During Anime Boston 2024 we took the opportunity to visit our favorite home convention and asked a few random cosplayers some questions. Check out our interview video below, and if you like content like this let us know in the comments or on social media!
The cosplayers we interviewed included these characters:
- Victor Grantz from Identity V
- Vaush the Stampede from Trigun Stampede
- Sabrina from Pokemon (with a Haunter)
- Holo Pilot from Titanfall
- Gol D. Roger from One Piece
- Jolyne Cujo from JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Stone Ocean
- Frieren from Frieren
- Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen
What follows after this is a transcript of the interview video. We will refer to each cosplayer by their character’s names and myself as Chaplin when needed.
Have you been to Anime Boston before?
Sabrina: I have, the last couple years.
Victor: This is my sixth year.
Chaplin: We got a veteran over here!
Vaush: Ah geez, it’s fractured up so probably like five years total.
Holo Pilot: No… No.
Roger: Many times.
Jolyne: I have, this is my second year here. This is my favorite con.
Chaplin: Mine too! It’s the only one I really go to though.
Frieren: I’ve been going regularly since 2019. It’s been pretty fun, especially yesterday with the Queen Bee concert.
Victor: It’s always really fun, not too many people. Anime Expo is definitely very pressing so with Anime Boston it’s a good balance.
Vaush: It’s like totally mind numbing though. So many people walking around, so much distractions, it’s hard to stay focused. The lines are getting long.
Gojo: I’m local to the Boston area so this is my home con. I started cosplaying in 2022 cause some friends got me into it so I’m still pretty new. Gojo was my first cosplay.
How did you get into anime or manga?
Jolyne: Oof, I don’t even remember… My little brother got me into JoJo’s.
Victor: I was raised on Sailor Moon from a young age.
Vaush: Toonami on Cartoon Network is where I was first exposed to it. Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, the older ones, yeah.
Holo Pilot: I didn’t. I don’t watch anime or manga. I’m just here because people told me I should go so I went and then nobody else came so I’m just alone.
Chaplin: Well…
Holo Pilot: So skip all anime related questions, I’m sorry.
Chaplin: …Which is probably most of them.
Holo Pilot: I’ve watched one anime. I’ve watched Initial D, it was pretty good.
Chaplin: You didn’t watch Dragon Ball or anything like that?
Holo Pilot: No, I’m a car guy.
Chaplin: You haven’t seen like any Ghibli things or anything like that?
Holo Pilot: Oh, um… I watched- what the fuck is it…? Porco Rosso! I liked the plane from it, I was gonna try to build an RC model of one.
Sabrina: My older brother, he made me watch a bunch. Fairy Tail, all that stuff.
Roger: It all started when I was a little boy… Pokemon.
Frieren: Sailor Moon when I was a little kid.
Gojo: I kinda dabbled when I was in college, just as like something to do in my down time. Then once I graduated this groups of friends that I had met was just very into it. They got me to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion and I was like “oh…that’s pretty sick!” *laughs*
What kind of anime do you like?
Frieren: I like just about anything but I have a preference for shoujo.
Vaush: I like slice-of-life. I’m actually leaning more into fantasy right now, like Frieren I’ve been following. It’s high fantasy, it’s pretty cool.
Sabrina: I like slice-of-life, just simple stuff. I don’t really care for the fighting and all that.
Gojo: I go through phases. I had a rom-com phase recently that was kind of crazy. But generally I like action if I’m not looking to think too hard. And then I like more psychological stuff, like Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain. Stuff like that.
Roger: Uhh adult, like gorey and actiony… Isekai. Isekai. A lot of isekai.
Chaplin: There’s too many, we gotta get rid of them (joke).
Jolyne: JoJo’s *laughs*. I’m pretty biased, JoJo’s is my favorite.
Chaplin: I never would’ve guessed the JoJo fan only has “JoJo” to say.
Victor: All, but not romance.
Chaplin: The romance enjoyers in the comments are upset.
Victor: I’m sorry.
What are you currently watching or reading?
Victor: I’m currently finishing Orange. I like that one.
Sabrina: I don’t watch a lot anymore, I’ll be honest. I’m rewatching Pokemon right now. *laughs*
Chaplin: I couldn’t have guessed that! [camera zooms into Haunter cosplay attachment]
Frieren: Oh god, my reading and watching list are both really long *laughs*. I follow seasonals and I follow like every ongoing shoujo manga.
Chaplin: Everything?
Frieren: Yeah.
Chaplin: What’s the current big shoujo going on right now?
Frieren: Well, A Sign of Affection just finished airing and that got really popular.
Chaplin: (to Jolyne) Please don’t say JoJo…
Jolyne: …(smirk) JoJo.
Chaplin: Oh my god!!! (JoJo reference). What is it, Stone Ocean Part 6 that we’re on right now?
Jolyne: I am actually on Part 9.
Chaplin: Okay we’re skipping to the manga here. Is that what it’s currently at? Nine parts??
Roger: Solo Leveling… I rewatch a lot of old ones… Eminence in Shadow… Shangri-La Frontier…
Chaplin: We got the gamers in the chat here!
Vaush: Oh god, well Frieren is one of them. Everything is on right now so… What is it, Undead Unluck is one of them… And then I’m watching some silly ones like The Villainess is Level 99. All these ones that are coming out right now I’m paying attention to. Keeping up with.
Gojo: So I’m reading JJK (Jujutsu Kaisen). Watching right now… I’m watching Solo Leveling ’cause I was kind of interested to see- I feel like everybody was talking about it before it came out. And then it came out and like nobody talked about it. So I was curious if it was any good. It’s good, right, I’m not trying to act like it isn’t good, but it’s not that creative and I think that’s because it’s a lot older of a series than people realize. But the fights are solid and everything has been good so far, it’s just not like groundbreaking in any way to me. Other than that I’m not reading that much right now to be honest, just JJK.
Sub or dub?
Roger: Dub. Well, okay… It’s situational.
Chaplin: He’s gotta defend his answer.
Roger: I’m gonna say: The One Piece dub is great. Dragon Ball dub is great. I don’t wanna hear 80 year old Goku, 80 year old Luffy, *shonen fight scream*. I’m all set. The dub is amazing for One Piece and Dragon Ball.
Chaplin: You’ve just upset so many people in the chat.
Roger: That is the hill I will die on. If you wanna fight me I got Haki (One Piece reference).
Chaplin: You heard it from Roger himself too. So that says a lot.
Roger: It’s a based opinion.
Sabrina: I hate- I can’t read that well *laughs* so dub.
Vaush: Sub.
Frieren: I do subs.
Victor: *laughs* Dub…
Chaplin: They say it ashamed. Ashamed at it. [camera zooms on Victor shaking head and covering face]
Jolyne: I’m gonna have to go with sub but I love the dub. I met Jolyne’s dub voice actor yesterday and she was the sweetest person ever. I won a JoJo pose contest and she gave me a bracelet that she made [shows off bracelet].
Chaplin: Oh my god…
Jolyne: It says “It Just Works” for King Crimson. (JoJo meme reference)
Jolyne: It Just Works!
Gojo: Sub. I don’t watch like any dubs.
Chaplin: Not even Dragon Ball or Yu-Gi-Oh?
Gojo: My favorite cosplay to do is Seto Kaiba. So when I’m in character as Kaiba I don’t speak as sub Kaiba, I try and talk like dub Kaiba.
Best anime movie that’s not Ghibli.
Sabrina: Oh geez, got rid of all my options. I like the Cowboy Bebop movie, not the live-action.
Vaush: God, I don’t watch too many anime movies. There’s one I watched recently that was really good. It’s the one with the doors, the doors open up and-
Chaplin: Suzume?
Vaush: Yeah, Suzume.
Victor: Best anime movie… Umm… I can’t think off the top of my head… I do like A Silent Voice.
Chaplin: Didn’t you say you like everything except romance?
Victor: Well I don’t like ones that are explicitly fanservice romance, but that’s tragic so…
Chaplin: That’s fair. You’ve redeemed yourself in the comments.
Gojo: It’s gotta be something like Your Name, right? I don’t know… Like those feel-fest movies that’s like… Yeah I don’t watch that many anime movies. Like the most recent one I saw I think was JJK 0 [Jujutsu Kaisen 0]. That’s good but it’s not like- I don’t wanna just stand up here and talk about JJK.
Chaplin: You understand that everybody knows Jujutsu Kaisen, it doesn’t need more hype as it is.
Gojo: Nah…
Roger: Yo, Psycho-Pass [the Movie], have you seen Psycho-Pass? Psycho-Pass is pretty good… Akira is like the base great, like the old one… Made in Abyss [Dawn of the Deep Soul], which is heartbreaking.
Frieren: Hmmm… That’s a hard choice. I like the Haruhi movie [The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya], that was really well done.
Jolyne: Oooh I don’t know. I don’t watch a ton of anime movies. That’s gonna be hard… I don’t know any.
Chaplin: Have you seen the Pokemon movie? [Mewtwo Strikes Back]
Jolyne: Oh yeah I have *laughs*.
Name an iconic anime or manga moment.
Vaush: Dragon Ball Z, “it’s over 9000”. (Vegeta dub meme reference)
Victor: Probably when Ciel makes the deal with Sebastian in Black Butler.
Sabrina: When… Oh that’s a spoiler but in Fairy Tail, I guess when that stuff with the mermaid girl, the… I won’t say too much but yeah.
Chaplin: If you know, you know.
Sabrina: If you know, you know!
Chaplin: I don’t know, I didn’t watch Fairy Tail. But if YOU know… you know!
Jolyne: I’m gonna have to say “I reject my humanity, JoJo” when he [Dio] puts on the stone mask.
Frieren: When Usagi’s identity is first revealed in Sailor Moon.
Gojo: Probably “Omae wa mou shindeiru”. (Fist of the North Star “You are already dead” meme reference)
Chaplin: I’m surprised I haven’t heard that one today yet.
Roger: Berserk… Guts on Zodd when they’re about to just take out Ganishka.
Chaplin: These are names… These are names. I’m not familiar Berserk.
Roger: Ah, watch at your own risk. It’s not for the faint of heart.
You can only recommend three anime to the world, the rest go away. What are they?
Frieren: That’s so hard off the top of my head! Umm… I really like Cardcaptor Sakura, that’s a classic. I would tell people to watch Frieren because that was really good… Durarara.
Victor: I’m going to have to say Neon Genesis [Evangelion], Black Butler, and… Oh my godness… Kiznaiver.
Jolyne: I’m gonna have to say obviously JoJo’s, Pokemon, and… I also like Demon Slayer, that’s a pretty good one to get started.
Sabrina: Umm… *calling someone off camera* Hannah, what have I watched? *no response* Oh she won’t respond, she can’t hear me…
Chaplin: Phone-a-friend did not work.
Sabrina: What did I just watch… I watched Apothecary Diaries, that was good I watched that last week. I do like Fairy Tail, gonna be my favorite. And [Pokemon] Indigo League, yeah!
Vaush: Ooooh my goddd… *sighs* Toradora, absolutely love Toradora. I’m kind of a romance junkie, so Toradora and then umm… Manga or anime?
Chaplin: You can list manga or anime, either one.
Vaush: Yeah, Bitter Virgin the manga is like a masterpiece for like a josei kind of audience. It’s really good I love it. And I’m gonna say not Trigun Stampede but Trigun the ’98 version. Vaush is just like a funny, happy-go-lucky goof and I love it.
Roger: Berserk, my favorite one. Wolf’s Rain, my fights for the first spot. Airgear. Those three. Those three are the most hype, emotional anime that I have in my life.
What anime makes you cry?
Victor: Your Lie in April. *deep sigh*
Frieren: Violet Evergarden made me cry.
Jolyne: JoJo’s, everyone I love dies! *laughs*
Chaplin: Everyone-
Jolyne: Even the dogs! All the dogs die, I hate when dogs die!!
Chaplin: Why do they gotta kill the dog every time they wanna establish a new bad guy? Oh my god!
Jolyne: They’re just too good, they gotta find some way to make the bad guys unlikeable. *laughs*
Chaplin: Killing dogs is a pretty effective way of doing it, I gotta say.
Sabrina: My Neighbor Totoro actually makes me cry a lot. It’s a happy movie but it’s sad.
Roger: One Piece. Every time. Every arc. Everything. Including Chopper.
Gojo: I actually do like happy crying. So like it can be like the stupidest, most low-stakes rom-com where nothing in the world could possibly go wrong. The main character just does something nice for his love interest. The “cry here” moments just get me sometimes, I’m not afriad to admit that.
Vaush: God, a lot of things make me cry. Geez, I don’t know. There was one recently but I think it’s just because I got a newborn at home, so anything with children in it. Even Spy x Family and some of the nice moments, having a child at home it just really hits home for me.
Name a magical girl series.
Victor: Madoka Magika.
Vaush: Oh god, which one is the one I started recently… Starts with an M… Ummm…
Chaplin: Madoka?
Vaush: Yeah, Madoka!
Sabrina: Madoka Magica. I started that, but I never finished it though.
Jolyne: Madoka Magica.
Gojo: Madoka.
Roger: Magical Girl Apocalypse. It’s very gorey.
Chaplin: *shocked* First time somebody didn’t say Madoka.
Roger: That’s also gorey but this one is like a manga that’s REALLY gorey.
Frieren: Sailor Moon.
Favorite swordsmen in anime or manga?
Sabrina: I watched a good amount of One Piece so I guess Zoro.
Roger: *clicks tongue, thinking, deep groan* …Me.
Chaplin: …What’s that?
Roger: *pointing at cosplay sword* Me, Roger!
Frieren: Well right now I really like Himmel. *gestures off camera to Himmel cosplayer friend*
Chaplin: Oh my god, THE Himmel the Hero?? Never would’ve guessed that! (Frieren reference).
Vaush: Oh my god, Kenshin. Rurouni Kenshin.
Jolyne: Polnareff. *laughs*
Gojo: Favorite swordsmen in anime or man- Guts… Guts.
Chaplin: Made it look like he was thinking about it for a second and then he was like “no, it’s Guts”.
Gojo: I was trying to go through it like, sadly a Cloud [Final Fantasy VII] walked by you couldn’t see it on camera and I was like “I wonder if Cloud and Sephiroth count”. But I was like “what am I talking about?? It’s obvious Guts.”
Chaplin: He’s like “no, Guts clears.”
Gojo: Big swords, I got ’em confused.
Victor: *laughing* Can I count Joker from Persona 5?
Chaplin: He’s got an anime so yeah sure!
How do you define isekai?
Chaplin: Do you know what an isekai is?
Frieren: Yes, I do. *laughs*
Chaplin: The Oxford Dictionary recently added the word “isekai”.
Frieren: I heard about this! *laughs*
Chaplin: And IGN decided that Frieren is an isekai. How does it feel knowing that you’re apparently an isekai?
Frieren: *confused shrug* Feels good.
Chaplin: How would you define isekai?
Frieren: I guess being spirited away into a world that isn’t your own.
Chaplin: Would you consider Sword Art Online an isekai?
Frieren: *considers* Yeah, it is a video game world so it’s not their world.
Chaplin: Do you know what an isekai is?
Vaush: Oh yeah.
Chaplin: The Oxford Dictionary recently added the word “isekai”.
Vaush: Oh no… *shaking his head laughing*
Chaplin: IGN basically said all fantasy is isekai.
Vaush: Oh.. *disgusted*
Chaplin: How would you define isekai?
Vaush: Uhh… *chuckles* Bus-kun? (isekai trope reference)
Chaplin: As long as Bus-kun is in it, that’s all it takes! So basically “reincarnation”.
Vaush: Yeah, it needs any reincarnation, period. It has to be reincarnation, if it’s not reincarnation it’s not isekai so…
Chaplin: Do you know what an isekai is?
Victor: ……No.
Chaplin: Do you have any general impression of what an isekai might be? Like, what do you think your idea of an isekai is?
Victor: Um… Does Sword Art Online count as a…?
Chaplin: *looks to camera and laughs*
Chaplin: Do you know what an isekai is?
Jolyne: Nope, I do not.
Chaplin: Do you know what an isekai is?
Sabrina: Nope.
Chaplin: Do you know what an isekai is?
Gojo: Yeah, another world.
Chaplin: The Oxford Dictionary recently added it to its definitions.
Gojo: No shot, really?
Chaplin: It did, it did. IGN has famously recently said it pretty means anything that’s a fantasy, so things like Frieren it considers an isekai. How do you feel about that?
Gojo: *long pause, considering* …If their defining it… Okay- *laughs*
Chaplin: He’s speechless…
Gojo: I’m gonna try to be technical.
Chaplin: *laughs*
Gojo: If Oxford is defining it as literally as just “another world” ’cause typically isekai is transported to another world, right? That’s what the anime definition is. If it’s just being classified as “another world” technically I guess you could say that anything fantasy is another world. From my perspective nah, like you get isekai’d. That means you get hit by a truck and you go to another fantasy world.
Chaplin: Do you know what an isekai is?
Roger: I can’t get it out of my mind…
Chaplin: The Oxford Dictionary recently defined it. Can you define it?
Roger: Transported from another world into a new one.
Chaplin: Is Sword Art Online an isekai?
Roger: *heavy breathing* …No.
How many episodes of One Piece are currently out right now?
Chaplin: This is gonna be a tough one… Do you know One Piece?
Victor: Nooooo…. (sarcastic)
Chaplin: That’s great. Whether or not you know it, that’s not the question, okay? The question is… how many episodes of One Piece are currently out right now?
Victor: Oh my goodness… I don’t know, there’s a lot right? Maybe over 800? Is that correct?
Chaplin: Guess an exact number.
Victor: I’ve never watched an episode! …952 or something.
Chaplin: 952? The answer is 1099!
Victor: *absolutely shocked*
Chaplin: How many episodes of One Piece are currently out right now?
Vaush: *shrugs* 1200.
Chaplin: 1099.
Vaush: *groans*
Chaplin: You got pretty close though!
Vaush: Yeah that’s the reason I’ve never watched it.
Chaplin: How many episodes of One Piece are currently out right now?
Sabrina: There are over a thousand now right? I remember it reached that. I’m only on like 360 for myself but… I’m gonna go, like, 1162?
Chaplin: Pretty close, 1099!
Sabrina: Oh, pretty close!
Chaplin: I think you’re the closest so far. I don’t have prizes to give for that but-
Sabrina: Oh alright. *laughs*
Chaplin: You were almost there.
Chaplin: I can ask you this one question because it doesn’t require having seen it. How many episodes of One Piece do you think are currently out right now, if you give an exact number?
Holo Pilot: *points behind him* Someone had said earlier like over a thousand, so I don’t know: 1382.
Chaplin: Not too bad, it’s 1099.
Holo Pilot: Jesus Christ…
Chaplin: You’re ready to go on your One Piece journey for your first anime right?
Holo Pilot: No, I’m not! shakes head* No, I’m good, I think I’ll pass on that one chief. Imma hard pass on that. I’d rather go play Titanfall again I think. *laughs*
Chaplin: Okay this last question…
Roger: *nods*
Chaplin: The most important question…
Roger: *nods more*
Chaplin: As a One Piece fan…
Roger: *nods harder*
Chaplin: As a literal character from One Piece…
Roger: *nods hard, heavy breathing*
Chaplin: How many episodes of One Piece are currently out?
Roger: *considers* 1068… Uh no! 1076! Or… 1070… That range… 1070… *breathes* 1076.
Chaplin: I need a final answer, are we locked in?
Roger: That’s 1076 or 1068…
Chaplin: Super close: 1099.
Roger: Aah, 1099!! Okay… You see I’m only on the dub so I haven’t even finished Wano yet. I’ve watched a little bit of Egghead arc, okay?! I’ve watched One Piece twice. There’s still not enough episodes. They’re gonna be 2000 episodes in and it’s not enough.
Chaplin: How do you find the time?
Roger: …I don’t. I lose a lot of sleep.
Chaplin: Do you know what One Piece is?
Jolyne: I do know what One Piece is.
Chaplin: Do you watch One Piece?
Jolyne: I do not, but my friend is obsessed with it so I hear all about it.
Chaplin: Hopefully your friend has told you the answer to this question. Try to guess a number as close as you can, exact as you can. How many episodes of One Piece are currently out right now?
Jolyne: Imma say 900.
Chaplin: The answer is 1099. Not too bad!
Jolyne: I was pretty close! Wow… That is a lot! *laughs*
Chaplin: So you’re getting ready to watch all of One Piece right now right?
Jolyne: That’s why I haven’t started it, there’s so much! My attention span is not that long.
Chaplin: (referencing Roger) He just told me watch all of One Piece like twice.
Jolyne: Twice is crazy. I’ve watched all of JoJo’s probably the same amount of times that it would equal to the time that One Piece is. Watched it and read it like a hundred times!
Chaplin: Do you know what One Piece is?
Frieren: Of course! *laughs*
Chaplin: Do you watch One Piece?
Friren: I read it, but I’m a bit behind right now.
Chaplin: Okay, well the question here is: I need a number from you. How many episodes of One Piece are currently out right now as of later today?
Frieren: Uhh… I would say… 1100? *laughs*
Chaplin: *shocked* You are the closest one so far, it’s 1099! Oh my god, you were one off!! The closest we got so far, that’s amazing. Nothing less from Frieren-sama herself!
Chaplin: Okay now this next one: do you know what One Piece is?
Gojo: Yes.
Chaplin: Have you watched One Piece?
Gojo: I have not.
Chaplin: Okay well this next one you don’t have to watch it to know it.
Gojo: Okay.
Chaplin: I need a number from you, okay? How many episodes of One Piece will there be tonight.
Gojo: So is it like…1120?
Chaplin: Pretty close! It’s 1099 as of tonight.
Gojo: Okay not bad, not bad.
Chaplin: Not bad.
Gojo: Can I give you a hot take? I think that long anime in general is a slippery slope that people shouldn’t do.
Chaplin: *shaking head* Don’t do it. (joke)
Gojo: Everybody talks about something like [Cowboy] Bebop or Fullmetal Alchemist, right? Like the top rated shows. You can communicate so much in a shorter period of time. There’s so many good shows you can watch in the time period it would take you to watch One Piece. It’s not worth starting now. I don’t hate One Piece, I don’t hate things like Naruto, but it’s just not for me. If I can watch a beautiful 12-episoder I’m doing that over starting One Piece any day of the week.
Chaplin: So you’re advocating for the death of long-running shonen?
Gojo: Kinda, yeah. I think Hunter x Hunter is the max.
Chaplin: *nods* It clears, it clears! You know, it’s like, what, 200-something episodes?
Gojo: Something like that, right?
Chaplin: Pretty good chunk.
Gojo: And even at that point I’m like alright that’s enough! I get it if you started with One Piece or started with Naruto, ’cause then you’re just watching it weekly. But it’s like freakin’ Law & Order or something, you watch like a new episode every week that it comes out. I don’t know, it just doesn’t do it for me.
Anything you’re really excited for today at Anime Boston?
Holo Pilot: I don’t know what the hell is going on! I tried to download the app on my phone, it didn’t work. I have NO CLUE what’s happening today. I’m just gonna keep walking around and seeing what’s there.
Is there any last comments or anything you wanna say about Anime Boston or the Boston area in general?
Vaush: If you can, you should come here. And if you can, you should cosplay, because it’s a load of fun. Just do it!
Sabrina: It’s just fun. I recommend walking around and getting photos with people, that’s my favorite part!
Gojo: AB is really good as like a fan or non-cosplayer con. I get stopped for photos a lot more here than I do at other places and I think it’s just because a lot of cosplayers are very open to interact. And there’s more non-cosplayers here than I’ve seen at other cons. So I think if you’re nervous about coming to an anime convention it can be more comfortable for you here. With that said, I know they’re looking for a bigger convention center and I think they need it ’cause it’s too crowded in here.
Jolyne: Oooh, I’m gonna say… You kinda just gotta go with the flow, honestly. Like I give the schedule a quick look but I just like to go wherever it takes me, honestly. Talk to people, see what’s up.
Frieren: It’s a really fun and intimate con and I hope everyone’s having a great weekend.
Roger: Have a good time. Bring a friend group or go solo. *shrugs* Just have a good time, meet people. *T-poses for the camera*
Victor: I definitely think Anime Boston is a great convention for people to go to and I think it should be more considered up with Anime Expo and things so… If you haven’t and you can, come.
[There are a couple short bonus bits towards the end of the video, so please check that out above if you’re interested.]
Are you a fan of Anime Boston or any other anime convention? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
