Sharing a set of values, of liking the same things, can break down national borders. It was this very idea that was the starting point for my activities in cultural diplomacy and something that I’ve affirmed in my travels around the world, but for someone like Nekomu Otogi who wants to share Japanese cosplay with the world to feel the same thing, that makes me happy.
“I would love to go back to Indonesia again, but Europe has long been a dream of mine and I really want to go to Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. I want to cosplay amongst the European townscapes but I also want to just take lots of photos as well.”
Salon del Manga in Barcelona is one of Europe’s leading otaku events and I’ve been invited as a guest numerous times, so it’s like a second home for me now.
I would love to see Nekomu Otogi cosplay in Spain or along side other European cosplayers one day, and I get the feeling that that day might come a lot sooner that I think.