Interview with SETO KETCHUM: Everyday Cosplay Hero

Editor’s Note: Nerd Caliber is doing a bi-weekly series of interviews with cosplayers from all walks of life. Our goal is to look behind the masks and make-up and discover who are these creative persons that make up the cosplay community.

I met Seto Ketchum at his first ever con when he was 15 years old – I was his special attack in a Cosplay Chess match. He had so much fun and was so excited to cosplay that he forgot to eat all weekend. Seto’s now become a pretty popular cosplay event host and staffer at a few conventions. He’s like a real-life Ceasar Flickerman from The Hunger Games – he knows how to put on a good show, but genuinely cares about making participants feel comfortable. Even if they are about to be sent to their imminent death…

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Nerd Caliber: So how long have you been cosplaying?

Seto Ketchum: Anime Boston 2009 was my first at 15, so around five years.

NC: What made you want to start cosplaying?

SK: I’ve always been a performer, so the opportunity to be in character for long periods of time was something I couldn’t pass up.

NC: What was your first costume, and what made you decide to be that character?

SK: Ash Ketchum. I didn’t need a wig.

NC: Do you make your costumes, or do you commission/buy them?

SK: I buy all my costumes. To me, cosplay is so much more about the performance, making costumes just isn’t my jam. I give so much credit to people that do! I honestly wish I could! But that’s really what makes the community so diverse!

NC: You are currently a college student, correct? Where do you go, and what are you studying?

SK: I attend Bridgewater State University, and I’m majoring in English. I’ve written theses on all manner of pop culture criticism. My thesis on Buffy the Vampire Slayer even reached National Recognition!

NC: So what’s your thought process when it comes to choosing characters to cosplay?

SK: I always choose characters that I think will be fun to play. Ash is childish and ridiculous, but he’s brave. Kaiba’s obnoxious and into himself, but he’s successful. Wallace Wells and Stocking are… well, they’re perfect. It all comes to down to how much fun I’d have embodying them.

NC: I know you do cosplay events at cons, I take it that you being a performer outside of conventions led you to start participating in such events?

SK: That’s right! Cosplay events are always massively fun, but I’ve been performing since I was little. Cosplay events have greatly improved my improv comedy and speaking skills. Which have made me better at cosplay events, which have made me better at improv and speaking, and so on.

NC: What’s been one of the best/one of your favorite moments from a cosplay event that you’ve been a part of?

SK: There are honestly too many to list! Though I really enjoyed being the “Swan Queen” at Anime Boston chess one year.

NC: That was a good one. Killing yourself with Kenshin’s sword in your first ever Chess is one of my favorites.

SK: I actually stabbed myself with that sword! Had a lack of skin on my side for a good month. The same for when I dragged myself across the stage from “telekinetic attacks” from Team SITCAS in 2012.

NC: So what led you to start staffing at cons?

SK: At Anime Boston, I started staffing to run the Anime Boston Death Match. I started at AAC in 2011 by being the Cosplay Games assistant. It was so much fun, and I honestly felt like I helped contestants through what is always a really nervous time. So, all my staffing stems from wanting people to have as much fun as possible at events. The most important thing about any event is whether or not people have fun. Sarah, my perfect boss at AAC, taught me that.

NC: How do you see the cosplay/convention scene evolving? Has it changed much since you started cosplaying?

SK: How it’s changed is really simple, it’s huge! Even in just the five years I’ve been in the community, cosplaying has grown exponentially more popular and I don’t see it slowing down.

As far as where I see it going, I’m hoping a new age will emerge for cosplay performers. There are a lot of famous cosplayers that are known for their costumes, but not as many known for their entertainment.

NC: How would you personally like cosplay to be portrayed to the world?

SK: As an art form, an entertainment medium, but ultimately as a hobby, as normal as anything else.

NC: What’s one piece of advice/message you’d like to give to someone who’s new to cosplay/thinking about cosplaying for the first time?

SK: Don’t care in any way shape or form about what you look like; everyone’s first cosplay is rough. Have fun, this is not a serious thing. Be respectful of other people, just because we’re dressed funny doesn’t mean we aren’t people.
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You can follow more of Seto Ketchum’s antics on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SetoKetchum), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/setoketchum), and Tumblr.