Cosplay Superstar Interview: HezaChan

When you attend conventions, how do the fans treat you when you’re in costume? Are they usually gentlemen or have you encountered any creeps?

Mostly everyone is pretty nice and will stop to talk to me about things or take a photo and then we will go on our merry ways. Most guys have been gentlemen, but I have encountered a few creeps. Most of the creeps are online though. This one guy swore up and down that he met me at a Atlanta convention when I’ve never been to a con in Georgia in my life. I never responded to any of his creepy messages, not even once, and I received threats of him coming up to where I live to beat me up. Also, at Anime Central this year, some person grabbed my butt with a firm grip at lightening speed. I couldn’t see who it was because I can’t see anything without my glasses. I’d say that guy had to be a professional because he got a lot of grab-age on my non-existent, flat butt.

How different is the experience when you hit the con in your street clothes?

Very different. I’m a t-shirt and jeans girl. I guess a lot of people would classify me under the “punk” category, though I think I’m pretty tough to label. I also don’t dress in clothing that shows my cleavage much. I am much more daring in costume because I am not portraying myself as much as I am portraying the character themselves.

Do people still recognize you when you’re out of costume? Are you then free to roam the con with the rest of the crowd, unmolested?

I’d say a few do, but not too many. Yes, although I don’t get molested in costume thank goodness. I often feel weird at a convention when I’m out of costume. I usually cosplay for all of Friday and Saturday, then on Sunday I usually roam with regular clothes to get in on the deals in the dealer’s room

Level with me here… You love pink wigs, don’t you? ;p

No way! I can’t stand the col-… ok you caught me. I love pink wigs ;_;

And cat ears. You love you some cat ears! ;p (It’s cool though, cuz they suit you.)

You can’t have pink hair without the cat ears! Thank you :3 I have a weakness for pink-haired cat girls.

I hate to break a few thousand hearts here, but… You have a boyfriend. How did you guys meet and does he participate in your passion for crafts?

I’m sure you won’t be breaking many… probably only like 1.5 people. I met Jason online on a geek community (not saying which one!) and decided to meet up one day. He’s a huge nerd and likes things I like so it worked out pretty darn well! I can’t say I have been with many people who enjoy/share the same passions as I. He loves the fact that I cosplay, but he doesn’t cosplay himself. I’m sure he would if he could make up his mind about who he’d like to go as. I’m really trying to get him to cosplay Ryu so I can go as Sakura. Corny, I know ;P

If I’ve done my homework right, I’d say he might consider a Boy Scout uniform. You think he’d go for it?

I sure hope he does. He’d make the perfect Russell from Pixar’s UP. I think I’ll have to force him though…

You’ve appeared on television programs like G4 as a representative of anime/otaku culture. How did you get involved in that and what was it like behind the scenes?

G4 was an… interesting experience. I got an email from them a day before the actual show asking if I wanted to be on it. They said it would be a short debate on the topic “Does Anime Suck?” and it sounded like it would be pretty cool to get to talk about a thing I like so much.

Over the phone they had asked questions like how much anime did I own, what my room looked like, and so on. They kept asking me to wear a certain costume although I wanted to wear a different one. I figured since they kept asking and since it was my most recent cosplay, I went through with it. Once I asked how they came to find me, they said through Cosplay.com. Also, I remember them constantly asking me to act hyper and up beat, then after they said that, they asked for my age. When they found out I was 21 and not younger, they sounded a little let down.

They ended up scheduling me in at a local TV station in downtown Cincinnati where I would be filmed live via satellite. Now I had no idea how this was going to be, seeing as I had no prior television experience. They had me in front of bright lights and sitting on a high stool. I couldn’t see how I looked or if I was slouching. Once I heard in the mic what they were talking about, I kind of had gotten annoyed because instead of the discussion staying on it’s course, it went to “super fans are scary”. The actual question if anime sucked or not never got answered.

I’d say that the experience was a lesson for me. There were lots of things I was thinking about saying but I decided to keep my mouth shut. I honestly think they were just looking for a hyperactive, anime lovin’ 16-18yr old instead of me.

That’s a fantastic insight for how the mainstream media operates. If you were asked to do it again, would you and what would you like to say instead?

The one part that always bothered me the most was when the other Jon said that anime fans have this way of thinking anime can do no wrong. That in itself is a bunch of lies. There is plenty of fail anime like there is fail cartoons around the world. Unless he’s talking about super young fans that are just getting into it and try to get their hands on anything they can watch, yes, most will have that opinion due to the fact it’s new and exciting. Give them a couple years, they’ll grow out of it. I can’t stand it when people make assumptions that everyone who likes something has to act a certain way. We are all individuals here, right?

Pages: 1 2 3