World Cosplayers: Interview with Chinese Cosplayer Natsume

The 94th Comiket was held from 10 to 12 August 2018 and ended a great success, attracting over 53,000 visitors.

The heat of the summer was already at its peak, but the cosplayers in the cosplay area made the excitement rise higher. Among the many cosplayers was Natsume and the reporters from Anime! Anime! got a short interview with her.

During this Comiket, many cosplayers from China visited the event since it was the first time that Chinese smartphone games Azur Lane and Girl’s Frontline (titled Dolls Frontline in Japan) were present with their own booths. Along with Chinese cosplayers who are already well-known in the scene in Japan, there were also many cosplayers who had made their way from China to Japan for the first time. Among these first timers was Natsume!

: Okita Soji (Alter) from Fate/Grand Order/ Comiket 94 Photo by: 寒黙

She gained attention for the picture above, as she posed in the key pose of the character, standing on only one leg. Commenters praised her for her balance. She said that she specially trained this pose, always standing in this nearly-attacking pose until she would be close to collapsing.

Please introduce yourself first!

Natsume: Hello everybody, my name is natsume! I am a cosplayer, living in China! One of my hobbies is playing in cosplay shows with my cosplay group (note: a stage play by cosplayers, which often can be seen at Chinese conventions), where I get to play many characters.

Do you also work a regular job?

Yes! And when I’m not at work, I re-charge my energy by watching anime. I also like to read manga a lot, and on the weekends I am doing a variety of cosplays.

Why do you cosplay? What cosplay events are you attending in China?

My motivation is simply my love for cosplay. That’s why I want to play many characters in plays. I don’t just go to exhibitions but also take part in cosplay contests. The time I spent at Japanese Comiket is very important. It was my first time at an overseas cosplay event.

You said you like manga, but do you also like playing games?

Yes. The ones I often play are Azur Lane and FGO. The quality of Azur Lane is high for a Chinese game and I love to talk with my friends about the story or the characters. For FGO I especially love to dress up as the characters. I have cosplayed many of them.

I also like a variety of music games. For example Uta no Prince-sama Shining Live. For me these music games are like Japanese idols and the one I’d like to cosplay most is Sho Kurusu. I am also a big fan of the person who voices him: Hiro Shimono.

What are the differences between Chinese and Japanese anime?

Anime are often produced for children. Only recently have good anime aimed at adults increased. I hope they keep it up. I’ve enjoyed watched Japanese anime since I was small, because there are many genres and characters are worked out in detail and drawn so prettily. I just thought they are wonderful.

Please tell us under which criteria you choose your cosplays.

I only cosplay characters I like. Cosplay is fun because I do what I like. However, I especially like cosplaying male characters. [laugh] And sometimes it’s tiring to cosplay. [laugh] But it’s fun, so I won’t stop.
I think it is important to see how close you can get to a character through cosplay. I do research on the expression and behaviour of the character, their clothes and shape.

Your pose on one leg gained a lot of attention at Comiket! What is your secret?

It is more thanks to the cameraman than to my posing. The camera man counted down like ‘3, 2, 1’ and I will get in pose, so he decides when he takes the picture. In my case I like to repeat one pose again and again, so the cameraman who accompanies me must have it really hard and I am very thankful. Usually, I practice in front of the mirror many times and repeat many times, so that I can easily re-do it when needed.

What is your impression of your first Comiket in Japan?

It’s like a dream to be able to look at the streets of Japan. You can see things that have to do with anime everywhere. I am able to see these things, so I am very happy and impressed. It has always been my dream to come to Comiket. To me this feels like being in paradise. [laugh] I got this opportunity because I was asked to be a cosplayer for the Azur Lane booth, so I am very thankful. On the second day of the convention I did a cosplay of Azur Lane’s Graf Zeppelin

: Graf Zeppelin from Azur Lane

What are your dreams for the future?

As a cosplayer, I want to become more active in Japan. For now, I feel satisfied that I was able to come to Comiket. From now on I hope to get more opportunities to cosplay in Japan, there is nothing that would make me happier. I would be so happy if I could come to Japan again!

Natsume left a strong impression at Comiket with her phenomenal posing. We hope she will be able to return to Japan soon and show us more of her great posing!

Images from: natsume (@natsume0v0)
Covered by: 寒黙 (@nigellizhe)