Cosplay in Akihabara

秋葉原で初音ミクさんと会ってしまいました！

I have a friend in Saitama who I’ve met on Twitter through another follower.  We call the three of us “Team Saitama.”  Fernando (a.k.a. HelloNavi or Saitama-rama) is a photographer and the editor-in-chief for Anime 3000.  Last Sunday, he invited me to attend a cosplay event.  He even let me borrow his SLR camera while he used his friend’s similar model.  I just had to bring my own memory card.

For those who don’t know what “cosplay” is, or “kosupure” (コスプレ) in Japanese, the word is a short form for “costume play.”  It is a sort of performance art in which people dress up as their favourite character, often from an anime or a video game.  Cosplay events are often organised in part of manga or video game conventions, for example, but many of them also stand on their own, with only cosplayers and photographers attending.  (This is the kind of event we were about to attend.)

During my time in college, I browsed through many pictures of pretty Japanese cosplayers, even during class.  I don’t really understand why, maybe it was just a natural extension to my obsession to virtual female characters and, in turn, to video games.  Understandably, many people and even some friends of mine thought I was just a perverted weirdo.  No hard feelings.  Soon after, I dumped all that interest to move on to real attainable women.  That was a healthy jump to make.  Then unbeknownst to me, it was the thing to do to grow out of my little world and meet my girlfriend.

I was a bit nervous to attend the event.  I’ve seen the pictures through the Web and now I was about to photograph those ladies myself, in person.  After my admiration of cosplay photography years ago, I often looked back, wondering why people do such a thing and why I ever liked it.  Why get dressed up and get into the skin of someone who doesn’t exist?  Why take pictures of those costumed people?  What kind of fanatics does it take to get involved in that popular sub-culture?  Finally, after almost 10 years, I was about to get some answers.

The event was at the public hall near the train station in Akihabara.  After entering the building and getting on the floor where the event is held, we were instantly greeted by cosplayers who asked us to pay a fee to enter.  It was 1000 yen for ladies (around $12 CAD), 1500 for men ($18).  They also gave us a list of rules to follow.  Without surprise, one of rules clearly stipulates that no one should try to pick up the ladies we were about to photograph.  What puzzled me, however, was men crossdressing as female characters are not permitted — there is no problem for ladies to dress as men.  (I heard that if it was allowed, the event would be flooded with girls with Y chromosomes.  There was no chance to meet the bass player guy dressed in a maid outfit.)

After spending some time setting up our cameras, we were ready to ask cosplayers to take photos of them.  They were already dressed up with their uniforms, shiny make-up, and colourful wigs.  We pick the girl, the background, and the pose (if we have any in mind), and we just shoot.  It may sound simple, yet I felt like such a newcomer.  Frankly, I was a bit intimidated.  My friend apologised several times on my behalf and we often explained that I was new to this.  No one had a problem with my lack of experience and all of them suggested different poses between every shot.  On top of that, I only operated one SLR camera before, and this one was from a different brand.  The focus and lighting was way off in many pictures I took, but luckily, I was able to salvage a nice set of photos.

We were the only foreigners.  All the cosplayers are young ladies — some I assume are still in high school — and all the photographers are older men.  Talking with the girls, I found out they simply like their characters and they want to be in their shoes once in a while.  As much as the photographer bring a lot of gear to take the perfect shots, the cosplayers will go to great lengths to make their own costume and flawlessly reflect the character they want to represent.

Photographers often keep in touch with cosplayers they like to take picture of.  Some even partner with their favourite cosplayer and go together to other events they wish to participate at.  All this aside, there’s usually a fair distance between the cosplayer and the photographer, as the later will use his real name while the former always uses a “cosplayer name,” establishing some sort of layer between the characters she portray and herself in her normal daily life.  Fernando wished to follow this kind of relationship and exchanged business cards with each model he photographed.  (Sadly, I forgot mine at home.)

It was a nice day in Akihabara.  After the cosplay event, we walked around and browsed in surrounding shops.  We also stopped at a parlour for a 40-minute massage.  (Not the sexual kind, for those curious to know.)  Just before ending the day by walking to Ueno and catch a train back home, we also plunged ourselves back in the 8-bit era of gaming by looking at the old consoles for sale at Super Potato.  Going in that store made me feel like being a kid again.

The experience of doing photography at a cosplay event is surely something I look forward to do again.  Now, I’m also interested to purchase a second-hand entry-level SLR camera, just to get starting and hopefully becoming a bit more serious about photos.  I’ve been taking pictures for years with consumer fixed-lens cameras, so maybe it’s time I step up.  Fortunately, many shops in this electric city carry those.

Besides Akihabara, the past few days prior to that stroll were also filled with meeting people in different meetups.  One I attended Thursday was for GaijinPot while the other was a farewell party for a man from Montreal who started a group on Twitter.  If you’re interested to hear about what I’ve been doing recently, watch my latest video!

Until then, take care.  I’ll now resume my job search.