The Essence Needed to be Front and Center: Cosplayer Satsuki

 

 

Today’s interviewee, Cosplayer Satsuki, was introduced to us by Karukogen. He boasts himself to be a “Supplemental Cosplayer”. 

 

But…what the heck is a “supplemental cosplayer”? In Japanese, the word he uses is 添え物 (“soemono”), which is often used to describe side dishes in a meal. But from Satsuki’s photos, it definitely seems like he should be the main dish!!

 

Nijisanji’s Yudrick (Photo by Porcini Hachico / @hachico_cos)

 

“No, I’m a side dish. I’m a Supplemental Cosplayer.”

 

What? But your cosplay is so good, you should be the center of attention!

 

Why a “Supplemental Cosplayer”?

“In just about every work, there’s always a fat character, right? There’s a slim, handsome hero, or a pretty heroine, and then, who’s the one who is always supporting them?”

 

Ah…the background characters. 

 

“That’s right. It’s because of the background characters that main characters can exist. The fat characters are always the essence that brings out the best charms of the main character. For example, if I stand next to a good-looking character, it really ups the quality of our recreation of the work’s world. That’s what I’m aiming for as a Supplemental Cosplayer.”

 

Hagrid from the Harry Potter series (photo by Nyansougaku / @nyansou)

 

I see. So for example…he’s not really a background character, but Jimbei from One Piece could be the kind of character you’re talking about, at least in comparison to Luffy. But there are times when the characters that support the main characters turn into the protagonist themselves, right?

 

Demaro Black from One Piece (photo by Sakimoto Kourld / @kourld)

 

Marshall D. Teach from One Piece (photo by Sakimoto Kourld / @kourld)

 

“In One Piece, there’s a character named Demaro Black who impersonates Luffy. Well, he sort of looks like Luffy but also doesn’t look like Luffy. Anyway, he has a body type like mine. One time I entered a Halloween One Piece cosplay contest as Demaro Black. Since he’s not a popular character I didn’t think I would win anything, but the audience really seemed to like it, and they voted me into second place!!”

 

Finding Ways to Share Passions through Side Character Cosplay

Wow!! Way to prove that you don’t need to have a specific body type to be good at cosplay. And Satsuki didn’t just win a prize; he also built a bridge towards making new friendships.

 

“I’m pretty shy, and even a little pessimistic, so I’m not very good at making conversations with people. But because of my body type, I get to cosplay as specific kinds of characters, and that provides lots of opportunities to talk with people at events. I try to challenge myself by doing lots of fat characters, and only people who really love a certain work will recognize them because they’re often minor characters. That makes people really want to talk to me.”

 

Itaru Hashida from STEINS;GATE (photo by Yukihiro Tamaki / @abios_2004)

 

Many people who do cosplay usually want to portray the main character. That makes someone who has the body type to match minor characters a treasure! Satsuki has turned his body into a weapon, and that’s awesome.

 

A Pioneer of Big Character Cosplay

“I think right now it’s really easy to do cosplay. It’s so much easier to buy wigs and costumes these days. But it’s hard to create a big character with store-bought items. There aren’t that many costumes. And…for someone my size, I basically have to get the whole costume custom-made.”

 

Since Satsuki must custom order all of his costumes, they must all be very luxurious. The cosplayers who stand beside him must be jealous.

 

Han Xin from Fate Grand Order (photo by Wataame / @cherry__bonbon_)

 

“Nobody really wants to cosplay the fat characters, so I want to tear down that wall. That’s why I really try to order costumes for characters that nobody has ever done before.”

 

What a pioneer of cosplay! We have nothing but respect for Satsuki. 

 

Goredolf Musik from Fate/Grand Order (photo by Kihachi / @A88_Ofnir)

 

“My fat is my forte. I’m going to keep cosplaying fat characters. Karukogen, who introduced me to you–his forte is his muscles, while mine is my fat. Together, it’s the ultimate complement of hard and soft, and we think that’s awesome.”

 

Satsuki may think of his body type as his forte, but he still struggles with low self-esteem.

 

“It’s true that a lot of people ask me to cosplay with them because of my body. I work really hard to practice my makeup and get the small things right. Because of the way I look, I feel like I have to go in with a certain amount of humility.”

 

Cute? Pretty? He Just Wants People to Smile

Even though Satsuki usually acts as a supporting cosplayer, he’s had times when he’s become the main event, too. 

 

“Once I did cosplay at a seller’s booth at Comiket. I was cosplaying as the celebrity Natsu Ando. I wanted to make people laugh by doing her version of Sailor Mars. Then this small girl who was also cosplaying as Mars waved at me with her eyes sparkling and said, ‘I’m Mars too!’ I…couldn’t destroy her dreams, so I kind of ran away.”

Natsu Andou’s Sailor Mars from the Monster Hunter Strike TV commercial (photo by Yukihiro Tamaki / @abios_2004)

 

However, that Sailor Mars cosplay achieved an unexpected level of popularity on social media, and after that Satsuki was asked to do a photoshoot in a wedding dress. 

 

Natsu Andou’s Wedding Dress from a performance by her comedy duo, Maple Chogokin (Photo by Kadoma / @kadoma_photo)

 

“People tell me I look cute and pretty…but I just want people to laugh….”

 

Satsuki…we hope you can continue to be the stellar cosplayer you are!

 

Porco Rosso from Porco Rosso (photo by Fumikki / @camera_net)

 

Porco Rosso from Porco Rosso (photo by Tusk / @tusk_0v0)

 

 

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