Meet and Greet Ying Tze – Elegant Cosplayer from Malaysia
Cosplaymania 2015 Presents: Meet and Greet Ying Tze
Cosplaymania is the Philippine’s premiere cosplay convention, gathering both newbie and experienced cosplayers from around the nation. The organizers also invite prominent cosplayers from around the world, including famous cosplayer Ying Tze who has a Facebook page with more than 60,000 likes. Hailing from neighboring Malaysia, Ying Tze has cosplayed several characters for over nine years. Active in the international cosplay scene since 2010, this is her third visit to the Philippines as special guest and judge. As a neophyte in the hobby, it is an honor and pleasure to be able to meet such a talented cosplayer. Dressed as Rize Kamishiro from Tokyo Ghoul, Ying Tze meets her fans (again) during the 2nd day of Cosplaymania 2015.
One of the more notable questions (and perhaps the most common) was what Ying Tze gets out of cosplay, other than popularity. She cracked a smile and replied humbly, “I don’t think I’m popular. I’m very fortunate and lucky.” She stated she was thankful that her love for cosplay has opened so many doors for her. She’s gotten several opportunities to travel and meet new people she normally wouldn’t be able to. “Usually, I just stay at home when I’m not cosplaying.” She feels very touched whenever fans come to greet her. “Honestly, I’d rather make friends than fans.”
Surprisingly, Ying Tze’s most challenging cosplay was the one she wore the previous day of Cosplaymania, Meiko Shiraki from Prison School. She meekly admitted to being quite shy. “I usually just wear t-shirts and stuff. It’s always a challenge for me to do sexy stuff at events.” She often takes a long time to gather the courage and mentally prepare herself for such cosplay.
Although currently more famous for her beautiful elegant cosplay, Ying Tze has done male characters before. “I used to cosplay as boys when I was younger.” Nowadays, she felt she was too tall for them anymore. She jokingly declared, “I have a shota (young boy) face, but a seme (masculine) body.”
“Who is your favorite Love Live character?” Ying Tze said it was Kotori at first. She felt an affinity with her as they both loved making characters. By the end of the show, she ended up loving Maki, Umi, Eli, and Nozomi. She wanted to cosplay Kotori but was often too tall. It was difficult for her to do group cosplays, since she was usually asked to be the taller characters. Eventually, she gravitated towards doing solo cosplays. Ying Tze’s current favorite was Nozomi and she even has a Nozomi-centric photobook.
As an avid fan of games like Resident Evil, Dynasty Warriors (YES!), and Grand Theft Auto, Ying Tze was asked if she plays League of Legends. She said she prefers support roles. She laughed and said that she likes video games but isn’t very good at them. “If you want to have fun, let me play support. Otherwise, I might just ruin your day.” Leona and Nami are her favorite characters in the game.
Ying Tze wrapped up her second Meet & Greet with solo pictures with her adoring fans, some of whom follow her to every convention, and a mini-photoshoot session for budding photographers.
All in all, it was quite an experience, and we here at whatsageek would like to thank Cosplay Mania for this one of a kind opportunity to meet such an amazing cosplayer!
