【#4-Part 2】Keekihime – Austrian cosplayer with a love for Japan –

～World Cosplayers～4th issue is about Austrian cosplayerKeekihime.
Keekihime is struggling hard to make her dreams come true after moving from Austria to Japan.
In a 2-part interview we talked about various things.
In the first part, Keekihime told us about the Austrian cosplay community, her activities and her surprising past as a streamer on Nico Nico Douga and being a Hello!Project Otaku.

She's a very charming and cute person, but getting to know her we noticed her funny and ambitious side, as she is a hard worker.
She came all the way from Japan, so it is regretful during the current situation, but she is doing her best so we want to support her to realize her dreams.
In this part we talk about her activities as an idol, troubles of her first time in Japan, and her goals for her current stay in Japan - so please enjoy this interview!

Becoming an idol in Japan

It was the first time for me to create a make-up video, the collaboration was fun.
Indeed, I've been making Youtube videos for 10 years now.
I started out by making "odotte mita" (dance cover) videos, but while I was working as an idol in Japan I wasn't so active anymore. Recently I got back into it with different kind of videos.
I'll be making videos about travel, food, cosplay and many other themes.

When I was streaming on Nico Nico Douga, back when I didn't go to Japan yet, I got many offers from Japanese companies.
I turned them all down, and I wasn't able to join my favourite idol agency Hello!Project so I auditioned myself for Victor Entertainment.
However, I didn't even send a demotape, video or photos, so it was a very naive try. They still got back to me!
Thanks to that, I was able to join an idol group when I was 16 years old, called Tonejewel. (トーンジュエル）I went to Japan with an entertainment visa and worked as an idol for 2 years.
We had a major debut and released 5 albums, 1 single, and some other projects.

We performed daily!
In my country, working overtime is not as normal as in Japan, I only work 8 hours a day 5 days a week in Austria, it's very peaceful. So when I worked so much in Japan, it was shocking for me, but it was like a hobby so I had fun and it wasn't so exhausting.
But it was indeed difficult...

Especially in the beginning when I was 16, I was very young.
I learned Japanese on my own and was already fluent, but I needed to get used to social interactions and the different culture, aswell as many other things. It was very difficult in the beginning so I cried a lot.

Europeans usually are very direct about their opinions, so I was like that even towards my strict dance teacher.
In Europe we don't really mind so much about someone's rank and openly say what we think so our feelings can be conveyed easily.
But in Japan you shouldn't really be so frank to your teacher right!?
Well, in the beginning I messed up...
Whenever my teacher would say something to me, 16 year old me would say "That's wrong. Because of this reason, I did that."
To me, it was normal to stand up for myself, but noticing how my Japanese group members kept on silently staring at the ground always, I realized I shouldn't be doing that.

This stay is all about "becoming an official cosplayer"

I wanted to stay longer in Japan, but many things happened so I had to go back home.
When I came home, I didn't have friends, a home, or a job...
The whole world that I worked so hard to create all fell apart... but I realized I had to do something - so since I was able to speak German, English and Japanese, I decided to go to hotel school for 3 years while working in a hotel.
After that I moved to Vienna and worked in another hotel. All the money I saved and all the vacation days I had were used for trips to Japan.

I probably visited Japan like 100 times up until now. (laugh)
I tried to get days off whenever big conventions in Japan were scheduled, like Tokyo Game Show and Comiket.
I really wanted to become an official cosplayer there!
But since I come to Japan so often, I think the immigration office constantly has their eyes on me (laugh).
So I have to take care and don't even take unpaid jobs when I am on a tourism visa.
But I didn't want to give up, so after working in a hotel for 5 years, saving up money and preparing as much as I could, I finally came back to Japan on a 1 year working holiday!
This time is a working holiday, so I want to try many different things.
So this is my goal for this year!
I want to become an official cosplayer!! Really, really!!!
If I can't make this come true, I won't go home. (laugh)

I want to make more songs and other things too, but what I want to do the most right now is cosplay!
Especially "Azur Lane" and "Arknights"!!!
I am really addicted to "Arknights" right now and play it every day, so I am also pretty high level too. (laugh) I am an Otaku!
I love "Arknights"! I want to become an official cosplayer for Yostar!
I really hope to make it come true this year, please Yostar!!! Can you hear my voice!?!?

Also, I don't really think that this is possible but since it's the reason I got into Japan, I'd love to be able to get a cosplay job related to the "Tales of Series" - then I can die happily! (laugh)

In any case, currently I just really want to work as an official cosplayer!!!
That's why right now, I am quite troubled...
All the events got cancelled, so I can't promote myself or get jobs there.
Extending my visa is not possible...
So every single event is very important to me!
Still, this is the worst timing...
If I end up not being able to become an official cosplayer after all, I won't go home even if the immigration tells me to... I don't want to go home...
I only have this year, it's victory or defeat!!
But coming back to Japan this time ended up being a bit delayed, and I grew older already, so maybe it's difficult...
Most cosplayers are so young after all...

I have been active as Keekihime for 10 years now so I did so many different things up until now, so there are people who say they don't like my streams, or people who only like me as an idol, people who don't even know that I am doing cosplay now...

Also it seems that I can't gain friends in Japan, actually I got less friends than before now (laugh)
When I lived in Japan before, I had many friends and it felt like a family, but when I am not living in Japan it's hard to make friends.
Going to cosplay events in Japan also doesn't really help as most friendships stay at a very superficial level...
It's hard to ask friends to hang out since I feel like it might be bothersome for them...
So now, I don't have many friends here...

Making friends when going to events is hard.
In events in Austria, there's not so many photographers and there aren't cosplayers who get lines of photographers, so there's a lot of time and people hang out having fun like at picnics!
I love Japanese events, but everyone is busy taking photos outside.
There's not much time to talk, so it's lonely... the Japanese cosplay world.
Don't you agree?

I also visited maller events like "Cosplay Haku", but even there everyone is busy taking photos and only talk to the people they came together with.
Or am I just an outsider!? (laugh)
Maybe it's hard to talk to me because I'm a foreigner...
Please talk to me, lets make friends!!!

I can live out my creative side with cosplay

It's very convenient to order costumes from China actually.
When I ordered from China to Austria, the shipping fees are much more expensive than when I send something to Japan!
Also, the Austrian customs charge enormous taxes!!
And it takes so much time when they stop my packages to investigate them.
So being in Japan is super convenient!!
I'll order a ton of cosplays and weapons from China so please give me cosplay jobs!!!

--- What do you like about cosplay?
I film and edit videos myself, draw illustrations, I'm a very creative person, so I want to live out my creativity in my hobbies.
With cosplay I can do that in so many ways.
Be it posing, make-up, wig styling, photo editing - I do it all myself and decide how I do it myself.
It's so much fun to create whatever my imagination comes up with in it's most perfect form, and then look at the finished creation. I love it!

Actually, I might enjoy the editing part more than the photoshooting part.
Since I can be creative with this hobby, I think that's what I like about it.

When I went to highschool, I went to a art school where we also studied photoshop, photography and art.
I originally wanted to become an artist, and I make music, model, cosplay and create videos, so I just want to do all kinds of creative work!
I want to use my talents and display them!!
When I quit cosplay, music and all other things, become an old grandma, I want to go back to art.

2020 is my year of now or never

At the moment I am freelancing.
There's no events so I see it as a time to prepare. I'm making videos for Youtube, doing photoshoots, I want to create content.
So when events are being held again, I'd be glad to receive some jobs.
I also want to perform on stage again with my music, and once going outside is fine again I'd love to do fanmeetings.

Also, since there's the Developers.IO CAFE in Akihabara, from the company Classmethod who I work for, it would be fun to do an event there as Mesoko too for one day!

I've been doing so many things for 10 years now, but this year really is important to me. I want to try many things so I'd be really happy for your support.
I will try my best, so once everything is back to normal in Japan, please think that afterwards there might not be another chance to meet me, and use the chance!
I will make my dreams come true once again, so please support me!!

Summary

Keekihime, who has a connection with Japan through so many activities.
She came to Japan with great effort, eagerly wishing to work as a cosplayer.
We hope that by using this opportunity, cosplay will become even bigger not only in Japan but also overseas.

Hopefully the day when Keekihime, who passionately cosplayed so much overseas aswell, can work in Japan as soon as possible.

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