Monday, 19 November 2012

AFA 2012: Hiko & Mikot (Interview)

Credits: Golgolak's Den

Mikot's World Cosplay account: http://worldcosplay.net/member/Mikot/

Meeting these 2 Taiwanese cosplayers were a real delight! Mikot looked really different up close and personal (as opposed to his pictures since he looks so different every single image) while Hiko was a ball of positive energy! 
The first time that i'm conducting an interview in Chinese (seeing as Seren does most of the Japanese interviews), and I was pretty nervous about it! Stumbled over my questions a couple of time simply cause I was too nervous....Guess it's time for more practice! 

Without further ado, Hiko and Mikot's interview!

~Emi

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Q: What made you want to crossdress initially?
Mikoto: Initially it was due to my love for the character. It’s really hard for me to only love characters of my own gender and that led me to wanting to cross-dress. And if girls could cross-dress as guys, I didn’t see why guys couldn’t do the same. And the reason why most guys don’t look as good as girls when they crossdress is due to the lack of effort put into it. For example, in preparation to cross-dress, girls would bind their chests to make themselves look more like the character or even put padding into clothing to make themselves more bulky, which is definitely uncomfortable. Many guys who cross-dress don’t take as much notice of the body proportions of girls. The minority who notice such details would put on corsets to make their waist slimmer and wear padding on their chest to make themselves look more like a girl’s.


Credits: Golgolak's Den



Q: So what do you do to make yourself seem more girlish when crossdressing ?
Mikot: Makeup-wise, I definitely would change according to each character. Body-wise, for girls, I would wear a really tight corset to make my waist slim like a girl’s to fit more to a female body structure.


Credits: Mikot's WorldCosplay account

Q: How did you learn to put on makeup?
Mikot: Initially I looked upon makeup as a form of art and painting. I learnt it through trial and error, and as technology advanced, I studied videos that taught makeup and learnt from there.


Credits: Mikot's WorldCosplay account


Q: How do you choose characters to cosplay?
Hiko: I would choose characters that I know and love. Normally I love gaming, watching anime and reading manga, and my friends would sometime recommend characters for me to cosplay. If I saw a character that I love, I would cosplay it. Generally I would cosplay characters that I’m suitable for. I’m 171cm, and certain characters like Rurichiyo from InuXBoku SS are very petite and hence not suitable for me to cosplay even thought I love her. However, if I really loved a character, I would attempt to cosplay it even if I wasn’t suitable for it.


Credits: Hayato

Q: Is there any difference between the cosplay community in Singapore and Taiwan?
Hiko: The scene in Singapore is quite similar to Taiwan in the way that most cosplayers pick eastern character to cosplay as opposed to western characters. The cosplayers are also getting younger and younger. In Taiwan, most cosplayers are in secondary school or high school and now there are younger kids joining in the scene.


Credits: Hiko's FB Page


Q: So, what is your dream job? Is it related to cosplay or not?
Mikot: Currently my job has no relation to cosplay. I am thinking of pursuing a future in special effects makeup in the US. In the future, I would like to pursue a job that has relation to cosplay, such as special effects makup artist in movies and dramas as well as costume design. So currently I’m still pursuing my dream job.

Hiko: My current job has absolutely no relation to cosplay. I’m currently a teacher at a kindergarden. Some of my students will record TV programs that I appear on and show it to me, telling me that “Teacher, that’s you!” Both students and parents would send messages to me saying that they have seen me in on TV.


Credits: Hiko's FB Page



Q: Do you make your own costumes or buy them?
Mikot: The current costume I’m wearing is prepared specially for AFA. I only decided on this costume 3 days before AFA, and had to spend 2 days and nights making this costume. (Emi: You made the costume in 2 days?) Y

Hiko: Most of my costumes are handmade. I would confer with my friends if the costume is hard to make. We would also head out together to source for materials. Mikot’s Morgana costume for example is very elaborate….

Mikot: That costume is special, so I’ve made edits on the costume more than 4-5 times.

Hiko: Many costumes are easy to make, but to tailor it to fit perfectly takes quite a bit of time.


Credits: Mikot's WorldCosplay account


Q: Do you have any favourite dishes?
Hiko: I love Taiwan local delicacies such as Smelly Tofu, Mala Duck’s Blood, Crispy Salty Chicken and such.

Mikot: I love Taiwan local delicacies too!


-Transcription/Translation/Commentary by Emi
-Layout/Pictures/Posting by Emi


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