Malaysian content creator Chin Pui Ting, more popularly known as Pudds, was only 12 years old when her cosplay journey began in 2013.
"My humble story started with me going to a convention as a visitor. There, the sight of cosplayers piqued my interest so I bravely walked up to one of them and asked them how they joined the cosplay scene. I found out that just getting a costume and coming to an event was all that it took! I did that, and fast forward 10 years, here I am," Pudds told Digital Life Asia.
Cosplay community
"To me, the most interesting aspect of cosplay was how cool it was to dress up as your favorite anime characters and 'escape reality' momentarily as you 'became' the characters you cosplayed. During my early teenage years, I didn’t have many friends at school since being an anime fan was often looked down upon.
"Discovering this new community was a blessing as I managed to meet like-minded individuals who shared the same passion for cosplay and love for anime. I was glad to be able to fit in naturally," she said.
Asked to describe herself, Pudds replied: "I'm a full-time content creator who loves bringing joy to the world by creating a wide variety of content, whether it is a series of cheesy pickup lines, costumed transitions, or even parodies of viral content in Malaysia (not sure why people love this).
"In my spare time, I brainstorm new content, go to the arcade, play games on my PC, and practice singing in my room!"
Which is her favorite among the characters she has cosplayed?
"I have cosplayed many characters over the years – over 50 so far? But my favorite cosplays are: Female Undertaker from 'Black Butler', Gawr Gura from hololive, and Misato from 'Neon Genesis Evangelion,'" she said.
According to Pudds, her most memorable cosplay experience so far happened when was a guest at an anime event in Sabah.
"The response was crazy. The people there treated me like an idol or celebrity. Perhaps because my cosplay TikToks really took off when I started creating cosplay videos during the peak of the Covid-19 lockdowns here in Malaysia. Many people got to know me off Tiktok and Instagram Reels so they got really hyped to see me in person.
@deadpudds ⚠️ TW: fake gun ⚠️ M for Misato, M for Mommy ❤️ #misato #misatokatsuragi #misatocosplay #evangelion #cosplay #evangelioncosplay ♬ Flyday Chinatown - EVADE FROM 宇宙
"The queue to my booth was a whopping three hours. I was baffled by the amount of supporters I had in East Malaysia. It was really eye-opening and shocked me that my content and cosplay managed to reach people across geographical borders. Thinking back about it always makes me feel very appreciated, very proud of my work, and very happy," she said.
Video games and music
How did Pudds get into gaming? She said that she started playing video games in primary school.
"My crush at the time was a Dota 2 and League of Legends player, and because I wanted to get close to him, I got my parents to buy me a gaming PC. Therefore, I spent a lot of my time playing Dota 2 on PC with him – to get rejected in the end," she quipped.
Pudds said she has played different kinds of games, including Dota 2, Overwatch, Resident Evil, and Cyberpunk 2077.
Asked to name her favorite game of all time, she replied: "Bloons TD 6. It's the most relaxing game in the world."
It was in 2020 that Pudds started streaming games.
"My favorite part about streaming was that I got to connect with so many people from so many different countries and share my love for games and weeb culture with them," she said.
What message would Pudds like to share with her fans?
"I just want to say thank you to all the people out there who've come so far to support me. It's been 10 years of cosplaying and I've enjoyed every single part of it!
"I'm very grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way to elevate me in this industry and these experiences have definitely helped me grow as a person.
"As of now, I'm focusing more on building my music career, so stay tuned for my upcoming music projects alongside Warner Music Malaysia! I will keep doing cosplay as a hobby to remain passionate and dedicated to the art," she said.
Now that's music to our ears, Pudds!
