Sano Will Inspire You To Follow Your Dream of Cosplaying!!

I’m super excited about this interview with Sano, thank you so much for taking the time to interview with me.

The first photoshoot that stood out for me is Arataki, I love everything about this. Tell me about the set up and why you chose it. 

I guess Itto became one of my biggest photoshoots till today! To be sincere I was quite surprised at how big the repercussion for this character was! It was my first Genshin Impact character and it was really incredible to portray him! He has everything we love in a character! He looks great, has a strong and positive attitude and wow…the guy has style! It all started when he was first announced! I think Itto had a different “twist” from most Genshin characters, He had a muscular build, a goofy personality and even some “flaws” (the guy had his Geo vision stolen from him!), these aspects along with his awesome character design made this project possible.

When I had the costume ready, I just took pictures right away! For this first photoshoot, there was much pre-production involved, One of the hardest parts was the make-up and his body drawings. I’ve used a Red Posca Pen to make  all the red body illustrations and make-up was used to enhance shadows and highlights of my body physique as well as my facial features. The idea for the background was a nice brown-colored textured fabric called Suede, I believe it matches his Earth-based powers and background. There’s still more photoshoots planned and now I’m working on his accessories and weapons…along with collabs with other cosplayers in the future, so we can expect many new cool stuff for Arataki in the future!

From your Instagram profile I see that you also are into photography. What do you like to shoot and when did you begin? 

Yes! I’m a big Photography fan! I love taking pics as much as I love to cosplay my beloved characters. My first time taking pics with a “Professional” Camera was during college. I’ve done Graphic Design and among our disciplines we had photography too! During two years I’ve studied the principles and also developed my own techniques. At that time, I took pictures of my friends and had a big project exploring alternative subcultures and fashion styles. My favorite photography style is Editorial, Fashion, and basically everything that has Humans (lol) involved. I like to take pictures of people. For now, I am the official photographer of my cosplayer partner in life Sami and I always get excited when she has a new monthly project. It’s just incredible to be able to help her and I’m really proud of our work together. We are planning to do more cosplay collabs but, for now there’s a Chainsaw Man photoshoot We’ve done together which is published on Instagram. Photography is a big part of my life both as an individual and a cosplayer, too.

My husband loves photography and he always says, "It's the lighting". LOL, If it is a bad pic, it was the lighting. If it was a good pic, it's the lighting.

Some of my past Photography work during college -
(There are some still up on my Deviant Art Profile:
Deviant Art Link)

I checked out your Deviant Art Page and all of the photos look like they are true cosplayer photos. Like, your photos should be used for costume product pages. I love all of the pics.

Some of my present photography works with Sami -

She is very beautiful. I love the Asian culture as well. They just seem so innovative and ahead of everyone!!

The Tokyo One Piece tower looks amazing. Where is it and what is going on there and in this photo? 

Oh, I have lots of fond memories from Tokyo One Piece Tower. As a big fan of the series it was great to attend the grand opening day event! I was quite lucky to be there at that time! But, let’s start explaining a little bit about this incredible place.

Tokyo One Piece Tower was an amusement park created and based on the third/fourth floor of one of Japan's biggest Landmark: “The Tokyo Tower”. It was an exclusive attraction solely dedicated to the One Piece Series. They had a big store which sold exclusive and themed merchandise, a restaurant with dishes inspired by the series (one of the main characters is a chef), large floors filled with life-sized statues from our beloved characters and many attractions! Each one is based on a character of the show. It was like a dream come true to any One Piece Fan! *-*.

I went there two times. The first one was at the grand opening in 2015 as a civilian. I got to know the park and took many, many pictures and of course…got some merchandise (yes…I’m a One Piece Fanboy). The second time was in the 2016 Halloween Event. this time as a Cosplayer (dressed as Roronoa Zoro)..and omg, It was a blast…for my surprise I was called to go onstage as part of the cosplay contest! I didn’t know much Japanese, but it was just an incredible experience! I’ve got to know many fans and Japanese cosplayers alike and not just that! The Park’s official cosplay actors went there and took pictures with us! It was a day I’ll never forget! Unfortunately due to the pandemic, the park had closed its doors in 2020, but I really hope they are going to reopen one day, Maybe not in Tokyo Tower but somewhere else…One Piece is almost part of Japanese modern legacy, with MANY episodes and Mangas published! They just have to keep this dream alive!!!

My first visit on the Grand Opening in 2015:

My second visit (now as a cosplayer) on the 2016          Halloween Event:

That sounds truly amazing and the way anime culture is so popular in Asia that they literally have theme parks and stage actors and other incredible events surrounding their animes. The photos are awesome so I'm sure it really was a dream come tru. 

I love the FFVll in the train yard. Where does this take place and do you have a photographer you like to use and if you want to give them a shout out!

It is a really nice place indeed! As a cosplayer sometimes we face some hardships during production and planning a Photoshoot. One of the main concerns always is WHERE can we take our pictures and what the limitations are on our selected places. There are some countries that have photography studios and places dedicated to support the hobby. However, there are other places that have so little resources and not many creative studios to work on…and that’s when you need to get creative and do your research (or as we like to say here, “To wring blood out of a stone”.

For my Reno photoshoot, I had an idea where to take the pictures since I’ve went to the same place before with Sami for her Tifa’s Photoshoot. HOWEVER…when it was my turn, they’ve closed a major area to the public…so it was off-limits to us…luckily there was still an open area with two really old train wagons on the sight and we could work with that. The place is called Fepasa Complex and it is some miles away from my Home Town in Sao Paulo/Brazil. Frequently we catch ourselves traveling miles to get to that perfect spot to take pictures…I’ve done this a lot with Sami…to the length we have to travel to other states to get our works done, but, I gotta say…after we see the results, it was totally worth it!

I think the trainyard was worth it. These shots turned out so beautiful.

As for my Photographer, I have to credit Sami for that too! As I help her to take pictures of her works, I’m happy to have her support on Photography and many times on my production as well. We really try to help each other since we have this big passion for cosplay in common! I’m always learning something new with her and I hope I can share one thing or two with her too. ^-^’

Wow! I didn't know you are from Brazil. That's amazing! I love being able to connect with people from all over the world and finding out more about them and their life stories.

The Boku no Hero pic has some friends. Are you at a con and did they come with you or just in for the photo? 

This pic was taken during my last trip to Japan. I’ve spent some time there during Christmas and New Year’s Eve in 2019-2020. During my stay, there were many anime/manga and game events happening at the end of the year and I’ve attended two major conventions during that time: Jump Festa ‘20 and Winter Comiket 2019. The really nice aspect about Jump Festa is that it’s an event celebrating all series and mangas published on the Shonen Jump Magazine (Series such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, Demon Slayer and of course My Hero Academia). I’ve prepared my Mirio Togata for this event! It was quite an experience as I’ve met many Boku no Hero fans, among them there were regular visitors, people working at the booths and many talented cosplayers as well. During this trip I’ve got some pictures taken by my Photographer friend @cogahumberto, It was my first time taking pictures on a professional Japanese Studio too.

Some Pictures taken at the event:

Mirio Togata (a.k.a Lemillion) Photoshoot made with Coga (my favorite aspect of this cosplay is the cape I just love how it shimmers):

So you are playing Genshin Impact right now? That is super popular right now but I’m not a gamer so what is the premise of the game?

Truth be told…I downloaded the game when it was first announced in 2020, played 2-5 hours of the game…..and dropped it! HOWEVER! When Arataki Itto came out just recently! I’ve just got the game again and decided to immerse myself in the Genshin Impact Universe! This is the kind of game that you have to be persistent and play for several hours to get the good parts of it! In short, Genshin Impact is a RPG with a continuous story (the developers are always adding new maps, sidequests, bonus content and of course, the new characters…it’s just brilliant..it never ends lol).

That sounds really amazing. Technology has come so far in just the last ten years and it shows how intelligent humans really are.

The great catch is, it’s a Gacha game, this means they always release new characters and weapons and you can always try your luck to collect the gems in-game to try to roll for a favorite character for free or buy gems (with real cash) to make this process easier. As for now, I believe there are 40 + Characters available to get, but it’s easier to get the 5 stars characters right when they are released and have their own time-limited banner in-game. Many things changed in the game since I first played back in 2020…now there are GIANT maps to explore, many new regions and well….infinite characters to get…XD I have to make up for the lost time, but I guess I’m doing well so far! (I’ve got 10 Characters right now! But no Arataki Itto yet…*sob)

aww, lol

I believe this style of games (Gacha Games) are just an incredible way for a studio to release a game, make it available for free to everyone and yet make a profit with paid-contents and merchandising….The game became so popular that you can see its advertising everywhere! (there was even a whole Train in Rio de Janeiro wrapped with a Genshin Impact themed design and I know they have a very strong marketing presence worldwide too). In my opinion, we are really lucky to have an Anime/Manga Style Game with such popularity today, it helps us cosplayers and Anime fans to reach new audiences and spread our word around! I have a feeling that Genshin will have Massive Stands and Marketing Actions during the next Major Events! That’s really exciting and I’m really looking forward to it!

 It all sounds so incredible. I love hearing your enthusiasm as you discuss this.

The games I play the most today include Overwatch, Genshin Impact, and most of the recent Japanese Game Releases (mostly JRPG Games).

A picture from my childhood with my cousin playing some Mega Man Games at the computer

(That’s a Compaq Presario from the 90s! :O)

 I’ve always loved playing Video Games since my Childhood! My first console was an Atari and till today it’s an absolute passion. My all time favorite game franchise is the Mega Man series, I’m just so in love with the games and style that I collect everything that comes out from the Blue Bomber.

So, that is Part 1 of my interview with Sano.cos. I will be working on Part 2 and get it out as soon as possible. Please enjoy this part of the cosplayer blog and check out the links through out the interview.

Here is Sano.cos Instagram Link: Sano.cos Instagram

Ashley's Cosplay Cache Instagram