Somethings About Her..

Here, we interview Venus Lim to find out all you need to know about this popular cosplayer. Read on!

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Currently studying in a stressful university, can’t wait to graduate! I love studying, really. Learning new things keep me alive but I dislike memorizing notes from lecturers simply because the exams are replicas of those thick notes.

I think I must have been living two lives – one reality and another fantasy. In reality, I have to earn my degree then go out and earn bucks to support my family and nine cats at home. In my fantasy realm, I get to do almost everything that I want. I sew, play the guitar, dance, sing, join cheerleading, design things (from a bookmark to my attire) and of course – cosplay!

My hobbies are many, mostly to do with art and performance. I enjoy the company of my cats at home, lying in my cozy room with an interesting novel (strictly no romance genre) to read. I love Japanese culture and appreciate unique interest such as belly dancing, Quenya, ballet and classical music. The people I look up to are Joe Hisaishi, Clamp and Hayao Miyazaki.

My personality huh…hmmm…I am downright frank and speak what’s on my mind. I don’t usually explain why I do what I do so I’m usually misunderstood.

Q: When and how did you get interested in cosplaying?

The first anime I fell in love with was Sailormoon. I loved Sailor Venus and hence, the name. Back in those days, I secretly hoped that when I turn 14, a talking white cat would come looking for me. I wished those characters were real! Little did I know that somewhere out there, a group of people were already living out the anime – the cosplayers!

When I first saw some pictures of our local cosplayers, I was tempted to participate too! The problem was, I didn’t know where to start. Friends around me were rather studious and thought that cosplay was crazy so I let the interest died down a bit. It’s only a few years back that I took a step forward to make my own costume then…voila!

Q: What do you think about cosplay in Malaysia?

It’s catching up fast! It’s like a wild fire blazing across the Malaysia calendar. Almost every month, some cosplay events are taking place. Over the years, we get to see more and more cosplayers appear with impressively authentic costumes, weapons et cetera.

Nevertheless, it is still not a widely accepted culture in Malaysia especially by the older generation who cannot comprehend what is it all about.

Also, there are very few local traders who provide good cosplay items such as wigs and accessories. Most of the time, people ended up purchasing items from either China or Hong Kong. This mades cosplay a very expensive interest.

It would sure be nice to walk by a cosplay shop here one day, though.

Q: What do you do to prepare for your cosplay projects?

First thing first, I will select the appropriate character. I pick characters which I really liked and share something in common be it physical appearance or personality.

Since I make my own costume, I spent quite some time looking for fabric which matches the original version – texture, hue, pattern and price of course XD.

I have my uncle to help me make weapons. He made an Ashura sword for me before, which was really, really cool! What I’m saying is, locate the source of items before starting any project. I usually have my hairdresser-mom to do my hair which was super cool too!

Lastly before hitting the public, I studied some of the common poses or things that the character usually does. This included expression, posture and poise too. I’m still working on those.

Q: What future projects can we expect from you?
Sumire Kanzaki, Sakura Taisen.

MeiLing Li, Cardcaptor Sakura.

Vampire Princess Miyu.

I would love to redo Yuko Ichihara from XXXHolic again but in another dimension. Perhaps sometime next year. Go, go Clamp characters!