This weekend at the Suning.com Wanbo Max store was indeed extraordinarily bustling. The Honor of Kings open qualifiers were in full swing, and what surprised us convention regulars the most was the dense anime atmosphere on-site, perfectly fitting our 2D daily life style.
As a cosplayer with fair exhibition experience, whenever I receive an event invitation for such a cross-industry commercial tournament, I do my homework thoroughly. Today, to make the overall styling better fit the summer's active vibe on-site, I specially chose this outfit dominated by a blue-and-white color scheme, featuring plush elements and metal ornaments. This lightweight clothing, paired with a wig, makes the overall layering of the styling very rich. However, putting it on isn't easy, especially since the wig requires a specific volume and accessories fixed. To guarantee the optimal visual effect throughout the whole day's event, hair styling and makeup take up quite some time. What many passersby don't realize is that the photo requirements for this kind of offline event are entirely different from standard studio shoots at a Guangzhou Anime Convention. The event venue mostly skews toward a mix of mall overhead lights and natural light, heavily testing the foundation's durability and the wig's smoothness.
Arriving on-site, I immediately felt that the Wanbo Max store was not only spacious but its offline e-sports atmosphere was instantly maxed out. Giant LED screens broadcasted the players' operations in the canyon in real time, the spectator area was fully packed, and even the railings on the second floor were filled with onlookers and e-sports enthusiasts. To be honest, we usually do cosplay shoots with just a few people gathered around to capture official photos, but coming to an offline match home ground today, taking out our phones to interact and take photos with players, and feeling their recognition of our styling genuinely brings a completely different sense of achievement. My partner today is also a highly experienced cosplayer; we coordinated under the lighting in front of the backdrop, found angles, and struck various gestures together, making it feel like a mini offline fan meeting.
What gratified me most on-site was that many passing players or shoppers coming for the match were incredibly enthusiastic. They weren't constrained at all upon seeing us, proactively approaching to ask for a photo-sharing interaction. Everyone flashed V-signs in front of the lens, and some even explicitly imitated the signature gestures of the characters in the game. This fresh vitality generated by the collision of e-sports culture and anime culture within the same space is far more infectious than taking selfies facing a DSLR camera in a studio. I actually love this genuine interaction; the happy smiles of players when receiving their photos are the best reward for all our early morning makeup and styling preparation.
I also put quite some effort into the details of the makeup. Because the foot traffic was massive today and the event lasted a long time, I specially enhanced the depth of the eye makeup and the curl of the eyelashes to make the eyes look more agile in front of the camera, while using highlights on the center of the face to combat the issue of offline lighting washing out makeup. Those metallic ornaments and plush elements also looked highly textured under the refraction of the venue's lights. I combed the wig repeatedly before heading out, trying my best to ensure the hair strands were smooth and frizz-free, so that it could maintain a clean, photogenic state in both close-ups and wide shots.
Overall, participating in such an offline tournament that crosses the dual dimensions of e-sports and anime at the Wanbo Max store allowed me to spend a highly fulfilling weekend, whether by showcasing my meticulously crafted look through cosplay or experiencing the heat and carnival belonging to players as a spectator. The event organizers masterfully blended the tournament's professionalism, the passion of e-sports, and the inclusivity of a typical anime convention, which leaves me full of anticipation for my future participation in more diversified scenarios as a cosplayer.