[Cosplayer: Kourld Sakamoto] The Cosplay Path Leads through Many Lives

 

 

You can read my mind!?

A dazzling and refreshing smile, with eyes that can see straight through you… Yes, Kourld Sakamoto is a cosplayer that doubles as an actor and triples as a fortune-teller. My heart was pounding during this interview. I mean… because…all I have are worldly, impure desires!!

 

“No, no, With fortune-telling it isn’t like I can read your thoughts/desires or anything. I started fortune-telling because I wanted to gain a special skill. The first thing I started learning was palm reading.”

 

[Fate / Grand Order] Edmond Dantès, King of the Cavern (Photographer: TAMAKI / @ @abios_2004)

 

Hoooo … You know in palm reading they sometimes say things like a person’s lifeline can be short, but it seems the “line” of things to discuss are anything but “short”.

 

“Essentially, the type of lines in palm reading are set, so I think the more experience you have in it, the easier and easier it is to understand. And of course, (tarot) cards are the same as well.”

 

Hmm… I wonder if it’s similar to the worlds

of memorization and mathematics.

 

[Fate / EXTRA] Robin Hood (Archer in green) (Photographer: Odaji / @odazee_phot)

 

“The meaning of the cards are set, but the interpretation of the cards can change based on the question posed or the context of the reading. Of course, how this is done depends on the fortune-teller themselves. It’s a combination of the set meaning of the card and what the other party brings to the reading, and at times the skill of conversation and understanding are necessary to perform a successful reading.”

 

Yes, I can definitely understand how fortune-telling can be affected by how much we ourselves open our hearts.

 

“Because of that, (in fortune-telling) it is important to consider the way you speak to the customer considering things like the age, gender, etc of who you’re speaking to. I really feel this has been very useful to me when meeting people for the first time in other situations too.”

 

That means that you could probably conduct an interview like this one, no sweat. Maybe if I study fortune-telling myself, I will be able to draw out the details more and more (in interviews)!!!

 

[PSYCHO-PASS] Shinya Kogami (Photographer: Natsuhiko Antarctica / @nnankyoku)

 

 

 

Exactly why did you start cosplaying?

So, Mr. Kourld Sakamoto, a fortune-teller and an actor. Based on my very own “fortune-telling”, I think that… You must have started cosplay as an extension of those two things!!!

 

“Ummm…no, not really…”

 

Wh…What!? In my 2.5-dimensional world, you’re dressed in a special fortune-teller costume and one day some person eagerly said to you, “You should try cosplay.” That was at least what I thought (in my own selfish delusion).

 

“Well first off, fortune-tellers don’t wear costumes; we just wear everyday clothing. If you wear a fortune-teller-esque costume chances are the customer won’t engage much and will have their guard up. I want lots of people to feel at ease and enjoy the experience, so I don’t put on that kind of act.”

 

S-So your interest in cosplay came from… acting!?

 

[Jujutsu Kaisen] Yuhito Torakane (Photographer: Autumn / @ qiug929)

 

“That’s also completely different. It was because the main genres (in cosplay) are modern drama like action and suspense. Actually, it’s precisely because it was so different that I took an interest in it.”

 

I get it… The more you’re told ‘no’, the more you want to do it. When you actually decided to do cosplay, did you take advantage of your connection to the acting world to learn how to do makeup?

 

“I mean the style of makeup used in acting compared to cosplay is completely different. Cosplay makeup is meant to look like your face was drawn like in a picture, so it tends to be very fresh. But then again, the entire world of cosplay I had stepped into at that time was also pretty fresh.”

 

[Persona 4] Yu Narukami (Photographer: @ganjirou_wolf )

 

 

 

Bitten so hard by the acting bug… He ate a brain

In regard to cosplay, becoming a different character is one of the best parts. That is what ignited the soul of an actor within Kourld.

 

“I’ve cosplayed about 40 characters so far. I think of each of them as roles and I choose the roles that suit me best. I try to get into character using things like my surroundings, etc.. For instance, if I’m a character that loves coffee, I will drink nothing but coffee while I’m in character. Another example is when I am a character that doesn’t smoke, I will never go to the smoking area. I try to be careful that I am not letting down any of the fans of that character that may spot me around.”

 

Whoa~ he definitely has the soul of an actor!!

 

[FINAL FANTASY VIII] Squall Leonhart (Photographer: ita / @ Itaita19890123)

 

“For STEINS; GATE’s Rintarou Okabe, morning, noon and night if I’m drinking, it’s Dr. Pepper. When I was Saichi Sugimoto from Golden Kamuy, I went out and ate a dish made with brains. It’s all part of living the fantasy.”

 

For real…? You can still do the cosplay without eating brains, and you can even drink Lifeguard instead of Dr. Pepper, right …?

 

[Golden Kamuy] Saichi Sugimoto (Photographer: Odaji /@odazee_phot)

 

[STEINS; GATE] Rintarou Okabe (Photographer: Minaken / @midouken1)

 

 

 

I’m cosplaying the role itself…

Kourld Sakamoto; an actor and a fortune-teller who has peered into and experienced others’ lives has this to say about cosplay.

 

“I feel cosplay allows us to view a world that we couldn’t normally experience. We’re able to see many different worlds with many different people that you may not experience living an everyday life. It’s very thrilling. However, I do feel like cosplay has a real lifespan to it. You should be able to cosplay whatever you want to, but you’re still an actor. I think that as I age high school characters will get more difficult to play. That’s what I mean by “lifespan”. That’s why I want to do my very best every single time without regrets.” 

 

[ONE PIECE] Sanji (Photographer: Satsuki / @ satuki45440)

 

 

 

 

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