Otaku2 Interview: Mizuno Clo

27.05.2009 by Patrick W. Galbraith

An office lady in Osaka by day and a cosplay queen in Tokyo on Comike weekends, Mizuno Clo (水乃シロ) (pronounced “see low,” or Shiro in Japanese) is a superwoman leading a double life. Her age and family circumstances are secret to cosplay friends, but her cosplay life is a total mystery to family and coworkers. What the latter are missing out on is a passion so voracious that in two years she went from zero sewing skills to crafting award-winning costumes in two weeks for $300. Though she vehemently denies doing it for anything but fun, the popularity of Mizuno on her blog and Mixi cosplay community propelled her to the poster position for Vantan’s professional “Cosplay Course,” a global first.

PG: What do your boss and family think you are doing?
MS: Making weird clothes. They don’t have a clue about cosplay. I think there are people who get it and there are also people who don’t get it. I don’t want to bring something so risky into the workplace or home. It is a big risk when people find out what you are interested in, and it can change everything. But my friends all know what I’m doing. Many of them cosplay, so it’s something we can have a lot of fun doing together.

PG: What got you started in cosplay?
MS: A friend invited me. I really got into it because it was a chance to dress in the same clothes as these wonderful characters I loved. At the time, it was Pretty Cure, though I only did it for a short time and quit. I always loved anime and manga and played games, too. My favorite genre is the action of Shonen Jump titles. Right now I am into Code Geass.

PG: What keeps you cosplaying?
MS: I want to express the things I love. The hardest thing is struggling with just how much you can do and how well you can portray the character. Friends really help with that by offering feedback and support. One thing is you can dress as your favorite character, but the real appeal is doing it with friends. There is a real feeling of group effort and achievement when you get the costumes right and take good pictures. It is rewarding to work so hard and be part of something. It isn’t like something you can buy, but rather a sense of achievement and unity. With cosplay, we actually create memories with friends and get to keep the pictures!

PG: You have a blog, a homepage and a following. How did that happen?
MS: I really don’t know. I don’t have a manager or anything because this is all just something I do with friends for fun. I only come to Comike in Tokyo because I can’t ever get time off of work! The costumes, photo albums and DVDs we make, all of that is just friends coming together doing what they can and asking others to help out. No one is like paid staff or anything. I think professional cosplayers, when people call you that or you say it, it changes the way people look at you and the way you are. But I am not different. I want to keep doing this as a hobby so that I can just do my best and not be embarrassed. Whatever happens, it is for fun and people support me. I really don’t think much about what I do. I just think, “Was that all right?” and move one. I never really have much confidence, but I keep trying. Even with Vantan, it was kind of like I answered questions in cosplay and then went home, so it surprises me people know about it at all when I seem to have forgotten already!




























PG: Do you want to be remembered?
MS: It makes me very happy when people say that they are looking forward to seeing my pictures or they see me at an event. I am happy when people praise my costumes or pictures. I guess it’s like the effort is recognized and worth something. If I can make people happy seeing cosplay, then I am happy to continue.

PG: What do you want to do from now?
MS: From now I want to keep having fun wearing great costumes and taking great pictures with great friends. I never learned how to make costumes or anything, so this is all just picking it up along the way. Every costume is a new chance to learn. I make them out of love alone, but maybe I should work on my skills, too. I want to make costumes as accurate as possible, so the materials are important to know.

PG: Cosplay is spreading around the world now. What’s your feeling on that?
MS: Actually, I’ve never been to an overseas event and would rather do that than a professional cosplay school! From the pictures I’ve seen, people overseas have really good style and game-like faces. Some characters like FFVII just suit them and they can express things that Japanese cannot. Of course, Japanese express other things that perhaps non-Japanese cannot. We are living in an information society and people exchange knowledge and learn from one another. Everyone learns something from somewhere, and with the Internet and so on people can find other people to teach them. The more sources people have the more they can learn and the better their skills become. In Japan, there is a lot of media supporting cosplay and a lot of information in magazines and online about cosplay. You can cosplay at many events, learn about it in school and even buy cosplay in stores. This is an environment for cosplay that is spreading around the world now. All sorts of people will become so good at cosplay that they knock people dead!