KUCHING: Hakken, the globally acclaimed cosplayer, has an uncanny ability to embody anime characters and bring them to life.
Hailing from Miri, Hakken started the cosplay journey at age 12 after watching several videos of Naruto cosplayers on YouTube.
“My parents were into anime and manga, especially Slam Dunk, so I grew up with them but cosplay was something I had never seen before and I wanted to try it.
“I never expected all of this. I was just a weeb (a person who is fascinated with Japanese culture) who wanted to dress up as my favourite anime characters,” Hakken was quoted as saying in an interview with Tatler Malaysia.
With over 3.8 million followers on Instagram and 900,000 followers on Twitter, 25-year-old Hakken is one of the most highly accomplished cosplayers in Asia.
Hakken is signed to Philippines-founded esports and entertainment brand, Tier One Entertainment.
Among the characters Hakken had cosplayed include Howl’s Moving Castle, Jujutsu Kaisen and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
For a professional like Hakken, cosplay is a craft that needs to be perfected, as inspiration can arise unexpectedly, be it from watching anime shows or stumbling upon something fascinating.
“I make sure to prepare, whether it’s talking to my team to create accurate costumes and accessories, or researching the character and location. It may take two days or two years; when I do something, I want to do it properly,” said Hakken.
Hakken also credited the worldwide success to the mother, who accompanies the cosplayer on engagements and shoots around the world. The latter remains an essential member of the creative team, contributing to the ideation and creation of Hakken’s costumes.
However, things were definitely not easy for Hakken during the early cosplaying days as there was no cosplay community in Miri at that time and would often be made fun of but Hakken persevered.
Years into the journey as a cosplayer, Hakken went to Italy for the first photoshoot to portray Bruno Bucciarati, a character from the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5, which Hakken felt proud of.
In Hakken’s own words: “Nothing feels better than the feeling of accomplishment after everything is done and I finally get the results I’ve been working towards – especially if I travelled overseas.”
This year, Hakken has set a resolution to allocate time for passion projects, which include revisiting some classics like Final Fantasy, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter and bringing to life characters that haven’t been cosplayed before.
“This year, I finally have the confidence to go after these characters and I’m going to accomplish them one by one.
“Cosplay is in my blood, it’s my lifestyle, it’s carved into me,” said Hakken.
