Kei Daluro And His Take On The Local Cosplay Community

I came across an amazing cosplayer few days ago while the cosplay community was in chaos because of an issue on copying another cosplayer’s character. There was a huge commotion about this, and I can say that we were also personally affected by it. I figured that it was a perfect opportunity to dive into someone else’s perspective on how they see the community, and as well as get to know him more.

Kei Daluro, started cosplaying way back around 2008–2010, when double characters were not as much of a big deal. He told us that it was easier to find friends this way because of the equal amount of love for the character that they both share as a cosplayer, He also let us show one of his earliest cosplay.

He also pointed how much he misses the creativity of cosplayers since MTO shops and RTW costumes are easier to find nowadays. Back then, you could see how resourceful cosplayers are by using materials they could find at home, or recycling fabric and old clothes. Even though things change for the better or for worse, he still also misses the old times when people just enjoy the hobby without the pressure.

No matter the physical appearance and perfection everyone is striving for, he wants to encourage cosplayers to give value to the hard work and the love for the character instead. There could be some who would give constructive criticism, but he told us to take that as a fuel to do better and improve even more.

We asked him if he would advice the new generation of cosplayers to try making their own costumes at least once in their career, and he gladly said yes. He even shared his own experience with being guilty of cramming, visiting tons of thrift stores to find the perfect match for the costume he’s making, and traveling all the way to Divisoria to buy rolls of fabric.

“Exhausting? Yes, to think that you would put so much time and effort into making your own costumes, even spending sleepless nights of cramming just to finish one costume. But was it worth it? A BIG YES, to see the final result of your pain, exhaustion, and details were so satisfying especially when someone compliments them when they see it on the day of the convention. That’s exactly when you shouldn’t stop trying new things to improve.”

Kei shared with us his most favorite character to cosplay; Loke The Lion from Fairytail, in which he spent four years portraying him back in 2011–2015.

We’ve also found out that he’s very much a fan of Final Fantasy, giving us his top characters from the franchise that he would love to create and cosplay soon.

• Vincent (Chaos Form) FF7 — due to his undying love to Lucrecia/Hellbent revenge on Hojo.
• Zalera The death Seraph (FF12) — being the symbol of death and guide to souls to hell his role like a grim reaper.
• Bahamut X (FF7) — his most favorite summons from all series of Final Fantasy.

Despite the chaos in the community from time to time, he again encourages everyone to keep cosplaying for the love of the character you chose;

“Follow your own happiness and always strive improvements for each craft you do. Let the passion fuel your desire to cosplay.”

As we wrap up the interview, we were again reminded that cosplaying could sometimes portray a big part in our lives to bring the positivity out, and share it with others by means of the characters that we love.

FOLLOW KEI ON INSTAGRAM @kei.Loke

Photo Credits:

• Rain Zandueta/ DMRZ Photography
• Royal Wonderland3rd
• Snapshot Fantasy
• Leo Foronda
• Pef Decena

DISCLAIMER: Photos provided by Kei Daluro, with his permission to use them for this article.