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Founder of Cosplayers//GR with endless unique defining work under its banner! 1st Greek Cosplay Photographer in quantity of work and more! Former Cosplayer! Panagiotis Pagonidis ( Cassiel Cosplay Photography ), the MVP of Greek Cosplay!

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WORK WITHOUT END !

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If you don’t know him then you definitely don’t really have much to do with with Greek Cosplay! Panagiotis Pagonidis, also known as Cassiel Cosplay Photography! Founder of Cosplayers//GR, and responsible for all its activities and more! We meet him at all Cosplay events in Thessaloniki and at conventions in Athens, Greece, as well as conventions abroad!

Almost 11 years! That’s how long his work as a photographer in the Greek Cosplay scene lasted, placing him quantitatively at the top! Starting his activities as a photographer on April 25, 2009 at the first Akai Panda Anime Cosplay Party in Athens, he leaves this field behind in early 2020, along with the suspension of events due to the pandemic and Cosplayers//GR subsequent turn exclusively online! Having covered 153 events with Cosplays during this period in Athens and Thessaloniki and a total of over 9050 Cosplays in Greece ( and also over 1950 Cosplays abroad ), he also holds the 1st place in terms of quantity of work in Greece with a big difference, with tens of thousands of photos and hundreds of videos! 105 solo & mass outdoor Cosplay photoshoots he did in Greece, as well as the creation of hundreds of videos with Cosplays are added to this total! 1 in 2 Cosplays that have ever existed during the 15+ years of Greek Cosplay have been photographed by him, so there’s no need to say anything more! At the same time, many photos of his appeared in many magazines and articles about Cosplay, in Greece and abroad!

100% complete photo coverage and videoshooting of infinite Cosplays and Cosplay events are not his only feature, since he used to be a Cosplayer himself! Starting his involvement with Cosplay at the end of 2008, he stopped cosplaying at the beginning of 2011, with 20 Cosplays in his repertoire, along with many distinctions based on audience voting at the parties of that time! His appearance in multiple magazines and articles as a Cosplayer was commonplace, as was his appearance in the Japanese magazine Cosplay Cosmode in the global Cosplays column!

He was the author of a Cosplay column in the Greek Asian themed online magazine To Tsarouchi tou Samurai and in the Greek online cosplay magazine Cosplay Line, but also a writer of many individual articles about Cosplay in magazines and pages, while also acting as a member of a Cosplay Contest jury abroad!

But these are just the tip of the iceberg, even if they seem endless on their own! His total includes endless activities and “firsts” in the Cosplay scene, in the context of Cosplayers//GR, from the unofficial start of the team’s work close to the beginning of Greek Cosplay, up until today, which, along with all the above, were and are decisive and synonymous with the evolution of the Greek Cosplay itself, which otherwise would have remained small, insignificant and indifferent to the general public until today! Let’s not waste time and let’s check most of them briefly:

  Creation of the one and only huge Greek Cosplay community with ~8000 members, only for Greeks, which reached 10 years of existence ( Facebook Group ).

  Creation of the one and only complete  Greek Cosplay archive, with all 610+ Greek events and mass outdoor photoshoots, including all information, Cosplays present and their coverage ( Website ).

  Creation of the one and only complete Greek Cosplay event coverage archive, completed by contributions by third parties, with 180.000+ photos and 17.000+ Cosplays among them ( Facebook Page ).

  Creation of the one and only complete Greek Cosplay video archive, completed by partial contributions by third parties, with 810+ videos ( plus 200+ in external playlists ). The 2nd biggest Youtube channel in the world in quantinty concerning Cosplay Videos ( Youtube ).

 Creation of the one and only complete print and online articles archive about Greek Cosplay ( 200+ from 2006 until today ) ( Website ).

 Creation of the one and only complete archive of Greek Cosplayer Pages and other Cosplay links ( Website ).

  Creation of the one and only complete Cosplay event organizers archive in Greece ( Website ).

  Creation of the one and only complete Cosplay photographers archive in Greece with quantity of work ( Website ).

  Creation of the ultimate Greek Cosplay shopping guide ( Website ).

  Writing of the complete detailed 15 year history of Greek Cosplay in 300+ bullet points ( Website ).

  Publishment and maintenance of the only official information and statistics of 15 years of Greek Cosplay ( Website ).

 Specialized ongoing series of dozens of features / interviews and articles of all contributors with actual work in the Greek Cosplay scene and more ( Website ).

  Creation of hundreds of Cosplay Memes.

 6500+ news posts since 2011 on Cosplayers//GR‘s media platforms featuring and promoting the latest happenings around Greek Cosplay, as well as the latest news about Greek Cosplay without exception!

  Organization of ~90 outdoor mass Cosplay photoshoots ( ~70% of Greece’s total ). Among them the longest running Cosplay “tradition” ( 9 years ) in Greece, meaning all outdoor mass Cosplay photoshoots in Thessaloniki ( “Pre-‘Cosplay Party’ Photoshootings” and more ) accompanying commercial Cosplay Events for their support. As well as the biggest 1-day outdoor mass Cosplay photoshoot worldwide, during a convention in Thessaloniki.

Organization of ~45 Anime / Cosplay Meetings in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Co-organization of a convention.

  Setting up and running Cosplayers//GR‘s Cosplay Booth at Conventions providing Cosplay Photo / Video Booth, Cosplay Photo Albums / Galleries & Videos, Cosplay Repair Station, Cosplay Materials Showcase, Sweeptakes, Freebies and Cosplayers Luggage Storage.

Effective maximum mass promotion of all Cosplay events in Athens and Thessaloniki through all our media with news on our  media, mass posts, mass invitations of people to Facebook Events, 100% full event coverage with tens of thousands of photos and hundreds of videos, tags and much more.

Let’s talk to him about everything in detail!

Find Cassiel Cosplay Photography and his work on the following media!
Facebook - Instagram - World Cosplay - Cosplay.com

Check out his photographer profile and his covered events list on our website, HERE!

WITH THE GOAL IN MIND !

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1) Tell us a few words about yourself! What do we need to know about you?

I’m Panagiotis Pagonidis, 37 years young, resident of Katerini, Greece. I studied Information Technology & Telecommunications in Larissa and then got my postgraduate degree at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with scholarships and excellent marks. I speak 3 languages ​​fluently. I’m lucky and have a job related to my studies so I’m not bored with my life like everyone else, nor do I have any needs.

During the ancient years ( 2001 onwards ) on the internet I was known in the Greek anime and gaming community as PangcX, and then some 8 years later as Cassiel, which remains my nickname until today. The 1st was a some random word from my name and Gamecube, and the 2nd one from the angel of the 7th heaven who observes humanity silently and cries for its bad state. Yep, deep stuff I know, that’s what I do too, but I just don’t waste my time crying for it.

I’m obsessed with anime / manga / Japan and Japanese videogames, and to a lesser extent with movies and series. I was also obsessed with Cosplay, especially when I used to do Cosplays myself, but when it turned from a hobby to doing 20 hours a day “unpaid work” with so much workload for many years, well, it was no longer so awesome for me and I just ran out of “caring”. That “caring” is the main and only factor that pushed me and pushes me on a different degree all those years to do everything I do in the Cosplay scene, either as Cosplayers//GR, Cassiel Cosplay Photography or Panagiotis Pagonidis.

I’m running all over the place my whole life for everyone and everything, without it having offered me anything personally at all, while not living my life in the meantime, having given up all my hobbies for a decade until recently. Now I stopped doing that, because I have to live at last and look after myself for a change and I don’t regret it of course.

Contrary to what people see all these years and what impression I might give to them, I’m not a social person, I don’t particularly enjoy being among lots of people, with all eyes on me, wasting time doing useless things etc, but I prefer silence, doing what I like alone or with an extra person at most. Of course there are exceptions when you are in good company, but those years of youth are over.

StrawHat Phoebs as Boa Hancock from One Piece

2) You are the founder of Cosplayers//GR, the one and only Greek Cosplay community. How did it come about, what is its history and what are your activities within the team?

“Cosplayers//GR” is the final name given in 2015 to formalize the work of our old and current members, so that we could continue doing what we were already doing, but officially, while all of it was being taken for granted. Our work starts in the end of 2007, doing exactly the same things we did during all those 13+ years. 100% full coverage of events and their Cosplays, recording of information and statistics of the scene, coverage archive etc. Then, in 2011, the Facebook Group “Cosplayer.gr” ( which was also obviously renamed to Cosplayers//GR in 2015 ) came under our management, which, with a lot of perseverance and work on my part and then on the team’s part, transformed from a dead group of 300 people into the only community of Greek Cosplay with almost 8000 members today, where one could ( and can ) be informed immediately and completely about everything related to Greek Cosplay and find almost all fans of the subject. During the same year, our Youtube channel opened, which is now the 2nd largest in the world in terms of Cosplay material with 810+ Greek Cosplay videos ( plus playlists with 200+ by others ). Finally, after getting official, our Facebook Page, Twitter and Instagram followed. The 1st, thanks to the work of our team, as well as contributions of other photographers to fill some gaps, is the 100% complete archive of coverage of all existing Greek events & mass photography Cosplays in Greece, with 180.000+ photos, with 17.000+ Cosplays among them, meaning almost everyone of them that appeared at them during those 15 years of Greek Cosplay. Finally, 3 months ago, after years of work, our one of its kind website was launched, where everyone can finally, besides my memory and my computer, find all the history, statistics, all digital / printed articles, Cosplayer pages, Cosplay photographers , Cosplay organizers, videos, all events, interviews, shopping guide, upcoming events, all the scene’s news and everything that existed and will ever exist related to Greek Cosplay. It’s our heritage in the scene and something one of its kind in the world and the conclusion of many years of crazy work, without a conscious audience to understand and appreciate something so unique unfortunately.

My role is pretty much – everything -. In addition to promoting coverage and events, managing our media, and until last year, our physical presence at events ( coverage, recording and booth obligations ), which are common to all team members who passed through the team ( obviously for me too ), pretty much everything I mentioned above was done by me. Pretty crazy when you think that we are talking about a job that should have been done by at least 10 people all these years. Apart from all this, of course, my responsibilities also include everything related to our media ( news, articles, maintenance of photo, videos, information and site statistics archives etc ), promotion of events and conversations with organizers, while in the past also organizing around 90 mass outdoor photography and around 45 Anime / Cosplay Meetings, setting up our booth at events, and in general they are endless things and I can’t remember all of them anymore.

Lexi Kp as Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII
Mary Chan Cosplay & Photography as Sonico from Super Sonico

3) When and how did you start your engagement with photography? How did you acquire your knowledge on photography and what kind of photography do you do?

I got into photography on April 25, 2009 and stopped on March 1, 2020. I don’t remember why I started. It was probably due to the excitement I was living in back then, having done 6 Cosplays myself already, so I probably thought “why not”, since I wouldn’t be the only one doing it. So I just did it. From there on, almost 11 years followed, with 9050+ Cosplays shot in 152 events and 105 outdoor solo / mass photoshoots in Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as another 1950+ Cosplays in some Conventions abroad. In simple words, 1 in 2 Cosplays that have ever existed in Greece have been photographed by me. This total also includes 100% full coverage of all these events, in terms of their content, as well as videoshooting them along with all Cosplays present. We are talking about a super crazy amount of work as a whole and I don’t think there’s anyone in the scene who approaches it quantitatively, and I’m not talking only about Greece where someone like that certainly doesn’t exist. Not to mention, that nothing has ever been uploaded by me unedited ( even going as far as doing much of the editing of others too, not to mention of every single one of our videos ), making the already time consuming, something much more than just an exaggeration.

I acquired my knowledge in photography and editing on my own. In other words, I’m self-taught. Learning photography through practice, while editing through programs suggested in some articles and then many years of experimentation using them. Surely, if there was anyone to show me all that from the beginning, as I did to other photographers that followed in the scene, I would have reach the level that satisfied me personally faster. The same goes for the equipment that I had, with the issue back then and until recently being purely financial. Of course this never stopped me from doing wonders with what I had and knew.

StrawHat Phoebs as Shirahoshi from One Piece

4) Do you consider your engagement with photography to be a hobby or something more serious? How does this determine the way you photograph?

I don’t consider it either a hobby nor something serious. It’s not a hobby because it turned out to be something that wasted my whole life more or less with the endless 11 year long vicious cycle of “event coverage, editing, uploading, promoting the coverage and the next event, and let’s start again from the beginning”. I don’t take it seriously because it’s not something that determined anything in my life and if I didn’t care more than anyone about the Cosplay scene, its evolution and its expansion ( which we did as Cosplayers//GR, for 13+ years now ) I would have just given it up from the beginning. And now I finally managed to give it up, since it wasn’t something I was enjoying anymore for years due to the vicious circle mentioned above.

The fact that I don’t take it seriously, however, was never a a reasib not to act as if the situation was “do or die”, always giving over 100% of what I could give per case, even if it wasn’t needed or even worth it.

Adventurer Photography as Ken Masters from Street Fighter II
Kiiyo Agapi as Celty Sturlusοn from Durarara!!

5) What was the reason that pushed you to specifically get into Cosplays photography? What was your first contact with the subject? How do you think it differs from other photography subjects?

The only reason I got into Cosplay photography were the Cosplays themselves, with which I have been in contact with since nearly the beginning of Greek Cosplay, in early 2008, since I was also a Cosplayer myself. The fact that I covered the events themselves that included them in addition, was just a bonus in the context of, initially, good company and having a good time ( at parties ), or as media sponsors as Cosplayers//GR ( at conventions ). I have never been interested in anything else besides Cosplay as a theme of photography and objectively not even in photography itself as a subject. I never considered it my hobby, but as an occupation which in the course of time became “compulsory” for the effective promotion of the Cosplay scene. As a theme it’s no different from a portrait shoot or a full body shoot, other than the fact that the person being depicted is wearing a fictional character’s costume.

StrawHat Phoebs as Konan from Naruto Shippuden

6) What kind of characters, sources or types of photography did you prefer in Cosplay photography? Were these choices based on personal interests, and if so, when did you get in contact with each of them? What are your favorite Cosplay characters you’ve shoot so far?

There was never any kind of preference on my part while photographing Cosplays. I was never interested, for any reason, who the other person is, what he is, where he comes from and what his beliefs are. Whoever it was, whatever he was, whether he was worth it or not, I would go, ask, shoot ( or not ), note down Cosplay and immediately proceed to the next one. I had one job to do and I did that. Nor did it matter what one wore. I was not there to do selective photography. What I always cared about was the complete photography of all Cosplays present. And acting as any good professional would do ( regardless of whether I was not one and never would want to be one, in terms of getting paid ), I did what had to be done, ignoring all those useless factors.

Of course I have some favorite characters besides that, but I can’t say they are many. Maybe due to my age I’m not that obsessed with characters to act crazy about them the way younger ones do. Of course, characters from One Piece always gave me a bigger smile, since it’s my favorite anime. Which is also the reason why among the few – solo – photoshoots that I managed to do, I definitely consider those related to One Piece as my favorites.

As far as types of photography are concerned, I’ve gone through all kinds thoroughly. Solo and mass outdoor photoshoots, photoshoots with white / black backgrounds, photography within events, house, mountain, sea, city, park, lake, and everything else that exists and I might forget. I have always preferred outdoor photography, as it always led to a superior end result as well as being on subject, and to tell the truth I don’t prefer the other types at all regardless of whether the conditions due to events made them the most common quantitatively. And I definitely didn’t prefer nudes, nor did I deal with photography where the only piece one wears is a wig and some accessories. No costume means no cosplay, so they are out of my range of interests.

Jo Mandy Baggins as Rey from Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Maria Pol as Nidalee from League of Legends

7) What equipment did you use per occasion when shooting Cosplays and how important is it in the end result? How important do you think is the corresponding knowledge on photo editing in the end result?

I started in 2009 initially with a simple digital camera. A few years later I purchased an expensive digital camera and the result improved somewhat in photos and videos. Then, in 2014, I managed to get my first DSLR and there was a comparatively spectacular improvement in visual quality. Finally, in 2018, I got a better Micro 4/3 with a top lens that made it easier to take photos of similar quality and that took the videos to their limits with 4K/60fps. Just before I decided it was time to drop it and finally take care of my life, I was one step before getting the best and newest full frame and correspondingly best prime lens there was, but I didn’t get there in the end and made a better use of ~8.000 euros that I would throw out the window to “shoot Cosplays”.

Without photo editing you aren’t getting anywhere. It’s that important. Of course you may not need it in some cases, but you almost always end up with a better photo even using just a bit of editing. Especially when you expand upon it and put your imagination into it by manipulating a photo, replacing parts of it with imagination directly from the depicted character’s world.

StrawHat Phoebs as Sakura Haruno from Naruto

8) How did you end up covering Cosplay events regularly and what experiences did you get from it after all that time?

Initially, because I was having a good time in the old days, and because there was nothing special to cover other than a few dozen Cosplays and basically a great company. Then, unofficially, and then gradually officially, as Cosplayers//GR in the role of media sponsors and then as official Cosplay photographers at events. My experience from all of this is that if you don’t intend to be selective and just shoot what you like, be prepared for a whole world of pain and sacrifice that only grows as time goes on and events keep increasing at the same time. Of course, I don’t know anyone other than the old and current members of Cosplayers//GR who ever did this, which is the main reason why we all gradually stopped one after the other after many years, so no one else can objectively understand, how tiring it is.

Athena as Lucy from Elfen Lied
KanjiX as Kalista from League of Legends

9) In addition to photography, you were also involved in videoshooting at events and photoshoots. What shooting pattern did you follow in your videos and what content did they include?

There were the following goals related to videography at each eevnt, which are the same as those for photography. 100% event content coverage & 100% Cosplays coverage. Meaning at least 2 videos. In case there were Cosplay Contests / Parades / Shows / Workshops / Panels, that meant 1 extra video for each category. At small events, it rarely came up for all of this to be put together into one video if it didn’t last long, but that usually didn’t happen. The shooting pattern was constantly changing and evolving, but the purpose was always one, to show all the content of an event and also each Cosplay completely, from the top to toe. So shooting was done in respective ways.

StrawHat Phoebs as Shirahoshi from One Piece

10) You have shoot Cosplays in Athens, as well as Thessaloniki, Greece. Was there any difference that made an impression on you between the two cities related to Cosplays and related events?

To tell the truth, there’s no difference, except that events in Athens are now bigger and more numerous for the last few years. Whether it’s the content or the number of Cosplays. In Thessaloniki, on the other hand, the number of events decreased dramatically, as did the number of Cosplays slightly, and whatever that leads to.

Dimitris Papadopoulos Photography as Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 2
DjPyro Droso as Spider-Man from Marvel

11) Has the theme and size of an event ever affected your decision to cover it? What would you say were your favorite events so far?

No never. And that’s because when conventions appeared in Greece, which included Cosplays, the coverage and photography of Cosplays that I did at them had already ended up being a multi-day all-day “job”, which never left me any free time to experience any of these events as a “visitor”, to have a good time and to check out everything that all of them have to offer. So, I was present in all events as Cosplayers//GR, first unofficially and then officially, where I “had to” do a job. So the theme of an event has never been a factor, since I would have been there anyway.

Therefore, I can’t choose any favorite ones, since I have never experienced them as a guest. But based on the ones I experienced and had a good time, my favorite events were objectively the old Anime / Cosplay parties of 2008-2011, before the heavy workload appeared that started gradually increasing uncontrollably. Back then we lived our own “three days” in Thessaloniki with one day having the “Pre-Cosplay Party Photoshooting” and then the Anime / Cosplay Party until dawn, the next one the established After Party Animeeting and then wasting away the night here and there with food, card games and generally anything that arised until the dawn of the third day. Nothing will ever surpass those experiences.

Geo Kuromi as Elsa ( Zach Fischer Illustration Fanart ) from Frozen

12) What led you to drop the ongoing coverage of Cosplays events in the end?

Almost 11 years of photography with 100% coverage of events and Cosplays present, which after the first years turned to being just gradually increasing “unpaid work” that required the complete sacrifice of my whole life, whether social life, or free time, or hobbies, or whatever, even my daily sleep ( 3-4 hours a day was the norm ) with the vicious cycle I mentioned above. Photography has never been a hobby or a serious subject for me, as I mentioned above. Having practically wasted so many years on all this to move this scene forward, without the slightest benefit or enjoyment, my “caring” for this scene, was the only thing that pushed me to continue sacrificing my life. Torturing myself in this way for so many years, at some point I got to the point where I decided it was enough. Quarantine was an ideal factor for this, with the suspension of events, since it gave me the opportunity to remember everything I had forgotten all these years, meaning, everything I was deprived of. Seeing at the same time some circus like behaviors by some people in this scene, I was finally given the final push to overcome the shackles of my “caring”, which held me captive in this vicious circle, and do what I should have done many years ago. And I don’t regret it at all and it’s the best choice I could have ever made.

Which is also the reason, apart from the quarantine that, after many years, I finally managed to complete our one of its kind website which is the encyclopedia of everything related to Greek Cosplay and its 15 years, without the slightest omission, being something unique in the world about that subject no matter the country. Combined with the fact that my team’s colleague Dimitris Papadopoulos ( Dimitris Papadopoulos Photography ) was just as tired with this situation during his 6 years of photography in the Cosplay scene, we came to the conclusion that turning exclusively online as a team was a one way decission, and that we had offered more than enough on a physical level towards this scene, old and current members alike, for 13+ years, evolving it to its current form.

StrawHat Phoebs as Boa Hancock from One Piece

13) What result did you strive for during your outdoor Cosplay photoshoots and what determines the choice of their location and time?

During the few solo individual photoshoots that I managed to do during all these years, I sought the thematic representation of scenes from the character’s source. And if that wasn’t possible, then at least the corresponding thematic environment. Therefore, locations were selected accordingly to that. As for the time, the point was always to do it during the day and then I took advantage of its entire duration respectively  of course and not just a few hours.

In the 80+ Cosplayers//GR‘s mass outdoor mass photoshoots of that took place in parallel with events in Thessaloniki ( but also some in Athens ) the location was almost always the same, HANTH Park, which covered all our needs for such great diversity of Cosplays, regardless of whether the time they were taking place wasn’t always convenient, since it depended on the events they accompanied. In recent years, HANTH Park ended up being unsuitable with the changes made to it, while events decreased dramatically in Thessaloniki and therefore we no longer do any mass outdoor photoshoots after 9 consecutive years.

Xenia Daisuki as Morrigan Aensland from Cross Edge

14) Are you generally satisfied with the people’s response to your work during all these years?

Definitely not. And I say this only in proportion. Quantitatively yes, but when you produce such a – huge – amount of work per event, no matter how much response it gets, how much infinitely good feedback you received and even if it always had the greatest response compared to anything in our scene, it will never ever be enough – proportionally – to the amount of work done. If people’s response was proportional to its size, ten times more people would know about the Cosplay scene after all these years. Finally, there have always been a few people with no sense of reality ( and of the scene itself ) who ridiculed the scene with their toxic behavior everywhere, and who have never been our concern in anything we do, because it makes no sense dealing with a few needles in the haystack when dealing on the contrary with the evolution and expansion of a whole scene with everything you do.

StrawHat Phoebs as Nico Robin from One Piece

15) Besides being a Cosplay photographer, you were also a Cosplayer yourself. When and how did you get started with Cosplay and what got you into it? What was your first Cosplay? What has Cosplay offered you so far?

I started as a Cosplayer on October 3, 2008 at the 5th Sakura Syndrome Japan & Anime Party, the 5th Cosplay event in Thessaloniki. Having previously visited the previous two as an anime fan that I was, I was thrilled with the Cosplays present and it wasn’t long before I decided to do the same, with my first one being Sagara Sanosuke from Rurouni Kenshin. 19 Cosplays later, with endless work put on them, unique experiences, a lot of fun and dare I say the best moments in my life, I stopped cosplaying on April 1, 2011, just before getting into Cosplay photography more seriously and later, due to lack of time and money, not being able to create Cosplays again. On March 17, 2019 I also wore a ready-made 20th Cosplay for the needs of an event.

I think I won’t be copslaying again, since I’m very tired after all these years due to our team’s work, and I would rather do what I enjoy than work again on anything other besides my job and Cosplayers//GR requirements. I no longer have the energy or inspiration, regardless of whether I would have had infinite Cosplays on my wishlist in any other case. Life is not enough for everything, so we make choices that are for our best.

Jamal as Junkrat from Overwatch

16) What kind of characters, sources or types of Cosplays do you choose for your Cosplays? Are these choices based on personal interests, and if so, when did you start getting interested in them?

Anime / Manga and Japanese videogames. The characters I cosplayed as always either represent me as a person, or have some, obvious or hidden, trait of my character, so I’ve never chosen something by chance, simply because I like its appearance or because it’s popular. In other words, I did exactly what I liked. I started playing videogames at the age of 8, if I remember correctly, starting with Game Boy, and with anime / manga, having knowledge of what it is, at the age of 12 and then seriously at the age of 19, in parallel with the initial expansion of the internet in 2001 while having a maximum presence in that time’s first Greek anime fora, and more.

Oliver Strange as Holy Spirit of Water from Aion
Erinto as Link from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

17) Which ones are your favorite Cosplays out of all of which you’ve done until now? Which characters do you think were the most popular? Which character do you want to cosplay most in the future?

All my Cosplays were my favorites, but among them the anniversary ones were my most favourite ones of all, meaning, when I reached 1 year and 2 years respectively as a Cosplayer. Captain Harlock ( Galaxy Express 999 ) and Link ( The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ). More popular ones? Pretty much everything I believe. Which is why I almost always won the Best Cosplay voting by the audience at parties. If I ever cosplay again ( you never know ), I wouldn’t say that I have only one character that I would like to do a lot, but a whole list instead.

Brunnhildar as Alucard from Hellsing

18) What’s the most difficult Cosplay you have done until today? What makes it the most difficult?

Definitely Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Unlike Links from other entries in the franchise, this one was covered full of details, plus the Master Sword and Hylian Shield and a total of 10 weapons / items I had made as extras. Those also made it more expensive. But even more difficult and equally expensive was Zelda from the same game, worn by the person who did the duet with me, which had even more details on it and was the first Cosplay in Greece, if I remember correctly, where Craft Foam was used in various of its pieces. Two whole months of work and close to 800 euros of total cost afterwards, were worth it by far. I’ve done some other Cosplays for other people too, but those weren’t anything difficult.

Ailiroy as Sophitia from Soul Calibur 4
Jo Mandy Baggins as Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit

19) How did you acquire your knowledge on creating Cosplays and what kind of Cosplays do you prefer to wear?

Completely self-taught. I never asked anyone for help, I never searched the internet for tutorials ( besides on how to use craft foam and a papercraft design for my 2 anniversary cosplays ), and I didn’t even want to. I preferred to observe clothes I owned to learn to sew by hand or with a sewing machine ( and I have sewn almost everything, be it for men or women ), to put my imagination into what I can use among everything I have at my disposal, so that I can make props the way I wanted and generally have the satisfaction that, yes I did this 100% alone without anyone’s help. Only things that I couldn’t do in some way ( the bases of two props that were made of wood ), were not done by me, but were completed by me.

The type of Cosplays I chose was based on whether I like a character as a personality, regardless of the costume he wears. Of course I was also looking for a challenge, gradually making more and more difficult ones, without excluding simpler ones in between.

Maggy Liana Cosplay as Lust from Fullmetal Alchemist
Nikos Karasaridis as Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist

20) What do you think about store bought Cosplays? Are they part of your ensemble as well?

Of course there were some cases where I bought very few Cosplays, which were completely simple and I didn’t have the energy and time to create them, since I preferred there to be a challenge, while their cost would be many times higher if I did them myself, since living in a small city meant I didn’t have all materials I needed at my disposal, let alone 10-13 years ago.

Ready-made Cosplays are now a simple and easy solution for anyone wanting to enter the Cosplay scene immediately without any problems or when someone doesn’t have the energy, will or time to do it by himself. It’s not wrong. They are just choices. And everyone chooses what they prefer most.

Raikoh Cosplay as Jack Skellington from The Nightmare before Christmas
Sotiris A. as Ezreal from League of Legends

21) How much effort, time and money does it usually take to create a Cosplay? What is the most common plan and methods you use to create a Cosplay? How important is wig styling and make up in all this?

Back then, when I was cosplaying, while being a resident of a small city, available choices were few. Either I paid way too much for fabrics, or I had to go to Thessaloniki to get materials I couldn’t find in Katerini, or I pushed my imagination to the limit by finding crazy ways to do something I had no other means and materials to do otherwise. Of course, now the situation is different compared to those times and no one will experience something similar today, I believe.

The effort, time and money required differed accordingly to each Cosplay’s difficulty. First, I analyzed the character by observing every detail, I thought of every possible method I could think of and every possible material I could use to choose the ones that were best, and then I just got down to work, living through a cycle of “creating a Cosplay, going to the party with said Cosplay, and again from the beginning”, without taking a single breath and always on a time limit. The difference being that, unlike photography, I enjoyed it, because the experiences I had at the parties and what followed were special to me and were compensating for the hassle of creating a Cosplay.

I never used make up except for circumstances requiring designs on my face or body. I never did any wig styling, apart from my penultimate Cosplay, where I didn’t find a wig ready, since I bought them pre-styled.

Finally, it may not be part of a Cosplay itself, but before I did my first Cosplay, I pushed myself to lose 20kg and then gradually another 10, so that I would be more in character in appearance, especially when 1/3 of them were half naked from the waist and up. In general, in simple terms, Cosplay was a reason for me to lose weight.

Tasos A. as Kylo Ren from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens

22) How did you feel the first time you appeared in public or at an event wearing a Cosplay. Describe your experience to us.

As I already mentioned I wasn’t and still aren’t a social person, so it was a bit of a weird feeling having everyone look at you while being in some place and on the street, let alone when the party I went to for the first time in Cosplay had a single digit number of Cosplays. In the end, everything is just in our heads, I had a great time, met even more people thanks to it, took photos and the experiences continued thanks to it even after the party, even on the way home.

Vaggelis G. as Death Gun from Sword Art Online
Aris Avramidis & Lazaros Koriatopoulos as Red & Green Ranger from Power Rangers

23) How did you end up attending Cosplays events intensively and what experiences did you get from it?

Being an anime / manga fan I heard about the anime / japan / cosplay parties that had started taking place in Thessaloniki. I went to the 3rd one, I liked it, I started cosplaying, I liked it even more, the crowd was growing, we started the accompanying outdoor mass Cosplay photoshoot at HANTH Park, we started the next day’s After-Party Animeetings, we extended it with nights out on both days and were just living the best experiences I could say. Why would you want to miss something like that?

Jane D as Tyrande Whisperwind from World of Warcraft

24) Did the theme and size of an event ever affect your decision to visit and dress with Cosplays at them? What would you say were your favorite events so far?

No, because there wasn’t even a choice when it came to Cosplays. There were only Anime / Japan parties. Not that it would have been a factor otherwise .

Gus Vatman as Decim from Death Parade 

25) Do you think that Cosplay as a subject will continue to be part of your daily life for a long time? If so, what are your plans for the future in this area that you have not yet been able to implement? Is there a long term goal or personal dream that you want to achieve related to it?

Cosplay will continue to be a part of my daily life as far as the internet aspect and corresponding obligations of Cosplayers//GR are concerned. The physical aspect of the team, photoshooting Cosplays and events by me, the creation of Cosplays by me, all those are a thing of the past, as I already mentioned. Therefore, whatever plans I had for the future as far as Cosplays outdoor photoshoots, creating Cosplays, as well as anything on behalf of the team in the physical aspect, were all erased. All that remains is the long-term “completion” of the huge number of Cosplayers//GR‘s presentations / interviews of all entities that contributed with their work in the evolution of the Cosplay scene ( organizers and photographers primarily ) and beyond that, what we have always done and will do indefinitely, to be the only source with complete news / updates about Greek Cosplay and the only encyclopedic database / archive where anyone can find everything from the 15+ years of Greek Cosplay.

ToshiCosp as Tohru from Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

26) What is your opinion, in proportion to Greece’s size, in terms of the number and level of Greek Cosplays, but also the level of events where they attend? What evolution around them did you notice over the years?

I believe that events are now at a high level and objectively I don’t expect them to get any larger given the conditions, the size of the country and the infrastructures. Of course, those are limited now to Athens and Thessaloniki ( while in the past there were small events in 11 other cities ), and apart from an annual party per city, all parties and any other smaller events that existed in the past simply disappeared, with people turning almost entirely to conventions. Which is not a bad thing at all, since Greece was a strange exception where Cosplays parties prevailed and there were no conventions at first. Turning to conventions made all events completely impersonal, and there’s simply no sense of unity and connection, with everyone keeping himself limited to his personal small circles and thinking that’s everyone there is and the whole scene, which is funny.

The number of Cosplays, thanks to the scene’s promotion by us as Cosplayers//GR, thanks to the events and their evolution, and thanks to the work of photographers, kept growing every year, as it was was to be expected, and now we are slowly approaching 1000 active Cosplayers per year, which cosplay at least once per year somewhere.

Brunnhildar as Galadriel  from The Lord of The Rings

27) What is your experience from Cosplay events outside Greece and what’s your opinion about them compared to Greek Cosplay events? What’s your opinion about the quality of the Cosplays you came across in them? Which event do you remember the most and why?

Cosplays have nothing to be jealous of from their counterparts abroad. There exists a dellusion that every one of them abroad is magnificent and super difficult. Which is not valid. Those are the ones being shown around at most, because of what they are, after all. The levels are the same proportionally, and I say this while having visited and covered large conventions abroad. We are just very, very, very few in comparison as far as quantity is concerned. Despite a steady increase, there are still not even 1000 active Cosplayers per year in Greece, compared to thousands abroad per event.

The events abroad, due to infrastructure, economy and size of countries obviously, are much larger in the larger countries compared to Greece. This doesn’t mean that ours are small. Not anymore. Just not as big. While the ones in the Balkans are on a similar level to ours. As time goes by, relevant events in Greece continue to grow and multiply. But I don’t expect that we will ever see something similar, such as for example Japan Expo in France, which I visited twice and will visit again, and which is the epitome of conventions in everything, for me. 4 days are not enough to even formally see everything it has to offer in a space analogous to multiple stadiums, while the number of Cosplays is in the five digits.

Super Heroes GR as Loki, Captain America & Scarlet Witch from Avengers
Dimitris Papadopoulos Photography as Logan from X-Men

28) Do you think the provided Cosplay activities at various events are satisfactory or is there something you would still like to see there regarding Cosplay?

Along with what we provided at conventions as Cosplayers//GR at our booth and in general within the event, yes they were enough. Aside from some future innovative ideas that we thought of on our part and could only be applied by us, but will never be implemented anymore since we have left the physical sector, I don’t think there is much else that can be done at events, which will now be even less, since we stopped our activities within the events.

Darkenya Cosplay as Jinx from League of Legends

29) How important do you think is a distinction in a Cosplay Contest in terms of whether it was worth the effort someone put into creating a difficult Cosplay? To what extent do you think such a possible distinction should influence the choices of a Cosplayer while creating a Cosplay?

None. I don’t think that a distinction in a Cosplay Contest should be a factor of whether a Cosplay was worth the effort. Nor should it affect anyone’s choice of Cosplays. Because if someone’s only purpose in cosplaying is to get distinctions or show off, I think that he’s doing something wrong personally and uses Cosplay simply as a means of self-promotion and to cover his insecurities and not because he really likes it. Yes, it’s good that they exist for the most competitive minded and as an – additional – motivational factor, but it should not be the only one or even the main factor at all. Of course, not everyone is the same, and it doesn’t matter why anyone cosplays, since everyone can just do what they please in the end.

Personally, I’ve always been against Cosplay Contests, since the usual routine is that they lead to jealousy, controversy, badmouthing, backstabbing, either for the winners or the judges. Not mentioning delusions of greatness. What everyone forgets is that they are – opinions – of those who were lucky / unlucky to be judges in each case, where they are called to choose what they prefer based on their factors. Not which one is the best. Because there is no best in a Contest where many people with high level costumes participate. They are personal opinions, and opinions differ, but some don’t seem to want to comprehend this and that someone else could easily be in the same positions since it’s an issue not set in stone.

Of course, it remains a good way to catch the attention of people outside the scene, being the show that it is, although Cosplay Parades / Shows do that too.

BasiliskRules as Edward Scissorhands from Edward Scissorhands

30) You were also a member of a jury in a Cosplay Contest abroad. What was your experience from the opposite side of the stage? Did you feel any pressure or difficulty in this role?

I would definitely not do it again. Which is why I didn’t do it again, regardless of whether I had many opportunities to do it again. As I mentioned before I’m generally against Contests. Nevertheless, it came up being invited to PlayExpo Zara Summer 2013 in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria as a judge of its Cosplay Contest. I felt bad because I had to pick winners. Discrimination is not for me ( unless of course the other person gives me a reason ), just as I never discriminated in whom I will photograph and as I was never interested in personal distinctions, even if they came by themselves.

Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Casshern from Casshern Sins
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Dracule “Hawk-Eyes” Mihawk from One Piece
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

31) Do you think that off stage roleplaying should be a key part of a Cosplayer or do you consider it practically inapplicable?

I don’t think there should be any roleplaying off stage and besides posing for a photo or video scene duting an event. And that’s because, when you talk to someone at an event you don’t want to feel that they are fooling around with you, since there’s no reason to do roleplay when someone talks to you. Of course, it’s applicable, we’ve seen it a few times, but good luck finding out where the show ends and reality begins.

Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Ryo / Yami Bakura & Thief King Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

32) Is there anything more that you would like to see in the Greek Cosplay scene in general?

There is but I wouldn’t like to say what. I think we’ve given around many ideas over the years generously, even if they aren’t possible to be applied by others ( and that’s why they have never been realized ).

Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Captain Harlock from Galaxy Express 999
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Portgas D. Ace from One Piece
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Ark from Terranigma

33) Is there any important or funny experience you experienced during your time in the Cosplay scene that you will never forget?

Way too many to count! However, I will never forget that time we were walking home after midnight having left from my first Cosplay Party dressed in our Cosplays and were stopped on the street by some university students preparing a birthday cake for a girl at a university students’ hang out place and they had us take it to her while shouting out her name, and the people there all looked at us like we were some terrorists and the dog started barking, until they came in too! Then they offered us cake and beers ( I don’t drink of course ) and well it was fun. From then on, all those first few years I cosplayed at anime parties were full of funny and important experiences in general. All of them priceless. Either grandparents crossing themselves on the street, or strangers wanting to take photos with us, or whatever else.

Likewise, our presence in Cosplay at the Japanese Booth at the International Tourism Fair ‘Philoxenia‘ in Thessaloniki. Or my participation in the 1st Akai Panda party in Athens. And then at Akai Panda & Umi to Sora Events Cosplay & Maid Cafe at Fnac at the Mall in Athens. Special experiences. Experiences that were more than just parties, at a time when no conventions existed.

The last funny thing I heard in the scene before the quarantine arrived, was during the last convention at our booth when some people were asking “how much we charge” to take photos and videos, a funny thing when almost all the photographers that passed from the scene during those 15+ years shot people anywhere for free.

Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from Bleach
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Roronoa Zoro from One Piece
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Death the Kid from Soul Eater

34) What is the first thing you would say to someone who wants to get into Cosplay Cosplay photography, but also into Cosplay, seriously or for fun?

Regarding photography, I would suggest not to do it if someone is not interested in the subject, unless he wants to build a personal portfolio related to this subject, so that his work can be seen in places besides Cosplay due to the variety of the topic. And if he does, never in any case do it en masse chasing for any kind of completeness, because if you don’t follow a higher purpose related to the expansion and evolution of this scene, you have respectively no reason to do so, other than to photograph selectively and whatever is to your taste. After all, someone’s work won’t be seen more if someone shoots more people, since, in the age we live in, and with indifference and the speed that everyone goes through everything in their lives, it’s objectively a waste of time, as he won’t get adequate support and visibility with it similar to the amount he will give as a photographer, regardless of his reason and goal. In simple words save yourself from a world of pain.

Now, for anyone who wants to get involved with Cosplay, just do it! In any way you want, the way you want and whatever you want. Ready-made or your creations, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is doing something that pleases you and to have a great time. Even if you see it as something just  for fun. After all, fun is part of the experience.

Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Sagara Sanosuke from Rurouni Kenshin
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Pokémon Trainer from Pokémon
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Tsukune Aono from Rosario+Vampire
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as All Might from My Hero Academia

35) Is there anything last you would like to share with our readers?

All organizers of events that include Cosplay ( all 70+ of them ), indirectly provide a “platform” during all those 15 years where each Cosplayer can express themselves freely in Cosplay without any worries, and therefore promote the scene by contributing in that way.

All Cosplays photographers ( all 30+ of them ), for 15 years now, regardless of their reason, have been promoting these “platforms”, Cosplays and the Cosplay scene itself directly, each one of them on a different degree, either excessively ( such as Cosplayers//GR ) or selectively, and promote the scene by contributing in their own way.

Cosplayers//GR, being the only source of information around 100% of activities in the Greek Cosplay scene, and by now an encyclopedic archive of everything related to the Greek Cosplay, in combination with its 13+ years of work in the scene at and besides events and its behind-the-scenes promotion, has more or less surpassed every limit.

I would like to personally thank everyone who was mentioned above, since, thanks all of their work, others’ more, others’ less, the scene has reached its current state. It may be far from ideal, or being huge, without problems, toxic behavior, jealousy, drama and madness, but we don’t live in an ideal world where there’s logic everywhere. Those of us who do all the work during all these years don’t waste time with such nonsense when we have, either directly or indirectly, so much work to do.

In an ideal world these things wouldn’t even exist, and everyone wouldn’t neglect to support those who support the scene, while having the common goal of its further expansion. A pity that never happened, a pity that it doesn’t happen and a pity that it will never happen. The scene would then be ten times larger today. And as things stand, it will never happen unfortunately. Especially in today’s age of transience of everything and indifference towards everything. To those few to whom the above mean anything and who act differently, thumbs up, I have nothing else to add.

Finally, I would like to thank all the members of our team, namely Dimitris Papadopoulos ( Dimitris Papadopoulos Photography ) and all the older members of our team, regardless of the degree of each one’s participation, for their contributions, as well as almost all the organizers who ever existed over time and who have worked and continue to work with us, and of course all those who have supported us in one way or another over the years, as they have been part of making a difference in this scene, along with us.

Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Dark Mousy from DNAngel
Cassiel Cosplay Photography as Kamina ( Illusion ) from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

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