[Cosplayer: Karukogen] The Overwhelming  Amount of Mafia Characters Are Stealing the Spotlight

 

 

Bleeped? It got bleeped?! Give me a break!!

One of the most sobering things when watching tv is that moment when a word gets bleeped. Even though we in the audience are interested in what they are bleeping, only those in the studio know what the word is… it kind of makes you feel left out.

 

That being said, I can understand why they bleep those things out. 

 

 

Today’s guest has many bleepable moments; we introduce to you Karukogen!! Just like one of our previous guests, Yoda, our guest today is also a former member of the Self-Defense Force. Really, these two are unbelievable!! Get it together with the rest of us. 

 

“Cosplayers are part of the demon world.”

 

…, said Karkogen in a bombshell remark to start the interview. Hmm…I wonder if that’s the case. Looking at the eyes of Tokyo Ghoul’s, Yamori… Honestly, I am the interviewer in this scenario and even I’m pretty scared!!

 

 

“Thank you. Yamori is what I draw from and he’s really up there for me. He’s practically the first character that I cosplayed. To be honest, I hate the main character. He doesn’t want to kill anyone but he wants to protect the world. There is no battle that exists which is that convenient. Bad guys also have their own form of justice, and it’s among that clash of the two forms of justice that the main character matures.”

 

 

 

 

The Strongest Platelets… We Have No Idea What that Means

Of course it’s possible, this battle philosophy might just be unique to former SDF officers. Was Yamori your cosplay debut? 

 

“Not really. Actually I was doing something akin to neta-cosplay. For example, Twin Guns from Kantai Collection. I train my body, so I did it with a single tank top at a winter cosplay event. I also cosplayed a platelet from Cells At Work. I mean it when I say that I want to cosplay whatever characters that I like. For instance, do you think the platelets of a bedridden old man would be the same as platelets from Schwartzenegger?No doubt Schwarzenegger’s would be much stronger! They’d probably be able to easily reattach a severed arm! I actually do pressure treatments to stop bleeding on the body, so I’m a platelet.”

 

Cells At Work!/Platelet (?)

 

Cells At Work!/Platelet

 

Kantai Collections/Twin-Guns (?)

 

I…..have zero clue what that means. But somehow I can’t help but be convinced. What is this strange power of persuasion…

 

 

 

When It’s Not the Main Character, It’s Much Easier to Put Your Own Spin On It

“In regard to my other favourite characters… it’s the character beside the character who’s beside the character, who is beside the main character. The one who never really had a chance but they’re bad guys who stood out. For example, PoH in Sword Art Online. They’re pretty straight forward, and are instrumental in driving the main character over the edge. Moreover, those kind of mafia characters aren’t very well developed, so I have the freedom to interpret them how I want. I could say things like this character loves putting mayonnaise on their karaage, you know?”

 

I see. It’s precisely because you’re allowed so much freedom that it’s both challenging and the room for interpretation of the character is so vast.

 

Yamori Yakumo Omori from Tokyo Ghoul (Photographer: @LoVoPork_photo)

 

PoH from Sword Art Online (Photographer: @CAM_KSK)

 

“Also, when I play minor characters the only people who really approach me are the hardcore fans. Even if I walk around with the main character, those core fans will talk to me. It feels good to have the spotlight on me instead of the main character! Once as Yamori, a person at an overseas event who approached me and they told me that they loved the show even though they didn’t understand the words and that made me really happy. I thought, I’m so glad that I cosplayed this. Doujin is transcending borders!!”

 

Carlos Oliveira from Resident Evil 3 (Photographer: @pondekikurage)

 

Carlos Oliveira from Resident Evil 3 (Photographer: @pondekikurage)

 

 

 

Body Conditioning… That’s the First Step to Cosplay

For Karukogen, his dedication to the craft is unstoppable and that’s not just talk. 

 

“In essence, I do what I love. Some people stick to wigs and cosplay costume competitions, but I am not confident in those. My weapon of choice is my body itself; the body that I have honed with martial arts for so long. It’s for this reason that I change my body to fit the character I’m cosplaying. Condition it. I normally weigh 70kg but if I’m cosplaying a thinner character I will slim down to 60kg and if it’s a larger character I will rise to just under 100kg.”

 

What!? That kind of fluctuation in body weight has to be pretty rough on the body…. 

 

Shinohara Yukinori from Tokyo Ghoul (Photographer: @scos1202)

 

Matsushita the Fifth from Angel Beats!

 

 

 

This Man Makes Me Feel Alive

“Even so, I’m willing to do it! I don’t recommend that everyone do it, but I know that I want to. I mean, if I’m going to get hit by a truck tomorrow and die, I want to make sure that I’m cosplaying without any regrets!”

 

This man’s hobby isn’t just a hobby. He stakes his life on it…

 

Barret Wallace from FINAL FANTASY VII

 

Kenzo Shibata from Kemono Michi (Photographer: @nagasaki600)

 

“In addition to that, I try to eat the character’s favourite food in the morning before I cosplay. This time for Yamori I had a cup of coffee. I mean, I can’t really get human flesh or anything like that, so I settled for coffee. Really, I think that work is something I do to survive, you know? But hobbies are things I can choose, and amongst all of the hobbies out there like fishing, I chose cosplay. And so I want to do it with everything that I’ve got.” 

 

Kishibe from Chainsaw Man (Photographer: @hisatan_2017)

 

 

 

There’s No Conclusion!!!

So… Did it all come together as a coherent piece of writing? Cosplayers who are Former Self-Defense Force officers really do use a tonne of vulgar language. I want to write it all down, but I can’t!!!… However, I think the rawness has really reconfirmed my sense of being alive…

 

Yamori Yakumo Omori from Tokyo Ghoul (Photographer: @cozy1215)

 

• Karukogen

Twitter：@Sechzehn528

 

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