This September marks arkadymac.com’s second anniversary, so we thought it appropriate by starting it off by bringing back our two wonderful cosplay models, Mina and Ayu, for a double feature. Shooting from our headquarters in Ortigas, we are happy to present this great duo who have been friends for quite a while and who have enjoyed the world of cosplaying together. Presenting Mina and Ayu for their second feature on our website as our arkadymac.com’s cosplay models. Images and editing by our lead photographer, Bryan, with Bless as executive producer, written by Xtian.
“I was so shocked because I thought she was Korean like me,” Mina admits with a big, warm smile on her slender face, her eyes disappearing into two faint lines, when we asked her about the first time she met Ayu. “We met through mutual friends at SM North EDSA,” Ayu adds, her eyes soft and glistening in reverie. They didn’t think much of each other at first, but before the day ended they were already holding hands and chatting like old friends. “I can’t remember what we even talked about,” Mina confesses, “but it was cute how we just kept coming up with topics so we can keep talking even after we became tired.” “It may have been a bit awkward at first,” Ayu adds, “but I guess we became good friends after that.”
The two often get to spend time with each other at cosplay events and conventions where they simply enjoy hanging out with their other friends and, of course, cosplay together. “Our first pair cosplay was me as Kagamine Len and Mina as Hatsune Miku,” Ayu recounts with a smile. “It’s funny because we didn’t talk about it and never had plans of doing a pair cosplay,” Mina adds, “but it just so happened that I was planning to cosplay Miku at the next event while she was planning to cosplay Len. After that I would be Lili and she would be Xiao of Tekken. I believe it was destiny. God really wanted us to be friends,” Mina says.
They both agree that cosplaying as a pair is a fun and unique experience. They say they get to prepare their costumes and accessories together, buying cloth, think about designs and go shop together. At events they have a great time posing as a pair for the cameras and they especially like it when other people recognize their characters.
Mina remembers her schoolmate bringing her to the Best of Anime event where she felt like she was in a whole different world, seeing all those cosplayers in a myriad of colors, shapes and sizes. She has always loved, but always been shy, to cosplay, but she was so taken by the experience that she decided to cosplay Kyou, a character from the manga, Kyou of Shinigami no Kyou, at the very next event she went to. She has since become one of the most prominent cosplayers to date.
Ayu started cosplaying back in 2011, choosing Matsuri Shihou of Sola as her first character. She has become many other characters since then, preferring loli and tsundere characters as she says those fit her personality best. She tells us she has fun portraying them: lively, amazing, colorful characters she has admired from the shows she had watched. She had always thought that it was a great feeling to be those characters if only for the brief moment she cosplays them and be appreciated for her efforts.
Asking her to describe Ayu, Mina says she looks so innocent. “She really looks like Chii from Chobits,” Mina says without batting an eyelash. “There’s no use resisting her charm,” she laughs. “Ayu is fun to be with, and I’m happy when I’m with her. I just keep getting shy because you are just too pretty, Ayu!”
“Mina is an open, kind-hearted person,” Ayu says of Mina. “She is always nice to me, always greets me with a wonderful smile. I really like the way she smiles. She’s always fun to be with and I’m comfortable with her. I feel like she’s my sister.”
They don’t get to see each other as often anymore because of the many other things that keep them perpetually busy, but it just makes the time they spend together at cosplay events all the more special. Mina and Ayu would like to thank the many friends who have supported their cosplaying throughout the years and invite everyone to share the joy of cosplay with them. We hope you can support Mina and Ayu in all their future endeavors.
Like Mina and Ayu, we at arkadymac.com truly appreciate the fun and friendship that can be had with cosplay, and we are happy that for two years you, our readers, have visited our website, read our features, supported our cosplay models, and said hi to us at events. We hope to have more years bringing you the best of Philippine cosplay with your endless and generous support.
Thank you for visiting, and we’ll be busy this September for our second anniversary month-long celebration, so drop by often for great cosplay features here at arkadymac.com.
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