【Interview ＃３】Reika -The World’s Best Crossdressing Cosplayer-

Now let’s get started with the second half of our interview.
In the first part, we asked her about why she started cosplaying, her best moment, how she spends her time overseas, and about 12Company.
In the second part, we were very encouraged by what Reika told us: to just enjoy and have fun.
There are times when we face difficulties and get lost, but her words will make us feel it is not that big of a deal.
Reika also gave us a gift for our readers, so please keep reading till the end.

The Importance of Learning English and Transmitting Information in English

We don’t really receive requests of male characters for women. Male characters are usually for male cosplayers. However, we do get requests if they are newly released and are not well known, if they are well known to male cosplayers, or if they would like to work with us to make it more popular.
However, the more well-known a title is, the more difficult it is to request a female cosplayer do a popular male character.
If I were a designer or a client, and someone suggested a female character, I would probably think, “Why? It is a male character though….”
Another thing we have to think about is the balance of men and women when they stand side by side. What we want to make sure is to match the characters’ heights. So, if the character is 180cm, it is hard to find a woman who is 180cm.
So, I think communication skills will be the key.

We are rarely asked to do this by overseas companies.
Sometimes they say, “We would love it if you could come to our events as an official guest wearing one of our character costumes.”
However, in Japan, cosplayers are seen as models, so if they want us to wear a costume, we usually pick a male for a male character.
If you think about it the other way around, it's easy to see that no matter how beautiful and lovely a person is, I don't think you would ask a man to do a cute girl character, and most people would prefer a woman if possible. I think there are many people who would prefer a female cosplayer, so it may be difficult in the future.
We do get requests for individual cosplayers, but we rarely get requests for male characters.

I would support them. But I would definitely tell them that they can’t be depressed or upset because they don’t get a job offer.
For example, they may fall into a dark place where they feel they don’t have as much work as other cosplayers do.
When that happens, if the one can grow themselves for the better, then I might be able to get offers for them. But the reality is, if crossdressing only is what they focus on, then I will probably get only one or two job offers in a year the most.
If they are still willing to work hard, I will look for other ways to help them .
There is actually a high demand for crossdressing cosplayers overseas, so if I can expand my business more in those areas, there will be more varieties of jobs.
However, it will be more beneficial if the girl can cosplay both a male and a female character than determinedly cosplaying a male character only.
There are also cool female characters, so they can open up a whole range of works.

I haven’t been able to do this at all, but the first thing is to learn English.
Every time I go to a cosplay event, they provide me with an interpreter, but I feel like that's only allowed because I'm Japanese.
I haven't seen many cosplayers from other non-native English speaking countries with interpreters.
Maybe they have invited Japanese guests before and already have an image that "Japanese people can't speak English!”

But the level of interpreters varies.
Sometimes they are professionals, but other times they are interpreters who have studied Japanese by themselves and can speak a little though they are not at a level that would pass the certification test.
So, I think it's better to be able to speak on your own to widen their social network.
If a client has to arrange an interpreter for me, it will cost them a lot of money. If you can speak English, they will feel more comfortable inviting you.

Also, how much you can communicate and spread information in English is important.
Even if you send out messages in Japanese, they will only reach the girls who like Japanese.
I reply to all the emails I receive from girls overseas
When things get busy, I just send like “Yeah,” or emojis, but I make sure to replay them.

It's nice to get messages from people from countries I don't know, so I used to reply to them randomly.
But, at an overseas event, this fan said, "Reika, no matter what kind of messages I send you, you always reply to me. That makes me very happy because famous cosplayers don't usually reply ," And, that made me happy.
If I were in the opposite position, I would be thrilled to death if I received a reply.
If I were her, I'd be super happy to get a response, even if it's just one stamp! That is why I want to continue to do it.
I think it is important to make such steady efforts.

I also heard that in foreign countries, people decide who to invite as a guest at staff meetings. If the organizer is not familiar with cosplay, they may ask the staff, who likes cosplay, who would be good to invite as the next guest. And, if the staff member offers a suggestion like, “This person will be good,” then it usually goes through.
Think about what if the girl that I messaged back was a staff member of an overseas event.
Those steady efforts may change their impression of me, and it might help me get more job opportunities.

To Be Careful of What I Do Overseas.

Approximately 50 or 51 countries.
Basically, if it is a country I've never been to, I'll take the offer as my first priority.
I liked TV shows like the Discovery of the Mysteries of the World. So I want to go to places I don’t know!

No, not at all. I just got to karaoke as my hobby.
I don’t want to reject requests when I am asked, so I will sing as long as it doesn’t matter if I am not very good.
If I were fluent in English, I probably wouldn't sing because I can talk more, but music can break language barriers and are easy to deliver.

Oh yeah I would!
“If there is a beach, I am down!” It is like that haha
I usually search the dangerous regions. One time, I was invited to the Republic of Honduras and searched for the country name. What happened was that I found a website saying “the World’s Most Dangerous Country.”
I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go and come back safely, but I decided to go because the Japanese Embassy was helping with the event.

No. I pay extra attention to things like that.
If I go abroad for cosplay work and get involved in an accident, there is a possibility that cosplayers will not be invited in the future. So, that’s why I pay attention carefully from the time I arrive in the country until I board an airplane to go back.

I will stay inside if I am told not to go out, I will not go out if I am told it is not safe, and I will put my phone inside of the purse if I am told not to use it while walking.
I will never do things like going out to eat somewhere because I am a little hungry at night.

When I went to visit this country, I was told, “ You should not leave the hotel no matter what until we come to pick you up in the morning. And I asked, “Is it that dangerous to just go out?” Then they answered, “If you go out by yourself and die, there is nothing we can do for you.” That time, I was like, “WHAT! Ok, I will stay in my room!!”
In some countries, I am not even allowed to go to Starbucks that is right in front of me. Even if it was just across the street, they said they would send me a bodyguard.
It gets very tense when I go to countries like South America.
So, when I arrive at the airport in the US, I feel a little relieved that I am halfway to Japan.

Sleep After the Game is Over, and Start the Game After Wake Up

I make costumes, have meetings with colleagues, and discuss the cafe.
I play games on my smartphone all day at home when I have a day off.
I think I am a fast player in the game.
I even take my phone to the bathroom with me, so when I'm addicted to a game, I stay up all night playing it.
I usually sleep a lot, but I often go to bed after playing the game and wake up in the morning when I start playing the game. That is kind of my routine. LOL!

When I was working as an office worker, I used to live close to the ocean.
Fishing was close to the ocean when I was working as an office worker where I used to live. Everyone around me loved fishing, so I went with them.
But, I couldn’t catch any fish.
Sometimes I would leave at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning and go to the Sea of Japan to fish.
I enjoyed fishing not because I loved to do it, but it was because I love to do things I have never done before.
A lot of the older guys were fishing to drink beer, so I bought some juice and ate and drank, and was lucky if I caught anything.

Also, speaking of hobbies, I love hot spring trips.
I often visit somewhere far away for cosplay shoots, but it usually comes with hot springs. Actually, if there are no hot springs, I wouldn't go.
Almost like I'll go to the cosplay shoots because there are hot springs lol
I think spending 30,000 yen for a cosplay shoot is pretty expensive.
But if it includes a hot spring and food, I think it is worth spending 30,000 yen.
I think having a cosplay shoot while visiting a hot spring. That is why I go to Kyushu a lot.
I really love Kyushu. There are so many hot springs, so I can enjoy as much as I want.
I also love to sleep in a traditional Japanese inn, ryokan. Tatami mat is so nice!
When I go abroad, I have to sleep on a bed, so it gets to the point where I get exhausted. So, ryokan is the best!
I guess my only hobby is going to hot springs.

If you don’t “love” to work, you can’t cosplay.

It is like a disease.
As for my cosplay, I am the type of person who can’t do it if I don’t have a love for it.
I make all costumes from scratch on my own, so I can’t be in the mood to make them if I don’t love them.
I am also not the type of person who falls in love at first sight. If I find something interesting, I usually watch it until the last episode and see if I really like it or not. Then, I can start working on costumes if I really like it.
It is like a love that grows.
That is why I can’t make a costume in the first episode and cosplay before anyone else does. But, for career, it is a different story. I will play a game, watch an anime, and will be happy if I can cosplay a character that I find very lovely even if it is for work. If something is interesting, but I don’t have any special feelings for that, I'll still look at the entire quality.
I check the costumes that I am attached to, review the parts that I want to work on more, and see the materials over and over again. It feels like I have a special feeling of being "the one to be with."

As long as it is a hobby, it is up to you how perfectly you want to reproduce.
I think as long as I am satisfied with myself, that's all that matters.
Even if the wig is dirty, as long as I am fine with it, it's fine. If I am not satisfied with it, I just have to work on making it better on my own.
I have to draw the line at how far you want to work on by yourself.
I haven’t cared about the opinions of people around me in order to cosplay in this past few years.

As long as I have my faith in it, it doesn't matter what third parties say.
There are times when I feel gloomy, but it eventually goes away after I get a night’s sleep.
How you control it depends on one’s character and personality, but I think since it is a hobby, the one who enjoys it wins.
We usually care about what others think of us when it comes to cosplaying, but if you think about other hobbies, it is easy to understand.
It doesn't matter how good or bad you are at tennis, as long as you are having fun, other people don't matter.
It's important to think that if you can do it well, that is all it matters.

If you still care about how others will look at you, you can go to a studio by yourself and just take pictures with your friends. I think there are also a lot of cosplays that can be done in a closed environment. But when you're in front of people, you're more likely to be evaluated, so it's a game of your own mentality.
When I cosplay as my hobby, I really don’t mind it at all. Because if I care too much, I can’t cosplay anymore.

Also, I don’t go on Twitter.
I only check my account once in the morning.
I don’t check SNS or watch Tik-Tok because I am bored.
I can just get information and trends from the younger people at work and news.
Sometimes, a person tells me, “I was insulted on the internet. I am sad….” I tell them that they don’t need to worry about it that much.
Because they will calm down and forget about it like a week later.
They feel upset because they go on the internet and check it for the week.
If they are insulted, they better not look at Twitter for a week and play a game or something instead, so they will be fine.

Message to your fans

Personally, I'm going to continue cosplaying until I get too old that I can’t do anymore! That's all I'm thinking about.

I don't want to declare my retirement because I have the image that people who declare that they're going to retire and then retire will come back soon.
When I no longer have anything to do, I think I will retire gradually, like "I haven't cosplayed much lately, and I only tweet about games recently.”
Cosplay is just like fishing, if I don't want to do it anymore, I don't have to do it. That is how I am seeing it. So, I don’t think it is necessary to decide when to retire and declare about it.

In terms of the future outlook of the company, we have about 30 employees now, but we need to increase the number of employees and grow more and more so that we can properly provide jobs for them.

Fans...It doesn’t feel like I have such a thing as a fan. I consider my fans as fellow cosplayers who love cosplay, so the concept of fans doesn't really exist for me. But if I were to send a message to my fellows, I would say, "We have a very unique hobby, why don’t we enjoy it!” That's what I'd like to say.
I also want to say that it is fun to make costumes. I've heard a lot of people say that they have to buy a costume which can be made if they know a few things. But it is actually fun and easy.
I often hold workshops for making costumes overseas, so I teach how to make costumes to people. When I ask, "Who has a sewing machine? Most of them answer they don't have one. But, the next time I visit there, some people come up to me and say, "I made this and brought it with me, could you check it? That makes me so happy.
I feel like because we have everything in our own country, Japanese cosplayers forget to try harder as foreign cosplayers are putting so much more effort. I hope we can make it more energetic together.

Summary

Reika gave us the last message gently, and I felt that this was how she talks to her fellows.
At the same time, she answered other interview questions sincerely by looking at the situation from a management perspective.
Reika constantly thinks about cosplayers and the cosplay industry as a whole in order to take action. She may have had a lot of hardships as a leader, but she was a man of dignity and courage who never showed any signs of it.
It made me realize that it was not only because of her beauty and popularity that made her popular among many cosplayers.
I'm looking forward to seeing her success as well as the cosplayers she will be taking care of.

Note
Reika did not upload any videos on YouTube after February of 2012. But, new videos have been released since April 25, 2020! Over 20 new videos have been uploaded, and you can see many different aspects of Reika in the videos.
Please go check it out!

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