The post-event photo log from Shanghai Houbunsha Only is finally assembled—a fashionably late 'Ver 1.0' archive! That day, Kokoa (@嘘大王飞走噜) and I spent hours in the studio specifically to recreate that effortless, comforting warmth shared between Chino and Kokoa. I portrayed Chino while my partner took on Kokoa. To harmonize with the cherry blossom setting, we poured substantial effort into our hair and makeup styling.
Chino's wig features long, straight hair in a soft silvery lilac-blue shade, neatly trimmed with blunt bangs. I wore vivid blue contacts and dusted prominent pink blush across my cheeks to enhance her youthful cuteness, accessorizing with two white pom-poms paired with black criss-cross hair clips. The outfit is her classic blue-and-white frock adorned with pocket watches, rabbit crests in golden embroidery, and English typography details. Kokoa's look featured warm orange-brown bobbed locks, plush white animal ears, and a pink-and-white gingham patchwork dress anchored by a striking oversized brown bow at the waist.
For our first posing set, we leaned close with our hands intertwined. The cherry blossom backdrop in the studio was built with faux pink boughs against dark drapery; under the studio strobes, the lighting leaned warm, so we calibrated post-processing to ensure skin and fabric looked radiant and luminous. The greatest joy of this shoot was collaborating with my partner—having paired up for multiple Anime cosplay shoots before, our chemistry felt completely intuitive. A humorous 'muscle flex' pose was just something we goofed around with during breaks, but our photographer captured it on the fly, and it turned out to be delightfully spirited.
Tippy naturally made an appearance as a plush prop. In the photos, we cradled the round, white Angora rabbit doll that we prepared specifically for this shoot. The caption joke—'Grandpa, why am I the only one getting smacked around?'—came from testing diverse interactive angles during the session, lifting him up, squishing his cheeks, and jokingly tapping him on the head.
As cosplayers, we invest hours into studying character temperaments and sartorial details prior to each shoot. Chino can be deceptively tricky to portray: she is composed and introverted, requiring me to keep facial expressions restrained without dramatic physical gestures, relying instead on subtle glances and understated nuances to convey feeling. Kokoa, by contrast, is bubbly and outgoing, so my partner embraced expansive, energetic body language. Our dynamic—one tranquil, one spirited—complemented each other seamlessly.
This collection serves as a cherished memento of the convention. With our busy schedules, carving out a full day for studio shooting is no small task. From set dressing and light calibration to posing rehearsals and prop choreography, the process took more than half a day. Though wearing wigs and heavy dresses for hours is physically exhausting, seeing the finalized frames made every effort worthwhile. I look forward to capturing even more heartwarming sets in the future!