AkiraCos is unarguably one of the most looked up to cosplayers in the country at present. Her journey from an ordinary girl to becoming the sought-after AkiraCos had abundant dreams and passion. Disney has undoubtedly been a cradle of inspiration for many across the generations, a muse of hopes and dreams. For one such dreamer, the spark would ignite flames of passion searing her name upon the stelas of history!
“For the first time ever,” read the Deshi Geek headline on the evening of December 6th, 2022, “a cosplay artist – Arika Ahsan who goes by the stage name AkiraCos of BAC House 4 – performed her own on-stage voiceover in a local con competition!” referring to her entry as Nana Ōsaki from NANA by Ai Yazawa at AnimeCon: Yuki Matsuri.
“I am someone who considers herself a method artist,” says AkiraCos of the decision to do so, “which is why instead of lip-syncing to the song by the character, I chose rather to sing it myself. I wanted to be the character. I wanted to be Nana Ōsaki. That is what cosplay means to me and I wanted to express my philosophy to the world.” So how does Disney factor into all of this?
From Arika Ahsan To AkiraCos
“As a kid, when I was maybe eight or nine, I remember hopping off onto YouTube and watching the princesses at Disney World – they were so pretty and magical!” AkiraCos gushes, relating the experience. “I was so amazed seeing some of my favorite characters from the frames of fiction step out into reality.”
Nonetheless, it would still be quite a few years before she would witness the phenomenon in person. “The children in those videos looked so happy, getting to take pictures with Cinderella and Snow White. I wondered what that must have felt like. Then at MazeCon 2017, I finally got my answer.”
2016 and 2017 have often been touted as the golden years of pop culture conventions in the country and Akira made sure she never missed out on the fun. “It was definitely difficult back then because I was living outside the capital in Mymensingh,” she recounts, “but being part of the joy at all those events was worth the painstaking effort of pushing through the miles and the traffic. However, I always wanted to do more than just be a spectator.”
“Jūzō Suzuya from Tokyo Ghoul,” Akira names her first character from Sui Ishida’s famous title whom she cosplayed at a show organized by Bangladesh Cosplayers (BDC) in 2018, presided over by the illustrious Kazi M Noor. “He was very kind to me during my performance as I had no idea what to do when I got up. I am someone who struggles a lot with anxiety issues and since I did not know we would be called in the order that we signed up, I registered the moment slots were available so I could not chicken out later but then, was faced with the challenge of being the opening entrant. I totally froze until he guided me through it.”
AkiraCos, Path To Success
Curious to learn of his advice, I ask, “Could you please share some of his words with us?” “Of course!” Akira replies enthusiastically. “It was about the transformative effect of cosplay as an art – a character’s costume is a statement expressing who they are and a cosplayer is somewhat like a brand ambassador of that message which we must relay to the audience through our performance. We have to embody it.”
“And how would someone go about doing that?” I probe, realizing Akira has her own wisdom to impart regarding the topic. “Well,” she answers, “mainly, you have to feel for the character, so I suggest cosplaying whom you like, who resonates with you personally rather than following a trend. Ask yourself what sort of music the character might listen to and put it on in the background while crafting the costume, reenact some of their dialogue in front of a mirror and play around with any accompanying props to their theme suite.”
“Cosplay, akin to any art,” Akira elucidates, “requires devotion. You have to invest time into honing your skills which, I will admit, I had a lot of during the global COVID lockdown three years ago, exercising my ability to improvise as a result of the lack of materials and resources back then. I believe the practice paid off.”
AkiraCos – A Name Etched In Gold
“The first ever award I won was immediately following the pandemic at AnimeCon: Tokyo Skyline as Griffith from Berserk by Kentaro Miura. I came second there and then made it as a finalist at Anime Expo in December 2021 the next month. Unfortunately, it soon dawned on me that I could not sustain the momentum with my HSC exams looming on the horizon, so I had to take a hiatus throughout most of 2022.”
“Then you picked up right where you left off!” I remark to a blush and a nod punctuated by an embarrassed giggle. With the aforementioned performance as Nana Ōsaki, Akira would return to the scene and go on to win the third prize at Deshi Geek Con 2022 as Phosphophyllite from Land of the Lustrous by Haruko Ichikawa and then bagging the first prize at Dhaka Pop and Cosplay 2023 as popular Vocaloid Hatsune Miku all within less than three months, becoming a sensation in the geek community.
“I just wish we had a bigger crowd for those,” she laments. “There is such a stellar display of talents at these events that I think needs more eyes on them, but sadly, the platform has stagnated. Hopefully, we can revitalize it with something new and exciting.”
“Anything you might be working on?” My question is met with a sly smirk. “So, I guess we are breaking the news here then,” Akira retorts. “I suppose it should be fine since you are involved. Yes, I will be playing Winry Rockbell alongside Oly Bhaiya and a few others in a live-action comic fanfic of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood which is going to be produced and distributed by Deshi Geek.” You heard it! So please stick with us for all the updates, because trust me, you want to catch this fresh! Stay tuned.
