Almost no one recognized me on the convention floor, which brought a delightfully surreal mix of familiarity and novelty. Convention halls nowadays are filled with trending characters from current seasonal anime, so an old-school Chinese animation icon from The Legend of Qin has naturally become somewhat niche. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the freedom of walking around without being swarmed by crowds.
Preparing this costume presented quite a few challenges. First was the long, straight purple wig; to achieve that smooth drape while locking down the exact length and curve of the bangs, I spent hours carefully styling and trimming it. The headpiece was elaborately crafted, featuring white flowers set with pink gems at the crown; to keep it from slipping, I secured it with dozens of U-pins underneath. The fan-shaped frame on my back resembled a portrait border, but it carried surprising weight entirely supported by my shoulders, demanding considerable stamina during prolonged standing.
The garment's layering is also quite intricate: the pale green lining, wide purple sleeves, and dark outer robe created rich visual dimension, while recreating the wave motifs along the sleeves and the rubies on the waist sash took dedicated effort. The large pink bloom on my wrist brought a lovely flush of color, though it was slightly unwieldy, requiring conscious adjustments to my wrist angle whenever posing for photos.
The most testing element was the veil draped over the lower half of my face. While the fabric was breathable, wearing it for hours in a stuffy convention hall made breathing feel somewhat restricted, and eating or drinking was virtually out of the question, so I promptly took it off for a breather after completing close-ups. To convey the character's detached, aloof composure, the eyes were the focal point of the entire look: I wore purple contacts paired with winged eyeliner and long lashes, giving the gaze peering through the veil a captivating, profound depth.
Of course, the absolute highlight was occasionally running into veteran fans. When their eyes lit up at the backdrop behind me and they called out Shao Siming's name, that instant spark of shared nostalgia was priceless. A few passersby mistook me for a character from a new video game, and I took the opportunity to explain briefly, doing a bit of promo for this classic series.
Cosplaying a less mainstream character means you don't have to rush through crowds to line up at popular photo spots; you can leisurely scout quiet corners to capture detailed shots. The cut of this Ancient style cosplay is fascinating—especially the fan ribs at the back and the structured waist embellishments—requiring an impeccably upright posture to look sharp on camera. If you haven't revisited this title in a while, it is definitely worth looking back at; the character designs remain timelessly classic even today.