Relay Column: Dressing Up Your Heart in 'Cosplay' (Nero Takeda)

PROFILE

Nero Takeda

Graduate of Kuwasawa Design School. A long-time anime and manga fan, who has made numerous guest appearances on foreign stages. As we head into the ninth term of a corporation that runs several business ventures aimed at otaku, such as bars, beauty salons, and spas, there are also a variety of activities on the side like performing at anime song DJ events and stage performances.

Identity & Self-expression

As a child, I was the kind of otaku known as a 'Hidden Geek,' quiet and reserved in class. I was so soft-spoken when greeting my co-workers at my part-time job, they couldn't hear me and ended up calling me 'Otaku-chan,' picking on me without even knowing it.

Now, I'm active in live streaming, appearing on international stage events, and even juggling business operations involving multiple employees. I cannot overstate how much my hobby of cosplay has encouraged me to be active.

By donning a variety of 'character cosplay,' I've taken on many 'personas.' Sometimes I'm a seductive princess, sometimes a socially adept prince charming, and other times a hero saving the world. The courage to communicate that these different character designs have given me is not simply about wearing flashy costumes. There's something more to it.

In this column, by exploring what happened to me as I wore these character costumes, I want to delve further into the role of cosplay as a form of fashion.

Play & Communication

There are many ways to enjoy cosplay.

For example, even without a manga or anime work as a basis, just wearing a nurse outfit or cat ear headband counts as cosplay. Some people create photographic works reflecting the world of the manga or anime, or perform dances in character outfits on stage. Others attend cosplay events and enjoy interacting with likeminded people.

Since the coronavirus pandemic, home-based cosplay live streaming has also become popular. A common thread in all these activities is 'expressing oneself in a different form than usual.'

Just wearing cat ears counts as a different kind of Cosplay

Relay Column: Dressing Up Your Heart in 'Cosplay' (Nero Takeda)

Identity & Self-expression

Play & Communication

FASHION TECH NEWS is a registered trademark of ZOZO, Inc.