Aiming Beyond the Win: Cosplayer Asameako

 

The King of Kings of the Cosplay World

Today we have an interview with another winner of the Cosplayer of the Year 2020 award. 

 

“What?” you say. “There’s more than one winner?” Yes! The Cosplayer of the Year award is divided into various categories, and today’s guest, Asameako, was the winner of 2020’s special category for the mobile game Compass – Sento Setsuri Kaiseki System –!! 

 

But she’s not just any winner; she won the prize for all-around best cosplay!!!!!

 

 

In other words, Asameako is the King of Kings in cosplay. We were immensely honored to have the opportunity to interview her, where we learned that, even with such a brilliant resume, her cosplay career hasn’t always been smooth. 

 

The Reason She Started Cosplay

“My first cosplay was when I was a first year in junior high school. It was a costume of Ranka Lee from Macross Frontier that I bought as a secret from my mom using my New Year’s money.”

 

Yumeko Jabami from Kakekurui -Compulsive Gambler- (Photo by cozy/Twitter：@cozy1215)

 

Many of the cosplayers we’ve interviewed so far used their New Year’s money to buy their first costumes. Who knew that “otoshidama” are the saviours of young otaku!

 

“The reason I tried it was because of my close friend. She was the same year as me, but she’d already been to several events, so I thought of her as my veteran otaku friend. We decided to go to an event together as Macross Frontier characters. She was Sheryl.”

 

That first event must have been very exciting and nerve-wracking. That nervous and anxious first try was the first step to her honorable career as a winning cosplayer!!! …Right?

 

 

A Traumatic Experience

“It was really terrifying…I went with my friend and one other person as a group of three. That third person was an adult, someone my friend met on social media…they were very strict about cosplay. They were very particular about how to make the wigs, even down to small details of the appearance like the color, and they criticized my behavior…I mean, some other cosplayers did allow me to take pictures of them with my cellphone and they were nice. Of course I asked permission! But to have all those small criticisms piled on me…”

 

It was her first event, and she was just a junior high school student. To that adult senpai those harsh words might have seemed like kind advice, but to Asameako it must have been terrifying. 

 

 

 

“That was kind of traumatic for me, and I didn’t do any more events after that. I only did cosplay at my friend’s house.”

 

But though Asameako was at first discouraged, she found the motivation to aim for the top  because of a certain character. 

 

The Character that Reignited Her Passion

Noho Soubiki from #Compass

 

“I think it was about three years ago, I learned about this character named Noho Soubiki from the #Compass mobile game. She is so cute!! So cute that she made me want to try cosplay again. She reignited my passion for it.”

 

Right away Asameako went to buy a costume…but she ran into a problem. 

 

“There weren’t any costumes…#Compass is pretty good for cosplay, but it’s hard to find costumes from it. I wanted it so bad, I ended up custom ordering it.”

 

Noho Soubiki from #Compass

 

Noho Soubiki from #Compass

 

Ranka Lee from Macross F

 

That leads us back to the title of the article…That Noho Soujiki costume earned her the all-around award for Cosplayer of the Year!! Congratulations!!

 

“Thank you. Thanks to that, I got hired to write blog-like content for a #Compass blog, so I’m so glad I encountered Noho Soujiki.”

 

Izumi Sagiri from Eromanga Sensei

 

 

 

Until the Day that She Can Sing for the World

Now that Asameako has earned herself a splendid win, what’s her next goal in her cosplay life?

 

“Um…I’m good at singing.”

 

Huh?

 

There’s not many people in Japan who would come straight out and say it!

 

“Ah, no, um, no that’s…that’s not what I mean. I mean…I often get told that I’m good at singing. I even uploaded a video of me singing to YouTube.”

 

Well, since she had to mention it, we had to go ahead and check that out. 

 

 

*Vì video tại thời điểm phỏng vấn đã bị xóa nên video hoạt động của ca sĩ được đưa vào..

 

What…

 

WHAT?!

 

Ah….words cannot describe…it is a shame that you cannot hear Asameako’s speaking voice. The way she talks, and her voice, are very cute. Her voice is very soft and soothing, which would make her a great voice actress.

 

That’s why you would never expect her to sing rock music. 

 

We can’t help but be impressed. 

 

Original nun cosplay

 

Nae Yuuki from Girlfriend Beta

 

“Well that’s kind of embarrassing (laughs). Anyway, I want to try my hand at singing. I’ve loved anime songs since I was little. When I listen to them, they always fill me with emotion! One day I want to sing on a big outdoor stage. Not an indoor stage; it has to be an outdoor stage!”

 

World is Mine Hatsune Miku

 

So Asameako has achieved the pinnacle of cosplay life, and is now turning her sights towards a completely different goal. Those sweet eyes are hiding a lot of passion and emotions. We hope that she can continue fighting tooth and nail for her dreams, just like the character that inspired her. 

 

Emilia from Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World

 

Original cosplay

 

Stray Fox, from her creative cosplay collection

 

Cinnabar from Land of the Lustrous

 

 

 

• Asameako

Twitter：@akotaso_89

 

Instagram：asameako

 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@8asameaco9

Follow @doujinworld