[Sakura cosplay] Cardcaptor Sakura, the sealing wand and battle dress I made by hand ten years ago

Looking back at this Sakura cosplay from 2013, it has been exactly ten years. I was still a student back then, and to scrape together enough for this red and white battle dress, I forced myself to save on living expenses for several months. What I am most proud of is this sealing wand (bird-head staff). I bought the raw materials and polished, painted, and assembled it bit by bit myself. I adjusted the positions of the wings and eyes countless times just to barely capture the charm from the anime. Looking back now, it took nearly two months just to prepare the handmade props, but that sense of fulfillment from creating something from scratch is totally incomparable to buying ready-made products online today.

Ten years have passed, and the cosplay community has really changed a lot. Today's cosplay costume patterns fit better, fabrics are more exquisite, and props have all kinds of 3D printing and custom shops, maxing out both gorgeousness and replication levels. But sometimes I also feel like we've lost some of the fun of 'tinkering'—like sewing several layers of stiff tulle inside the skirt just to make it poofy, or studying circuits and soldering battery boxes myself just to make the wand light up. Looking back, these clumsy yet earnest processes have become the most precious parts of my 10 years of cosplay memories.

Although the image quality of this set isn't as high-definition as today's DSLRs, and there's no complex lighting or post-processing special effects, every frame exudes the dedication of that time. Sakura's magic circle and the 'Release!' pose seemed like the most sacred ritual to me back then. Reopening these photos ten years later feels like more than just character replication; it feels like having a conversation with my passionate and persistent self from back then.