2012 Archive: A moment with Keik: Remarkable Brisbane Cosplayer

Student Keik believes cosplay is about more than simply wearing an outfit and looking pretty.

Who is Keik? Well, by day she is just your average international student studying pharmacy at the University of Queensland. Passing her in the street, you would never recognise that inside she is a passionate cosplayer and creative genius.

Ever the perfectionist, Keik is all about improving her work again and again until it meets her high standards and artistic vision. She said, ‘I've never wanted to look amazing in cosplay... bringing the character to life is more important than just "looking pretty".’

Keik travelled to Australia from Hong Kong four years ago to begin her study. She has been cosplaying for about a year and is already wowing Australian cosplayers with her capabilities. Keik’s life has always been surrounded by the influence of Japanese pop-culture. She said, ‘My parents owned a Japanese Manga/Anime shop so basically my childhood was spent reading manga. I started cosplaying because I met some cosplayer friends and they made me interested in it.’

Keik gets her inspiration from copslay heavyweights such as KANAME, TOUYA HIBIKI and Kyuruu. ‘KANAME is the master of prop making and he's really good at putting different elements into cosplay. Touya and Kyuruu are crossplayers. They are girls but always make good guy characters. They're really talented at posing and making believable facial expressions,' Keik said.

Whilst she has made some fantastic progress so far, Keik is always keen to create another head turning cosplay. ‘The next big cosplay would like to attempt next year is the Sengoku Basara group’, she said. ‘All the prop making and armour construction is going to be so much fun! Also, apart from putting lights on my costume, I am attempting to put more exciting elements on my projects such as fire and moving mechanical parts. Oh, but I’m not building a robot I promise!’ Keik laughed.

Keik said that she is very greatful for all her support so far and hopes she can keep improving and impressing the cosplay communities with her creations.

Melanie Stevens 2012