[Wakaba Mutsumi cosplay] BanG Dream!: Freezing Fragility and Detachment Amidst Vintage Book Piles

For this photo set of Wakaba Mutsumi, the scene was chosen in a Vintage loft space piled high with old books and scattered papers. Pairing a pure white, intricate lace Lolita fashion dress with long mint green hair, I attempted to present the character's detached and fragile texture. The costume has plenty of details, including a wide-brimmed lace bonnet, a capelet, and oversized sleeves with ruffles; it feels quite heavy when worn, but also carries a substantial sense of weight.

During the shoot, to match the keynote of fragility and hurt described in the post, I put effort into many props and movements. For example, in the frame holding a vintage kerosene lamp, the intention was actually to use the warm yellow light source of the lantern itself to illuminate the face, forming a sharp contrast with the chilly ambient light in the background, which makes the person's state look even more lonely. In the shot holding two plush dolls, although the dolls are props, they also increase the softness of her inner heart in the frame to a certain extent, as if she is trying to hold onto some support. For the low-angle shot standing on the wooden ladder, the floating book pages in the background were tossed by hand on-site and captured with the shutter; to catch a moment where both hair and skirt hem were in their prime state without papers blocking the face, we tried back and forth numerous times.

In terms of makeup, to fit the traits of an anime character, I used relatively prominent yet natural eyelashes, fair base makeup, paired with light-colored contact lenses, making the whole look carry an unrealistic, ethereal exquisiteness. In photographic composition, there are several clever touches, like using a circular mirror to create a reflection effect, which not only displays the full-body styling, including the Stockings, but also adds depth to the frame. For the photos sitting on the wooden floor leaning against the ladder, the photographer used overhead lighting and side-backlighting to carve out the lace textures on the dress and the facial contours, and later uniformly adjusted them into cool tones in post-production.

Portraying such a character truly tests one's inner peace. She is not the type to wear her emotions on her sleeve, so in many photos, my eyes are downcast or directed slightly away from the lens. The entire shooting process was actually very physically exhausting because I had to move up and down between the piles of books and the ladder wearing platform white shoes. The arrangement of the books was also very deliberate—needing to appear chaotic while ensuring a certain visual order when the camera swept across. During the process of adjusting the height and position of the books, we also tried different camera angles, even utilizing a telephoto lens to compress the background space, making those scattered sheets of paper look as if they were suspended in the air. Regarding the texture of the costume, white lace is very prone to overexposure under cool light, losing details, so we repeatedly tested the angles of the softboxes and flags when lighting, attempting to preserve the layers of every single ruffle. I feel that being able to interpret an outfit with one's own understanding and freeze it through the lens is a deeply meaningful matter in itself. After shooting this set of photos, I feel I gained a deeper understanding of the setting of a 'creature born to be wounded'; this immersive experience felt very fulfilling. From early custom costume tailoring and wig selection to communicating lighting and adjusting poses with the photographer on-site, every step required patient fine-tuning. I hope this photo set, carrying a sense of chill and shattered fragility, allows everyone to see a different Wakaba Mutsumi.