourself…
JZ: It’s hard to find a cosplay friend too…
TM: (laughing) Yeah, that’s hard too. Now, it’s easy to find cosplay tips and tricks on the internet. And it’s easy to find audiences too.
KN: Speaking of social media, what social media do you use to promote yourself as a cosplayer?
I: I mostly use Instagram and Facebook.
X: I use Instagram and Facebook as well, but I think most Indonesian know me on Facebook.
JZ: For me, it depends on the nation. In Thailand, Facebook is very popular. But in other countries, I think Instagram and Tiktok are more popular. For now, I mostly use Facebook.
TM: For me, Tiktok is the best one because we can post both pictures and performances. So, Tiktok is the best for the cosplay community.
KN: Okay, maybe that’s it. Thank you for your time. See you again at the next event.
All: Okay, see you too!
The Indonesian Anime Times | Article by Dany Muhammad | Interview by Icha | Photo by M. Hafizh Andifaisa | Special thanks to Japan Culture Daisuki for arranging this interview.
