Arisa Chow

Location: Malaysia

Juggling between work and study, Arisa still finds time to be in touch with her passion: cosplay. Glad she could spare some time to share her thoughts with us XD

 How long have you been cosplaying?

6 years, this year is my 7^th year, hopping to hit 10 years or 20 before retiring! :D

Favourite project (why)?

Lols! This is a hard one,there are too many favorites on my list! I wouldn't cosplay the characters if they weren't favorites right? Guess I have to name only one? I would choose Hone Onna from Jigoku Shoujo. This is because I enjoy portraying Hone Onna and her story in Jigoku Shoujo is one of my favorite. This is the only time I get to be myself while cosplaying, sarcastic and matured at the same time. I planned to cosplay every version of her before I retire her character.

   
What is cosplay to you?

To me cosplay is a way for me to escape the stressful daily life. I'm able to be myself without living up to the expectation of others. That’s another reason why I carry two names and a split personality :) after Cosplaying for many years I feel that it has become a part of my life, when I put cosplay on hold (due to my busy schedule) I feel that I've lost a part of myself, life seems empty without it.

What motivates and demotivates you from cosplaying?

The only thing that motivates me is seeing a completed costume 100% handmade by myself, nothing feels better than self achievement, no? I think most cosplayers go through that. The most demotivating thing is seeing lifeless otaku-s comparing photos of a human to a 2D fictional character, no matter how much effort we put into our costumes they would rather focus on the face or unnecessary body "assets".