World Cosplayers: Interview with Chinese Cosplayer Banr

There is a certain photo of a cosplayer with high-quality clothes whose modeling and great elegance is making the rounds on Twitter. It is a photo of Banr cosplaying Marie Antoinette fromFate/Grand Order.

: Marie Antoinette from Fate/Grand Order

Banr is a Chinese cosplayer who really likes Fate/Grand Order (FGO) and therefore often cosplays characters like Marie Antoinette, Nero, Altria Pendragon, and other Servant characters. Anime! Anime! asked a Chinese photographer who is familiar with the Chinese cosplay world what her best character traits were. The answer was: ‘When she is not cosplaying, she behaves firmly like a class president’.

The gentle impression you get from her photographs show her inner face as it is, which is apparently becoming one of her strength. Enjoy Banr’s carefully selected FGO photographs and an interview from Anime! Anime!.

: Nero from Fate/Grand Order

Why did you start to cosplay and what does your usual cosplay life look like?

When I went to a doujin exhibition and spot sale (an event in China that is being held at various places where many cosplayers participate) for the first time, I saw a cosplayer cosplaying my favorite character. It was a strange feeling that entrapped me and I got strongly drawn into it. After that, I started cosplaying myself and am still cosplaying today. I usually visit many doujin exhibitions and spot sales and do cosplay shootings.

What kind of games do you usually play and do you have a favorite one?

Lately I have been playing Girls Frontline. There are many games which personify items or historical figures but in this one you have to think a lot in order to move on and the story is rich in variation, therefore it is pretty amusing.

It is really difficult to only choose one game. There are many fun games in each genre and I play them depending on my rhythm of daily life.

Nero from Fate/Grand Order

What criteria must the characters you would like to cosplay have?

As cosplay is my hobby I just feel free to cosplay characters from any work I like.

Mash from Fate/Grand Order

What are your important points when it comes to cosplaying?

I pay close attention to the most basic points, which are the costumes and modeling. The next points are how to express a character through facial expressions and posing. These are really difficult so it is important to experiment by trial and error. Last but not least, it is important to keep my body in a very good condition. I strive to have bodies than can perfectly replicate the characters.

: Altria Alter in Swimsuit from Fate/Grand Order

What kind of cosplay expression do you think is unique for you?

I think that my pictures give the impression of me being gentle. I am thankful when people say that I look like a good person.

Is there any impressive anecdotes you have about cosplay you would like to share with us?

There was one time when I did a shooting inside a cave on a mountain cosplaying Ereshkigal (FGO). I was scared because inside the cave the fog was so thick and there were many bats.

: Bismarck from Warship Girls R

―― Have you ever visited Japan?

I have not been able to go because every time I plan to, various circumstances overlap. However, I would like to visit Comiket at least once in my life.

The Chinese animation market is getting bigger and bigger. Do you feel a difference between Japanese and Chinese animation?

The style and the viewers are totally different. Chinese anime is often targeting younger viewers. However, this is slowly changing and works made for a higher average age have increased.

AA12 from Girls’ Frontline

Last but not least, could you tell us about your future dreams?

I don’t want to be just one cosplayer, but a cosplayer that remains inside the hearts of the people who are looking at my pictures. This is the reason I want to work hard every day.

Bahr Online

You can find Banr as 板醫生 (@banbanr233) on Twitter and as 板医生 on weibo. Both names have the same meanings and the only difference is that one uses simplified characters and the other name traditional Chinese. There are many cosplayers in China that portray FGO characters but Banr is one girl whose expressions make you feel her gentleness.

About the cosplay interview serialization

Numerous social network games like Fate/Grand Order or Granblue Fantasy have found their way into our world in recent years. The games are not only easy to play via smartphones, but they also hold real events such as festivals which are boosting their popularity. The numbers of cosplayers appearing as characters out of these games on the event site have increased.

Anime! Anime!’s inside editorial department focuses on cosplayers who are expected to be increasingly active in the future, such as promoting games. Expect more overseas cosplayers from China and the world!