Aza as Inori from the popular hit anime, Guilty Crown
Photo Credits: STGCC
A cosplay sensation, Aza Miyuko is a well known cosplayer hailing from Korea. She made her way down to this year's Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention (STGCC) to be a VIP of this year's annual event. She was definitely a hit with the crowd at the main event, with many people queuing up to take pictures with her and trying to talk to her. I'm just glad that Emi and I were able to get to sit down and talk with her for a quick interview :) I hope she'll be able to get to return back to Singapore for another event!
~Rian
*Note: As this was a round robin interview, not all the questions were asked by us. Credits to all the other media entities who contributed questions!
Photo Credits: STGCC
A cosplay sensation, Aza Miyuko is a well known cosplayer hailing from Korea. She made her way down to this year's Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention (STGCC) to be a VIP of this year's annual event. She was definitely a hit with the crowd at the main event, with many people queuing up to take pictures with her and trying to talk to her. I'm just glad that Emi and I were able to get to sit down and talk with her for a quick interview :) I hope she'll be able to get to return back to Singapore for another event!
~Rian
*Note: As this was a round robin interview, not all the questions were asked by us. Credits to all the other media entities who contributed questions!
Photo Credits: Project Harata
Q: Are there any hobbies that you have outside of cosplay?
Aza: I’m actually a Fashion major, so I dedicate a lot of time into making my costumes.
Q: I understand that after you plan on cosplaying a character, you will plan for photo shoots. The question is, for these photo shoots, do you look for photographers for the photo shoots or do photographers approach you?
Aza: I usually work with my friends for photo shoots. However, there is an online community for cosplayers in Korea, and there are collaborations between cosplayers and photographers and such on the website.
Aza as Kuroneko!
Photo Credits: STGCC
Photo Credits: STGCC
Q: What criteria do you look at when choosing what characters to cosplay as?
Aza: The characters of which I choose to cosplay would be my favourite characters, but I do make sure that I will be able to portray the character accurately. So, if I can somehow relate to the character and I am comfortable with cosplaying the character, I will then decide to cosplay that character.
Q: What’s the biggest sacrifice that you have made for cosplay?
Aza: Definitely, time would be the biggest sacrifice, because I put a lot of time into making my costumes for cosplay. There have been times where I have gone days without sleeping, making the costume throughout the night. This is because I need to make sure that my figures are fit, and hence I have to put a lot of effort into it.
Q: Up till this point, I’m sure you have been to many cosplay conventions and all that, so are there any horror stories, anything interesting or bizarre?
Aza: I have been to many conventions, and at every convention there is always something that I appreciate, I enjoy every single one of them. There was one occasion where I never informed anybody that it was my birthday, and people actually celebrated my birthday with me so I found that it was a very touching moment for me.
Photo Credits: STGCC
Q:
What is the biggest challenge you have faced when you are making your costumes?
Aza: Making sure that all of the details of the costume are put together well, to represent the character accurately. Even down to the type of fabrics that are used, I have to think whether one fabric or another will make the costume more accurate to the original design of the character.
Q: When facing all these challenges, have you ever felt like you’re going to just give up because it’s going to be impossible to do whatever you want?
Aza: Of course there are moments where I just wanted to give up on making the costume; however this is also a learning journey as you make the costume, so I just have to press on and train my skills.
Aza: Making sure that all of the details of the costume are put together well, to represent the character accurately. Even down to the type of fabrics that are used, I have to think whether one fabric or another will make the costume more accurate to the original design of the character.
Q: When facing all these challenges, have you ever felt like you’re going to just give up because it’s going to be impossible to do whatever you want?
Aza: Of course there are moments where I just wanted to give up on making the costume; however this is also a learning journey as you make the costume, so I just have to press on and train my skills.
Photo Credits: STGCC
Q: Is there a character or costume that you like so much, that you keep cosplaying it?
Aza: I’m into Love Live recently, so I’m pretty much trying to do all the characters.
Q: What’s the number one irk that you have while preparing for a cosplay event?
Aza: I’m very comfortable with making costumes and all, but making props is a challenge for me.
Q: You’re kind of very well-known in the cosplay scene; ever since you have started out cosplay, have there been any cosplayers you really look up to?
Aza: There’s a Korean cosplayer, she isn’t very well known overseas. She’s an English teacher, but she also dedicates her time into cosplay, and I respect her.
Q: What would be the #1 piece of advice that you can give to newer cosplayers?
Aza: Make sure that you have the passion for cosplaying, and also make sure that you like what you are doing.
Photo Credits: STGCC
Q: Characters from older anime and comic book series, the designs are obviously quite different than something that came up within the past 10 years, so I was wondering, what do you think about older series (of animes and comic books) being revived, in a different way to suit the modern taste?
Aza: I look at it in a positive light, because people are changing, and at the same time, things are also changing. So, things will have to change in order to suit the changing tastes of the people.
Q: If there is a homage made of an older series, what would you like to see?
Aza: I would just like to see something which people can relate to more.
Q: How does the general public in Korea regard you?
Aza: I won’t really be able to say I totally understand generally what the public is thinking about me. But I do know that there are people who are new to the idea of cosplay that came to my blog and viewed my blog, and liked what they saw, then got into cosplay even more. So I can just say that there is a positive response.
Q: If you didn't become a cosplayer, what would you see yourself as?
Aza: I picture myself as a fashion designer, if I didn’t pick up this hobby.
Photo Credits: STGCC
-Transcription/Commentary by Rian
-Layout/Pictures/Posting by Rian
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