Germany 🇩🇪
DUO
Hi, I’m Shusei and I’m 32 years old. I studied social work and am now a social worker full-time. I really love cosplay, but I also play video games A LOT, so when my Girlfriend and I are not sewing a costume, we are most like playing a video game xD Which is kinda great as it gives us more inspirations for upcoming costumes or skits. I also love animals, especially cows, sharks and guinea pigs. Which is also the reason why we’ve got some guinea pigs ourselves.
Hello! I’m RenTao, or in short: Ren and I’m 29 years old. I started as a media designer but I am now studying to become a vocational school teacher for all those subjects regarding media design. Like Shusei: I really love to play videogames and I’m quite fond of animals and cute stuff in general. I love to explore new places, which is also quite nice for the cosplay hobby, as we found so many pretty locations for photoshoots through it xD
How did you discover cosplay and what made you start in this hobby? How long ago?
Shusei: I sewed and wore my first cosplay in 2007 but rly started this hobby in 2010, where I also met my GF and we’ve been cosplaying since then together. I really don’t know ‘how’ I discovered cosplay but I really loved the idea of being the character and until now I really love wearing the characters and to portray them on stage.
Ren: I’ve discovered cosplay through a magazine which was about Anime and Manga and there was a small section about a convention and I saw this photo of people wearing the costumes of all the Anime/Manga characters and I was so mesmerized by it! I sewed my first costume in 2006. But my starting point was more around 2010, together with Shusei as my partner in hobby and soon after in “real-life” ♥ I really love to sew and paint and also the “play” aspect in cosplay, so to make the costumes of the characters which I really like and to also ‘be’ them on stage made me start this hobby.
Why did you choose Mary Poppins as your project for the ICL preselection? Is this your first time joining an international cosplay competition?
We were one of the teams which were selected online so we needed a costume which was already close to finishing. We made the Mary Poppins costume and skit back in 2019 and we poured our heart into it, as we love this movie and we both grew up with it. So we decided to apply with them as we really wanted to have a chance to bring them back on stage and to have the wonderful feeling of doing this cosplay skit again.
What does cosplay mean for you? And what is your favorite part of the hobby?
Shusei & Ren: As our answers would be quite similar, we will answer them as one. Cosplay is a huge part of our lives as we spent a lot of our free time with it and are still spending our time with it. We met so many great friends through it and developed friendships which are lasting more than a decade and even if not all of us are cosplaying anymore, we still spent so much time together. We also met each other through it and have been dating each other for almost a decade now xD So one of our favorite parts of this hobby are all those encounters you can have while wearing a costume! We also love to be creative. When we are not participating in a cosplay contest, we really enjoy designing our own versions of Disney characters and sewing them.
If you weren’t selected before the pandemic, please let us know how it affects your cosplay projects and motivation and how you approached the selections.
Shusei&Ren: Again, we will answer them together. We weren’t selected before the pandemic. Our cosplay motivation during the pandemic was really low, as there really wasn’t a “goal” to wear a costume. We prefer to go to conventions and meet friends and have a fun time together, so when it was necessary to cancel conventions, we also stopped making costumes in a quantity like we did before the pandemic as we did not wear them so much anymore. Also like most people, there were issues and situations where we did not really think about the hobby, as there were other important factors which needed attention. So when we saw the online selection we really wanted to give it a try and are so motivated and are so looking forward to meeting everyone now in Spain and be back in cosplay!
What do you expect from your visit to Spain? Is this your first time visiting the country?
Shusei: I was in Spain when I was little, so I can’t really remember much to be honest. But I still have a personal relation to Spain as it was always a big topic in my family as my mother loves it in Spain and regularly speaks and learns spanish, so I also took this subject in school as i was quite mesmerized by it. Sadly I’m not so skilled with learning languages, so my spanish is quite bad, but I’m still trying to understand everything xD I’m expecting a good time as we never were at an international convention/contest. Also the sightseeing day is something I’m really looking forward to, everything sounds cool and I’m really excited.
Ren: I never was in Spain so I’m suuuuuper excited to be there ! I’m especially looking forward to the sightseeing on friday as I love to see new cities, their history, culture and everything, especially with so many people who share the same hobby. For the competition: I expect so many new experiences, just like Shusei said, we never were at an international contest so I’m really excited.
Have you decided your project for the finals in Madrid? Can you give us a clue?
Shusei & Ren: Yes, it will be Mary Poppins and Bert from the Movie Mary Poppins.
Describe the cosplay community in your country using five words.
Shusei: That’s kinda hard to answer
Ren: Yeah… I would go with the word: Connected! Somehow everyone knows everyone, or a friend who is a friend of”…”. Somehow everyone knows each other !
You can follow Shusei and RenTao on:
Instagram : Shusei_RenTao
Twitter : xShuseix
Facebook: Shusei & RenTao Cosplay
Ren: Twitter: xRenTaox
SOLO
I am Meruna and I am 29 years young. I am originally from South Germany, but have lived in Denmark since 2015. Since I love gaming, I mainly cosplay from various video games, especially the Dark Souls universe. I always try to push myself with either learning new techniques or striving for higher quality, and I love competing because you meet so many awesome people.
How did you discover cosplay and what made you start in this hobby? How long ago?
I discovered cosplay in 2010 when I went to my first gaming convention. This was a time before Facebook where blogs and forums were all the rage, so I remember reading tutorials about cosplay online. As someone who wants to know everything, I was really drawn to the diversity of the hobby and after reading every blog post I could find, I had to try it out!
Why did you choose Yuria of Londor as your project for the ICL preselection? Is this your first time joining an international cosplay competition?
I thought to myself: «What would be a good cosplay to wear in the Spanish summer?» So naturally, I chose the all black one with the long sleeves. Jokes aside, since I joined the online qualifier, this was a costume I had on hand that I thought would be suited for a competition.
I have been to a few international competitions, for example Polymanga Global Easter cosplay earlier this year. It’s a big honor to get to travel with your hobby!
What does cosplay mean for you? And what is your favorite part of the hobby?
My favorite part of cosplay is the craftsmanship. There are so many techniques that you can learn, and every challenge has many different solutions. If you get bored with what you’ve been doing, there are plenty of other things you can try out.
If you weren’t selected before the pandemic, please let us know how did it affect to your cosplay projects and motivation and how you approached the selections.
As someone who needs the deadline of a contest to get things done, the pandemic was not my most productive time. Luckily, Denmark (where I live) had a good grasp on the situation and events were back relatively soon compared to other countries. Else I would probably still be lying on the couch and watching YouTube instead of making new cosplays!
What do you expect from your visit to Spain? Is this your first time visiting the country?
As a German, I have of course been to Mallorca, but that is many many years ago – so I wouldn’t say that I have experienced Spanish culture. I have a big sweet tooth so I’m looking forward to all the unhealthy stuff Spain can offer.
Have you decided your project for the finals in Madrid? Can you give us a clue?
Unsurprisingly, I will compete with the cosplay that I use in the online qualifier! I have spent some time polishing it and changing some things that needed improvement, so I hope I can bring even more to the stage.
Describe the cosplay community in your country using five words.
Since I’ve lived in Denmark for so many years, I have to be honest and say that I haven’t been to many German events. But whenever I have interacted with German cosplayers, they have been determined, proud and loyal to their friends. I know that wasn’t five words but luckily I’m a cosplayer and not a mathematician!
You can follow Meruna on:
Instagram @merunacosplay
Team Germany was selected during the online selections (August 2022)
