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The Real Face of Cosplayers Vol.8 Sachibudou ~If You Feel Worried, I’ll Give You Advice~

コスプレイヤーの素顔 vol.8 さちぶどうさん ~悩んだら相談にのるから~
| INTERVIEW | Posted
The Real Face of Cosplayers Vol.8 Sachibudou ~If You Feel Worried, I’ll Give You Advice~

Not only active as a cosplayer, but a race queen as well, Sachibudou is adored by fans and cosplayers alike for her gentle manners and personality. We tried to gain some inside into her philosophy on cosplay, which she hasn’t talked much about until now.


At first mostly wore male costumes
最初は男装メインでした

Originally I was a fan of JUMP comics and I was the kind of otaku that would go to Animate. My first cosplay was in high school. I went to Comiket with six of my good friends as a Final Fantasy group. I made the costume with things that I had around the house.

It was a really fun first cosplay. I made some friends, and then later cosplayed at some “~ only events” (doujinshi conventions for a certain character, work, or genre).
Although there might not be many images of me out there, initially I mainly cosplayed male costumes. Instead of doing a character that I liked, I would do the character opposite of the character that I liked. That way, I could become friends with the character that I liked. (laugh)

One time I met some people that were making a cosplay ROM (a CD-ROM of cosplay images), and that’s when I started cosplaying female costumes. The first ROM I put out was actually a bathing suit photograph collection and not cosplay. Continuing like that, Cure’s fan club began to increase to a few thousand people, and thanks to them, many people bought my photo book.


The Grape part of her name comes from her bust size!?
「ぶどう」はおっぱいのサイズ!?

Around that time I was scouted by a connection and began working as race queen and cosplay companion. Recently I’ve been assisting with managing the Saekano Racing WITH FCA project, in collaboration with Saenai Kanojo no Sodatekata.

I’m asked about this a lot, but I basically work as a cosplayer and balance race queen work in my free time. I consider myself a cosplayer first and foremost til the end. I want to support my partner, Mei Otani, so I’ve continued working as a race queen.

Sachibudou_cosplay_2018_022

Sachibudou_cosplay_2018_023

I just like it and doing it while I seriously(?) cosplay.
By the way, I originally worked under the name of Sachi, but it was easier for people to remember after I changed it to Sachibudou. The circle of friends I was in when I restarted cosplaying was called Miaringo (apple), so I decided to tack on a fruit and randomly picked Sachibudou (grape). Later I was told that it (grapes) described the size of my boobs. (Bitter smile)


I want to be supportive of all kinds of people’s work
いろいろな人の活動をサポートしたい

I like cosplay so doing it is fun. Of course it has its hardships and difficulties, but I keep going because I like it so much.
(Though she tells it as a funny story, she was a stalker victim and once developed hematuria as a coordinator.)

Rather than working on a project myself, I like getting involved with enthusiastic people and creating something together. So I really like and enjoy doing matching outfits (cosplaying as a group from a certain work or with the same theme). Lately I’ve been talking with cosplayers a lot about projects I want to do. Since a get a lot of help from others in doing my work, I’d like to support a lot of different people as well.

Something that I was really happy about with my work was when the original authors of a work bought my photo collection book through mail order, and then e-mailed me their thoughts. Also, he sent me a picture he did using my cosplay as a motif. I was really overjoyed about that.


Sachibudou’s top 3 cosplays
さちぶどうさんのコスプレベスト3

Sheryl Nome (Macross Frontier)

I am often said that Sachibudou’s cposplay is about Sheryl. Actually I liked Ranka at the time, I did Sheryl in order to match with my friend doing a Lanka cosplay, and because positive response I decided to do the black rabbit movie version costume at the request of a cameraman. Then we quickly decided to do a photo collection book.

To be honest I don’t think I look good, but on the other hand maybe it’s good that I didn’t feel limited by onlookers (like the character should be like this and this). Although not limited just to Sheryl, if you think you shouldn’t do a character because it should be a certain way, people will often tell you that you’re like so-and-so character.

By the way, I continued drawing circle illustration for Macross Frontier (a small advertisement image to introduce a fan comic circle for fan comic catalogs) and eventually became the last person to. (laughs)
Fans of Macross Frontier have told me that recently they can only buy it (the Macross Frontier Cosplay Album) here.
So I’ve probably worn the black rabbit costume more than anyone else!?


Rin Shibuya (THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS)

She was a character I really liked.
This was another character where I didn’t have any idea that the character should be like this or that, but that I was grateful that people thought the cosplay looked like her…
It’s really fun to make costumes for characters I love.
I couldn’t find fabric for the Valentine costume that I liked, so I dyed cloth with coffee and it was hard work but fun.
Many of Shiburin’s (Rin Shibuya’s) costumes look easy to make, but they’re actually quite difficult, and I’ve done quite a few variations. As new costumes of hers comes out I’m eager to cosplay them, so I quickly make them!


Belldandy (Oh My Goddess)

This was also a favorite character of mine.
When I tried cosplaying it the reaction was good, and people told me they wanted pictures of it.
Sticking a sticker to my forehead immediately makes it feel like cosplay, so it’s an easy character choice when I want to cosplay in front of others.
And of course it’s fun when people tell me that I resemble her!

Recently it was very popular when I cosplayed of Minamoto no Yorimitsu(Fate/Grand Order).

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Sachibudou_cosplay_2018_021

People tell me that the motherly feel I give out in it is really great. (laughs)
The positive response made me feel like I was an adult. I think that cosplay changes with age.


You don’t need technology to enjoy cosplay
技術がなくたってコスプレは楽しめる

– Is there anything you’re particular about when it comes to cosplay?

I think the speed of cosplaying is important.
If there’s a character I want to do, I think it’s important to do it when you’re most passionate about it. When I have a favorite character I want to cosplay them as soon as possible, and at that time I’ll get comments from everyone that they want to see me do it, too. Because cosplay is a hobby, I think that such a tension is important

One time, I did a shoot with a cameraman who was a fan of Mizuki Kawashima from THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS. The day before the shoot, a Christmas version of her costume came out in the Gacha, and I really wanted to cosplay it by any means necessary, so I worked on it up until the time of the shoot. As a result, it ended up being a big surprise, and he was really happy, which made me happy as well.

I also made Catalina’s Santa costume from Gran Blue Fantasy and Sheryl’s gorgeous costume from Macross Frontier as soon as they came out in the Gacha. After I uploaded the image I never stopped getting notifications from friends and fans.

This is about make-up, but actually, when I do any character, most of the time the base make-up is the same. If I change something, it’s usually only raising or lowering the eyebrows.
Instead, I try to express that character through changing my expressions. There are some things too elaborate to express through my make-up skill, but through my expressions I can change how my face looks in a number of ways.
(It’s true; she’s done a number of characters and each time their impression is completely different.)

Every person believes that they can turn into a different character by changing their facial expression to a certain extent. Of course experience is also necessary, but even if your face doesn’t resemble the character too much to begin with, and even if the make-up isn’t that great, you can still become a lot of different characters. Because of that, even if you don’t have a lot of skill or your face doesn’t resemble the character, you shouldn’t give up, and you can play around and cosplay even if you’re not able to do complex things.

So it makes me glad if I’m able to get closer to a character even just a little bit, and I’m happy if that comes across to those who are watching!
I think above all else, it’s important to enjoy what you’re doing, and enjoy pretending while cosplaying.
Of course it never hurts to have a pretty costume, and I really respect those that are good at molding and make-up.

But most of all, I think the trick is to do whatever you can do the best that you can an enjoy that.
The more that you do, naturally the level of your costumes will go up.
Also, I think that if you’re aware of the roots of a certain work (such as past works or works that influenced it), you’ll be able to access a broader range of expression.


Cosplay lets you experience the thrill of being a celebrity?!
コスプレは芸能人気分を体験できる趣味!?

– What about cosplaying do you enjoy?

I think it would be the extraordinary part of “becoming whatever I want to be”. Through cosplay I can turn into my favorite character or also make a fake love affair between characters.
I could kind of say it’s like reading a novel and then letting that world surround me.

Besides, it’s fun to turn for the cameras and pretend you’re a star, right? I don’t find myself in front of the camera too much in real life.
On top of that, if you work hard, you can also gain fans. In that sense, it’s kind of a hobby where you can experience what it would be like to be a celebrity but without the same risk. If you really know how to switch it on and off, I think it’s a healthy hobby that also helps relieve stress.

Maybe I would have become a doujin (fan comic) artist if I could draw, but unfortunately I can’t, though perhaps through cosplay I can express that character. If it’s cosplay, the sketch won’t fall apart. (laugh)

Also it’s fun to expedition for a cosplay shoot because it feels like traveling!

When I meet people, I don’t think of them as opponents or anything. I think people who want to become famous through cosplay should do their best to think in the same manner (even if there may be some risks involved), but I think it’s great that there are so many different people.

Interestingly, you can meet a person doing its best in the same way as oneself when you do your best, and you can get more friends if you continue cosplaying.
Because cosplaying will be a hobby of mine til the very end, I don’t want any negative feelings toward it. So if you’re worried I’ll give you advice! (laugh)


You’re looking for someone to succeed you!?
後継者募集中!?

– Do you have any future goals?

I want to work behind the scenes. I’d be happy if I can help everyone using experience and the knowledge that I cultivated While continuing a cosplay as a hobby.
If I can find a successor, I’d like to pass on everything to them. (laugh)
I’m waiting to find someone with an open chakra (spiritual energy) (laugh)


Related Links

Sachibudou Official Twitter:https://twitter.com/sachibudou
Sachibudou Official Blog:https://ameblo.jp/sachibudou

Translated by Jamie Koide

Author
Nessie

A web producer who passionately loves Sake, Cosplay, and Idols.

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