Yuji Koi - You Are Doing Great. Keep Fighting! Life Could Be Hard, So There’s Anime and Manga to Brighten up Your Life (Cosplayer from Switzerland)

I got judged by being a cosplayer a lot. People think I do dirty stuff to get money and always think of me as a low-life living. I tend to ignore them and only focus on the nice things that my fan said to me to keep ongoing. However, sometimes the anti-fans really triggered me a lot.

1. Tell us something about your upbringing and journey. 

My journey with cosplay is not so long but also not so short,10 years. With all that time, I see how cosplay and the otaku community have changed so much. I love to see how the world is becoming more opened and well-received towards otaku people. Hope in the future I will still be able to do cosplay in order to inspire more people to love cosplay, anime, and manga! 

2. What inspired you to transition from watching anime to cosplaying? 

I saw an article from a magazine when I was 15 about cosplay, and then I decided to give it a try.

I actually start with reading manga first when I was only 5 years old, yes someone read it out loud for me, I don’t even know how to read yet at that moment.

3. How and when did you become an otaku? 

As said I start reading manga at 5 and then gradually I grow up with a shelf full of manga in my room.

4. What was your first ever cosplay? 

It was Miku's original version from Vocaloid.

5. What are the problems you faced as a cosplayer and how did you overcome them?

I got judged by being a cosplayer a lot. People think I do dirty stuffs to get money and always think of me as a low-life living. I tend to ignore them and only focus on the nice things that my fan said to me to keep ongoing. However, sometimes the anti-fans really triggered me a lot.

6. Which is your favorite anime and why? 

There’re many but at the moment Attack on titan, Promised neverland, Guilty Crown, and Detective Conan. All of them either have a nice storyline, plot twist or simply just super awesome and epic soundtracks.

7. What was that one character that has been most difficult to portray? 

For me, there are no difficult characters that are hard to pull off. Cause if I know a character who doesn’t suit me, I won’t even think about cosplaying them, to begin with even though I might really like them. 

8. Who is your favorite cosplayer? 

I would shout out to all my beautiful female cosplay fellows. But to idol someone, for me, that would be Dearest Saya from Japan and Lovedrug Touya. 

9. What would be your message to fellow otaku and cosplayers?

You are doing great. Keep fighting! Life could be hard, so there’s anime and manga to brighten up your life.

Yuji Koi

Interviewed By - Aliza Hussain