Nessarose: The small town girl as cosplayer and streamer

Believe it or not, Malaysian cosplayer and streamer Nessarose considers herself an introvert.

"You may not believe me, but I'm actually pretty introverted! I'm from a small town in Malaysia called Kuching, and I began cosplaying back in 2015 when I started my college studies in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Some seniors from my college encouraged me to try it. When I first cosplayed, I got a lot of good feedback and encouragement, so that made me feel like all the effort was worth it. After that, I began to love cosplaying more and more, and started trying out all kinds of different cosplays as a way to challenge myself and learn new skills like makeup, prop making, photo editing, and so on," Nessarose told Digital Life Asia.

What's her most memorable cosplay experience so far?

"My most memorable experience so far was being able to have the opportunity to attend Winter Comiket 2019 in Japan. It was really eye-opening to see and experience one of the largest ACG (anime, comics and games) events in the world. Being invited as a guest to overseas events in Indonesia and Singapore are also very happy memories for me because I got to meet so many new friends and fans there," she said.

Asked to name her favorite among the characters she has cosplayed, Nessarose replied: "I've cosplayed soooo many characters over the years that it would be too difficult to name them all, but my favorite among them is Rikka Takanashi from Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Because I am actually quite chuunibyou as well in real life. Also a character I have to mention is Kato Megumi from Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata. I really loved how her character developed over the course of the series and she is definitely one of the characters that is really close to my heart."

@nessarose_coser Cosplay as Kitafawa Marin 💕 Challeging Fuwafuwa Dance🌸#mydressingupdarling #kitagawamarin #cosplay #cosplayer ♬ koi no yukue - AkaseAkari

In her spare time, Nessarose enjoys reading.

"I like going to bookstores and browsing to see what books I should get next. I also play a lot of casual games in my free time to relax and unwind. My biggest passion I would say is traveling. Being able to travel and see and experience new things is something I look forward to all the time," she said.

She said she also likes listening to music and watching old movies, documentaries, and anime.

"I'm not a very outgoing person but recently I've started to want to go camping, and my absolute favorite thing to do is travel and see new things," she said.

How did Nessarose fall in love with gaming?

"The first game I played was from the Bioshock series of games: Bioshock Infinite. I was attracted by the graphics, gameplay, and story, so I tried installing it on my PC and I loved it. Played it all the way to the end in a couple of days. I've always loved this kind of intense storytelling and pace, where you get sucked into the story and can't stop playing," she said.

She said that for now, if she had to name her favorite game of all the time, it would be the Little Nightmares series.

"I had such a great time streaming it and playing through both games. The dark mood of the game, the scares, the characters were all so memorable," she said.

When did Nessarose start streaming and what does she like most about it?

"I started streaming back during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns were imposed in my country. I think it was around June 2021. I couldn't go out, so I thought I would give streaming a try. The whole process of setting it up and being able to interact with fans was interesting to me. I love being able to interact with fans and chat with them, experiencing intense moments in the game together. I always look forward to trying out a new game and streaming it so that we can all be part of the experience together," she said.

What message would she like to share with her fans and aspiring cosplayers?

"I want to say a big thank you to my fans for supporting me all these years, even though I wasn't very active with new cosplays during the pandemic. They still supported me all throughout when I tried new activities, such as streaming. When I started my Discord channel, I was able to interact and chat with them even more, and that really motivated me to restart my cosplay activities to not disappoint them and keep creating new cosplays and content. The community keeps growing and I feel like we're one big family now, especially when I get to meet and have fun with them at ACG events.

@nessarose_coser This is what every cosplayer becomes after attending an event...👀 the tiredness is realllllll 🤧 #cosplayer #fyp #maidoutfit ♬ maybe my soulmate died by iamnotshane - iamnotshane

"For aspiring cosplayers, be brave and don't be shy to start cosplaying and attending events. Communicate more with people, open your heart to new things, enjoy the hobby and most importantly, don't take things too seriously. Be sure not to neglect your real-life responsibilities, and be nice to one another in the community. Don't measure success by social media clout. Instead try to focus on having fun, enjoying yourself, and making friends."

Apart from her Facebook page, you may follow Nessarose on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter.

Now, aren't you glad this introvert became a cosplayer?