Cosplay Superstar Interview: HezaChan

We’re about due for another cosplay superstar interview here on Robot Punch! This time, we’ll get to know cosplay sensation, HezaChan; most known for her pulse-racing embodiment of Cutie Honey. Since those photos appeared, HezaChan began spreading to cosplay showcase articles and message boards all over the web.

She was sweet enough to grant me an interview, sharing the details of her adventures in hardcore fandom.

First, a brief bio: In just a few years, HezaChan went from her first anime convention to becoming an ambassador to the community. She’s appeared in several publications, including Animerica and G4. She’s established a strong web presence for herself, maintaining her website as well as regularly updating her LiveJournal, YouTube channel, DeviantArt, and assorted photo galleries.

There’s tons of material covered in this interview, so let’s get this party started!

Tell me about your otaku origins. How did you get into anime and what lead you into cosplay?

Otaku origins eh? Well when I was a young girl (around 4-5) I got heavily into the Sonic the Hedgehog games for Sega Genesis. I had toys, dolls, books, shirts, cups, comics, and I watched the tv shows religiously (there is photographic evidence of this sadly). I always had love for the big eyes and cheesiness of it all.

Then I started getting into Sailor Moon and met my best friend Valerie in Middle School who knew that it was called “anime” and that it came from Japan. Ever since then I would watch any sort of anime I could get my hands on which wasn’t an easy task back then.

Then, in 2001, I attended my first anime convention with her and cosplayed as Lime from Saber Marionette J. I had no idea what cosplay was at the time, so I just figured, “hey if they dress up at Star Trek conventions, why not dress up at an anime convention?”. Then I found out that dressing up as anime/game characters was cosplay. I was hooked from then on.

Who are your favorite characters? Either to dress up as or in general… Who would you most love to transform yourself into next?

Some of my favorite characters would include Chibiusa from Sailor Moon, Felicia from Darkstalkers, Yoko from Gurren Lagann, and Komugi-chan from Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Majikarte. I’ve cosplayed several of Komugi’s outfits and plan on doing more in the future. I just can’t quit her!! As for the question of who I’d love to transform myself into next is Taokaka from BlazBlue. She’s just so cute and psycho looking!

What is the typical creative process for producing your costumes? From concept to raw materials to putting it all together…

Normally I’ll just get this overwhelming feeling to cosplay a character. If I don’t start working on it ASAP I’ll often lose interest and/or give up. When I decide I’m going to cosplay a certain character it’s almost always a character I’m really into at that moment in time. I look at their outfit and decide what kinds of materials would flow/work best and then I start my shopping. I can draft my own patterns for plushies, hats, bootcovers, and small accessories, but when it comes to the actual garment I look for a pattern that is close and alter it. I just keep working on it until it gets done. I don’t like taking too many breaks or else I’ll end up getting lazy and it will never get finished. I can finish whole costumes within a few weeks.

On average, what do you usually invest in these costumes? How do you come up with the larger props, like Yoko’s rifle?

I usually invest anywhere from $50 to $200 total. I’ve only had one costume go over that amount though. Yoko’s gun was made completely on a whim in a grand total of 2 weeks for an online costume contest. It cost me about $100 total to make. I just kind of winged it after looking up a few threads on forums on how others went about making their guns. It’s not the best but it worked for what I needed it for at the time.

You’ve set up an online business selling your über-cute handmade plushies. Do you also model professionally or is that more of a labor of love?

I wish I could model professionally! I don’t think I have the look or the height for that though. Most of my photos I actually take myself using my DSLR on a tripod with the timer set. It can be time consuming and I don’t always get the shot I’m really wanting. Also, I think a lot of people who end up catching me doing this think I’m crazy since I’m in a costume going back and forth in front of a camera. Only recently have I had some photoshoots with cosplay photographers and I have to say that I kind of like not having to do all the work myself!

How are the professional photoshoots usually managed? Does the photographer have certain shots in mind and direct you or do they follow your visions of the scene?

The times I’ve had them were completely random. None of them where really scheduled, they just came up to me and asked. It’s a bit of both. The photographer will tell me how to pose or stand to get great shots, and sometimes I’ll just pose on my own while they take the photo.

I’ve heard that you recently had a clash with Kotaku over some scandalous Cutie Honey photos. Would you mind telling the story?

Oh man does that make me laugh! What happened was the guy who wrote the article (Owen Good) had come across this site called Kenzins who had an article themselves about the “Top 50 Cosplay Clevage shots”. They had a few of my pictures in there (about 2 I think) and Kotaku had chose one of them to be the top image.

HezaChan as Ranka Lee from 'Macross Frontier'

Now, my boyfriend works in the video game industry and one of his coworker friends had messaged me on facebook with the link to the article. Instantly I was thinking “oh crap” because they chose an older photo where I was a bit on the chunky side. I knew this would cause drama so I got an account and messaged Owen asking if he could use a more recent photo where I’m not as chub-o-licious. He was really sweet and changed the photo for me!

I’m not going to get all mad just because some person made an article about cleavage and had a photo of my boobs. I mean hell, it’s not like I don’t have cleavage in my cosplay so what’s to be ashamed of? Also, my mother ended up seeing the article through a coworker of hers who is an otaku/gamer and visits kotaku regularly. She called me up to congratulate me and joke about it (in which I started to sweat profusely). I love my mom. She’s so silly!

That’s great that your family took it so well! How have they been involved in your fandom as you grew up and now as an adult doing these geeky/impressive things on our own?

My mother is a bit of a Trekker and she was into comic books and the sort. She would often play video games with me when I was younger and she’d watch anime like Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and Dragon Ball Z with me after school on Toonami. She also made costumes for me when I was a little girl around Halloween time. Once I started getting into anime and going to conventions I’d ask for her help on my costumes. After she helped me make two she told me “I’m not going to do this every year for you”, so I ended up learning myself — which turned out for the best because I don’t think my mom would be happy helping me with 3-5 costumes a year. ;P My father on the other hand, well, he’s into his own things, but he supports my geekdom wholeheartedly.

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