Choity Chakma or more commonly known as ‘Ero Senpai’ is a highly talented and looked-up-to cosplayer from Chattogram. Her cosplay performance during AnimeCon Chattogram 2023 Sakura garnered a lot of attention and raised the volume of crowd cheers. So, it is no wonder that the Chattogram native cosplayer went on to win the 1st Runner-up position in the ACC23 cosplay competition. The full-time student is a gem of a cosplayer and can surely be considered to be a pride of the Chattogram Cosplay Community.
Ero Senpai is an active member of the Bangladesh Association of Cosplayers (BAC). Her affiliation with the largest cosplay community in Bangladesh began a couple of years ago when she joined the revered House 2 of BAC aka the Chittagong Cosplayers. She is also affiliated with the oldest and largest anime community of Chattogram known as Chittagong Anime Bhokto.
There is this intangible thing about the cosplayers of Chattogram that makes you drawn to their cosplays and in turn, appreciate them wholeheartedly. This is something that I noticed with the glaring admiring ness of my subconscious and something I tried to convey in my previous feature of Arpita Sangma. The same is the case with Ero Senpai as her Ai Hoshino cosplay is awe-inducing, to say the least. The portrayal accomplished it by meticulous crafting n tailoring, flawless accuracy, and breathtaking performance.
Ero Senpai The Charming Cosplayer
Ero Senpai’s Ai Hoshino cosplay which I witnessed myself made a huge impact. I was curious to know how she manages to make cosplays look that amazing. And the chance came through the means of this feature. As I interviewed Ero Senpai, she turned out to be extremely passionate and dedicated towards cosplay. Although passion and dedication are the two most important traits, they cannot make a cosplayer stand out from the rest. A bright spark is needed and in Choity’s case, that spark is a radiant charm.
Like many cosplayers, Ero Senpai started fantasizing about anime characters she obsessed over in her younger days. She wanted to become like them or rather portray them with her charming personality. And what better medium can be there other than cosplay? So, started Choity Chakma’s journey to cosplay her favorite characters and eventually became Ero Senpai the charming cosplayer. “Growing up, so many anime characters inspired me to become like them. I’ve seen many talented cosplayers who made the characters so lively. That’s what made me want to do cosplay to heal my inner child.”, she explained with a nostalgic expression.
“Karina Coser and Tomie Cosplay. I like how they can pull off any character flawlessly.”, Choity declared her cosplayer inspirations with two very popular names, one being Karina Coser the Ukraine born half Chinese globally recognized cosplayer and the other being Tomie Cosplay a Bangladeshi cosplayer with a huge fan following whom I have already featured in Deshi Geek Magazine Issue 4.
Ero Senpai has been cosplaying for a long time since her high-school days. Although she has officially competed in three conventions her list of cosplays is much higher but, mostly low-budget ones. “I’ve cosplayed three times officially. However, I’ve been doing it since high-school on low budgets.”, she reiterated. Then she continued, “. I have participated in three events till now. Animecon Chattogram 2022 Mirai, Anime Winter Fest Chattogram Matsuri 1.0, and Animecon Chattogram 2023 Sakura.” “My favorite is the first one. Because it was the first-ever convention in my city. It was both exciting and overwhelming!”, she reminisced her experience.
In regards to cosplay competitions, Ero Senpai is definitely a heavy hitter. She has won three awards so far and all of them were significant. 1st Runner-up in Anime Winter Fest Chattogram, Champion of Home Cosplay Contest 2.20, and Runner-up in AnimeCon Chattogram 2023 Sakura. The weight of each prize speaks volumes.
Crevices Of Cosplay
Cosplaying is an art form in itself. How crafting, tailoring, painting, make-up, and performance come together as one in a single medium is a most fascinating notion and cosplay is a prime example of that. The pinball-machine motions of human consciousness and character exploration are better captured in non-linear portrayals like this one than they are in linear ones (i.e. acting). So, you can certainly call cosplay as the realistic consciousness crevice of fictional character exploration.
As for Ero Senpai, she is no breaker of this autocratic rule rather she abides by it most devotedly. The age-old love and obsession for fictional characters is what drives everything in the world of cosplay. Her love for anime characters and zeal to recreate them in real life are the catalysts of her being a cosplayer as she explained, “Personally, cosplay means a lot to me. It’s something I think about every day because I like it so much and can’t wait for my next convention. To me, it is the expression of the love of characterization through wearable art.”
“Tailoring and crafting for cosplay is full of fun experiences. It’s like creating art. My mom taught me the basic skills of sewing. Mostly I do the crafting and take measurements and stuff, Mom does most of the critical parts.”, Choity explained her joy in creating art. “Sometimes it is possible to make a costume in a day depending on how simple it is though some costumes may take months to put together and let’s not forget how expensive cosplaying can be!”, she continued.
Ero Senpai is quite particular about the importance of make-up and wig-styling in regard to cosplay. “I think the most important part of cosplay is how you style the wig and do your makeup. if it is mismatched it might represent another character.”, Choity remarked. “Certainly, we need to be in character to cosplay. It’s no use doing cosplay if we’re not showing love for the character.”, she put down her arguments on the debated subject. As for bad experiences while cosplaying Ero Senpai had this to say, “Sometimes people try to take pictures with you and then bully you online.”
There is a question that has divided cosplayers in more ways than none. What is the most important trait of a cosplayer? To some, it is meticulous crafting and tailoring, to some breathtaking stage performances, to some flawlessly recreating characters, to some getting appreciation, and to some just having fun. However, for Ero Senpai, it is something quite different as she stated, “The most important trait a cosplayer should have is to avoid negative comments and work on their progress.”
Ero Senpai’s ACC23 Experience
“I felt so excited when I heard the news of Animecon Chattogram 2023 Sakura. I was nervous and confident at the same time. I started preparing for the contest a month ago.”, Ero Senpai exclaimed. “Due to gloomy weather some people couldn’t make it to the convention though it was fun to hang out with other cosplayers.”, she continued.
“I felt overwhelmed getting appreciated by the audience I was really happy when I got the 2nd place though I believe I could have done better if had done my performance better.”, Choity explained the details of her performance and win. “They all are talented cosplayers, love the way they put up the act of the characters and how they made their costumes. Also, it felt good to see some new faces and to see the community grow.”, she praised and welcomed her fellow cosplayers.
Finale
“I haven’t given any deeper thought to it but I want to continue as long as it’s fun. Not many people do it but those who are into it do it passionately.”, Ero Senpai answered the question about her future as a cosplayer.
Choity is blessed in the sense that she is supported by both her family and friends in her quest for cosplay as not many have this luxury. “My family and friends are very supportive of me being a cosplayer as my friends help me in shopping and my mom helps me in crafting.”, she explained. As for aspiring cosplayers, she had this to say, “I would like to advise the aspiring cosplayers to be themselves, avoid negativity and have fun.”
Finally, Ero Senpai thanked Deshi Geek like so, “Lasting thank you Deshi Geek for reaching out to me and featuring me on your page. Happy Cosplaying!” And peeps, to appreciate the fabulous works of Ero Senpai follow the page link below.
