Cosplay isn't just about the outfits after all, it's had a hugely positive impact on Kaho Shibuya: 'it was like a therapy for me'

For many, cosplay is one of the only opportunities someone gets to really express themselves. Not only is it a creative outlet to do so, but it can also be incredibly beneficial to the health and wellbeing of the creator, which is a sentiment I've heard a number of content creators express over the years. But to get more of a sense of the impact cosplaying for social media and events has on a person, I spoke to Kaho Shibuya, author, contest host, and avid cosplayer with over 1.2 million followers on Instagram alone, to understand how she started her cosplay journey, what it's like to be so involved in the community, and any impact it's made over the years.

"I became Kaho Shibuya back in November 2014," Shibuya tells me. "Initially, I was still not sure about social media, but I think I started with blogging. I don't have a blog anymore, but I moved to Twitter—X—now, and then Instagram, where it's more about photos and selfies. I kind of got tired of having the same look.

"I tend to do the same makeup and see just me, same old me, in the mirror all of the time. So I really like the fact that I look super different, and then you get to be like somebody else with acting too. You get to be in character, and you also get to talk about the character you like, you know, talk about the show, game, anime you like. It could be a good conversational starter because you're like, 'Okay, I like this. I want to start doing this.'"

It's safe to say that the descent into cosplay snowballed from there. But, having now cosplayed as hundreds of different characters from a huge variety of series over the last few years, there's one community in particular that has a special spot in Shibuya's heart: "Recently, I have been getting into the FGC, fighting game community, which is more tight and everyone knows every character."

When it comes to fighting game characters, you probably won't be able to cosplay out of what you've got in your wardrobe, which means buying in pieces, if not entire outfits. "I tend to get a custom outfit, which tends to be more expensive, so I don't want to just wear it like one time or a few times and then auction it off or give it away," Shibuya explains. "I don't want to do that, it's too expensive! It costs more than your rent, or like a mortgage payment. So I like to wear them, and now that I'm involved in some events, I want to keep wearing them.

"I did the character Reirei, whose English name is Hsien-Ko, from the Darkstalkers series. It's like a zombie character, a Chinese Zombie character, so you get to paint your face blue, and I got super huge clothes, and I really loved that one, and I think the community loved it too. I constantly got stopped for photos when I was wearing that at an event, and I actually ended up hosting a cosplay contest in that outfit, too. It was hard to hold a microphone, though, but I loved it, and I'm trying to make it into a new one, so I'm modifying it to make it easier to move around."

Hsien-Ko isn't the only character from the Darkstalkers series that Kaho Shibuya has cosplayed either. An Instagram post from 2019 shared pictures of her Morrigan cosplay, but in Shibuya's own words "everyone does Morrigan" so branching out to the series' more elaborate characters is the next step, and despite the outfits being more in-depth projects, they're having a positive impact on Shibuya's health: "The next one is QB and she's a Queen Bee, but her whole outfit is going to be body tight so I cannot get bigger. I have to stay fit, but that's also a motivation for me to stay fit, and I'm trying to work out more. I got a healthy mind because of cosplay. So thanks cosplay!"

This impact has echoed throughout Shibuya's cosplaying journey, too: "I think I started doing it to embrace my particular body type. I'm kind of short and stacked, which suits a lot of anime characters. I was like, okay, I can embrace who I am. I don't have to feel bad about my body. Then, eventually, I was like, 'I like the look of this character, I want to be able to portray them, and for that I want to have some abs, and now I'm going to work out.' It has been very positive. Initially, it was like therapy for me—saying it's okay to look how you look. But now I want to try different looks and kind of, in a way, evolve myself."

Although a lot of the photos shared to Kaho Shibuya's social media pages are taken from the comfort of her own home or studio, she's attended multiple events in full cosplay, and frequently attends kimono classes in Japan. But, cosplaying for a photoshoot or at home is a completely different experience. "It's quite different, especially compared to photoshoots that you get to edit and filter on your own, including just selfies," Shibuya says. "Whatever pictures people take with their phone, no matter how great the camera is, it's all about lighting. You cannot control that. They want to make sure you look good from all the different angles. But the great thing about walking in at events is you get reactions—immediate reactions. You also get to show off what you are."

But despite these positive reactions, the reception of her cosplays aren't always positive. "Nowadays, everyone has at least one social media account, and once you start posting, you get a reaction. It's not always good. Sometimes, I have cosplayed characters that aren't really my body type, and I have got complaints saying 'you should've just bound your chest' or something like that. Some people complain about things like 'your skin tone is different,' and I really loathe that kind of reaction. You have to be thick-skinned before you can really make your account public."

With that said, cosplay has had a positive impact on Shibuya Kaho's physical and mental health, which is a sentiment felt by a lot of people actively involved in the cosplay community. As a final note for anyone looking to take the plunge, Shibuya shared: "Most importantly, you have to enjoy it, and that's the main thing. It's not to attack anybody, it's not to attack the characters, even. I think those people who gatekeep it's them trying to protect their character. So try to embrace who you are—you don't have to try too hard. Just start from something easy for you, and it shouldn't be a burden. You have to remember that the reason why you started doing it is to enjoy yourself. Never forget that."