[Haruhi Suzumiya cosplay] The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, August Ready

For this location shoot, I started organizing my equipment more than half a month in advance. For this classic Kita High sailor suit, from the red and white stripes on the collar to the red bow tie on the chest, and then to the red armband on the left arm, I did a lot of homework on the details. Although there are ready-made costumes on the market, to fit the original design, I manually fine-tuned the elasticity of the belt and the pleat depth of the pleated skirt myself. Coupled with the specially trimmed wig and the iconic orange ribbon, the moment I stood in front of the mirror, the character's state came out naturally.

The weather on the day of the shoot was fantastic, with a azure blue sky and plenty of sunlight. Carrying that orange plastic megaphone, I shuttled back and forth between park benches, lawns, paths, and an industrial-style abandoned machinery dump site. Holding the megaphone to make shouting actions gave an extremely strong sense of immersion. Picture 1 is a backlit shot on a bench, where I tried to restore that slightly lazy yet restless feeling, with sunlight passing through the hair onto the face, creating a great light-and-shadow effect. Pictures 3 and 4 are at the abandoned truck site; wearing black knee-high socks (Black stockings) and uniform leather shoes, against the background of the mechanical wasteland style, there is a tension of instantly switching from daily moments to combat status. The upper and lower split collage in Picture 5 displays two different architectural backgrounds: one is a blue wall with neon signs and pipes, and the other is a space full of orange machinery and huge gears; holding out the megaphone in these scenes gives the frame great layering. The low-angle shot of leaning against the window in Picture 6 also just happened to capture the moment I looked out and prepared to shout.

As someone who has followed retro anime for years, I have a very special affection for the character Haruhi Suzumiya. When watching the anime back then, I was deeply impressed by that drive of refusing to be mediocre and wanting to make the world lively. This time, taking advantage of the fan creator festival, I presented these ideas through photos. The team members cooperated with great tacit understanding, and many actions were temporarily adjusted on-site based on the environment. From adjusting the composition and testing the light to constantly searching for a more natural expression in front of the lens, although the entire process consumed a lot of physical energy, seeing the final photos, that sense of satisfaction of turning the images in my mind into reality step by step is hard to replace.

August is coming soon, which also reminds me of that state in the work of always looking forward to new things. Holding a megaphone and shouting out the thoughts in my heart loudly in a sun-drenched afternoon or dusk is a quite exhilarating thing. While organizing this batch of photos, recalling the moments of running, jumping, and posing during the shoot, I felt like I rediscovered that passion from back when I chased the anime. No need for too much fancy decoration, I just simply want to share this purity and joy belonging to the retro anime fan with those who also like this work. Summer is still continuing, and I look forward to exploring more interesting shooting locations next time, recording more two-dimensional emotions with a real lens.