While most of us miss having school, we take the chance to feature one of our website’s latest and promising correspondents with one of our last proper photoshoots. arkadymac.com presents Lia in her first online feature for us.
Joining our coverage team in 2019, Lia has helped us cover some of the biggest cosplay, anime and pop-culture events in the country. Her incredible experience as a cosplayer and a musician are just among some of the many reasons for us to take notice of her.
“I was a shy kid,” she confesses, “so I had a lot of admiration for cosplayers I saw in media, like Alodia, and wished that maybe someday I could be one as well.” It was only much later that she got to take her first tentative steps into cosplay. “When I entered college, I had a friend who is a cosplayer and then encouraged me to push through with my childhood dream,” she tells us.
We asked her what she thought were the good things that happened to her because of cosplay. She tells us she loved meeting new friends of the same fandom. Cosplay allowed her to express her love for her favorite characters, and that she became resourceful in completing her cosplays. We asked her what makes her decide to do a cosplay. “I choose anime characters based on how they inspired me. As for game characters, I choose characters that I used in-game so that I can feel that I am really “in” the game.”
We ask Lia for a cosplayer who she looks up to. “I have been and always be a fan of the international cosplayer Tomia,” she admits. “I am really amazed on how she can pull off a cute loli character and a really mature one.” Having an esteemed cosplayer to admire reminds her of her challenges when it comes to cosplay. “My personal struggle in cosplay aside from completing all of the parts of my cosplay is the make up! I admit I have to improve a lot in this area so that my cosplays since it is an essential part of the cosplay itself.”
Aside from being a cosplayer, Lia has also pursued another passion as she grew up: music. ” I started out jamming anime OSTs with my friends back when I was in grade school. After college, I decided to push through with this other childhood dream of perform Jrock and Jpop in front of an audience by joining a band.”
She has since become a vocalist and bassist for a number of bands, and she shares with us her experience. “Performing live music in front of an audience is fun because for me it’s both a challenge and a form of self-expression. I love how music invokes emotions within the listener.”
With her enthusiasm and hard work, Lia has already won awards for cosplay and music. We ask her what else she wants to achieve. “I would like to improve myself as a vocalist, bassist, and cosplayer and inspire other people to pursue their dreams no matter how hard it is. Do not let words put you down and just enjoy what you are doing.” And when asked if there were any people she wished to thank, she had this to say: ” I would also like to greet the my bands I am currently in for being very supportive team mates in my band journey.”
Thank you for dropping by, and do visit us again for more cosplay features here at arkadymac.com.
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