Get 2 Know Cosplayers: 2023

Why did you choose the name "Juliju"?

Juliju is what a close friend of mine calls me. She's actually proud of inventing the best nicknames for her friends and was very happy I used mine for SuicideGirls!

How long have you been a part of the SuicideGirls community?

I've been part of SG community since 2017 so six years now. It's crazy how time goes so fast.

Where are you from?

I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

What first got you interested in cosplay?

As a child I dreamed of being part of the Pokémon world but I left that side of me hidden as I grew up. One day a street-shooting photographer asked me to go to an anime store close by. He is a total anime fan / Otaku and wanted to visit this store (Gastovic) before going back to his neighborhood and I joined him for the shooting ended since I thought it could be interesting. So that was the first time I knew a place like that and I was intrigued by all the merchandise, collectible figures, mangas and being surrounded by this Otaku culture clicked with me and I wanted more hehe.

What are some characters that you have cosplayed?

I've done mostly anime characters and I kinda have a strong preference for genderbending. For now I've cosplayed Orochimaru, Itachi, Rock Lee (from Naruto) Android 17, Bulma (Dragon Ball) Kaguya (Love is war), Luffy (One Piece), Kagome (Inuyasha), Akane (Psychopass), Sailor Júpiter (Sailor Moon), Power (Chainsawman), Tsuyu, Todoroki (Boku no hero), Itadori, Sukuna (Jujutsu Kaisen), Velma (Scooby-Doo), Buttercup (Powerpuffgirls), Poison Ivy (DC universe), Finn the Human (Adventure Time), Bob Squarepants, Baby Doll (Suckerpunch), Black Cat (Marvel), Leta Lestrange (Fantastic Beasts), Ada Wong (Resident Evil), Chucky, Beetlejuice, Barbie, Freddy Krueger, The Grinch and I don't know if I'm forgetting someone.

Any plans for future cosplays?

Definitely! I've got some cosplays in process such as Juno (Beastars) I need to make adjustments to the outfit and Kana Arima (Oshi no ko) I just got the wig so far, I still need the cosplay. And there's some others I haven't even started yet but would love to do such as Neferpitou, Hisoka (Hunter X Hunter), Miruko (Boku no hero), and Yennefer (The Witcher). I've got nothing for them yet but they're on my mind hahaha.

Do you have any cosplay pet peeves?

Like something that annoys me in particular? It could be contact lenses, my eyes are super sensitive so I don't really enjoy them much. Besides I wear glasses so it's two issues that bothers me.

What do you think is the most difficult part about cosplay? What about the most rewarding?

In my opinion the most difficult part is when you wanna cosplay a character that's physically super different like for instance if it has a lot of muscles or the skin color (this happens to me a lot cause most anime characters are white and I'm brown). I mean I clearly like doing them anyway but I wish I could do something with the features that I have. Right now I'm going to CrossFit classes so I can gain more muscles and feel more comfortable in that aspect for example (the color one I might have it edited for specific pictures or leave it that way like my version of it).

The most rewarding thing is the possibility of being someone else for a while at least. I really like that feeling. It's also like playing, something that many lost when growing up I feel like I can play again like when I was younger, that's pretty awesome!

Also adding to pros, sharing with other people with the same passion, that's great and super fulfilling experience.

How does cosplay differ from being a model? Are there ways that it is similar?

I'm not sure it's like this but being a model for me is showing yourself as pretty as possible (whatever pretty means to yourself) and in the case of cosplay I don't think being pretty is an important factor. The relevance is more focused on the display of that character you love. It's something not to be seen as beautiful (or maybe it is in a way) but to represent that being you wanna represent. Besides some
cosplayers also make their own cosplays and in the case of modeling sometimes it is the other way around where models wear something to be seen and maybe buy (like high culture models for example where the most important is the clothes you're suppose to be selling).

There's also a lot of similarities cause in both cases you gotta pose. In one you'll be doing the poses of the character and in the other maybe more classic modeling poses. In both you've also got a lot (or at least some) preparation such as make up and styling. Of course there's also the photography aspect in common. Most cosplayers like to display their work in professional sessions just like models do. I think that would be the similarities and differences for me.

Favorite Movie? TV show? Band?

This is a hard one for a favorite movie I guess I have to say The Lord of the Rings trilogy cause it gave me so much joy hahaha. I've read the books more than once and watched the films so many times and couldn't pick just one.

TV show is The Simpsons. It definitely makes me happy, I used to know most of the lines, love them, I wish there were more episodes like the old seasons. I don't watch the new ones and well now I'm thinking I'd love to do a Manjula cosplay or Jessica Alegría one hahah.

Favorite band I don't think I have one. I like many different music genres so it would depend on the genre and I couldn't really say just one. I can say what I enjoy listening to The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Miranda!, Charly Garcia, Gustavo Cerati, Boom Boom Kid, Daddy Yankee, Plan B, Wisin y Yandel, Maria Becerra and like a mix of almost anything.

Tell me about your different tattoos.

I tend to prefer big pieces. I got my first tattoo when I was 20 I think and I'm quite fond of it, The Raven from Poe's first poem, I've got it in two sessions and I love my raven so much (and real life ravens too)...

Then I don't know how I continued but I have a free hand rose on my chest (one session, made me cry when doing it), a message in a bottle (romantic as always haha), a horror house (I wanna have a full horror theme only black and grey manga on my arm but money money money I need money to do so hahah), my only tiny tattoos are a crown on my finger and a diamond near my puss, haha.

Now I'm thinking about why my royalty tattoos are so small... is it because I'm not quite confident? Maybe! Hahaha. Then I have an abstract cat (I wanna have another full color manga on my other arm haha all with cats, my other big passion), then there's a traditional lighthouse and a couple (more romantic stuff), Homer and Morticia Addams (more and more romantic plus horror, love this couple), I also have the flowers from The Wall movie cause I'm a big fan of Pink Floyd. I have a snake on my head, right now and maybe for a long long time it won't be seen cause I'm letting my hair grow, then my only lettering says "the future's uncertain and the end is always near" from The Doors. Kinda classic and I get that feeling.

Last but not least my full back piece, took a year to complete it, it's an oriental tiger. The artist is the same as my first tattoo. 10 years later I asked this person to make my biggest tattoo because I trusted him with my very first one and now the biggest one so I really think he's a great professional (Hugo Barbosa from good times tattoo parlor). It's classic but not so classic since I made some adjustments to it. I didn't want the tiger to have an angry face and didn't want to have all my back covered so it's not super traditional in those two aspects but the rest is an oriental piece. The tattoo artist is a genius and specialized in this area (and animals). I'm not sure I named them all but well you can see them on my pictures too!

What are some of your other hobbies?

I like reading books (I don't have anything to read right now), watch series/movies, recently started CrossFit and I'm actually enjoying it although I'm the most beginner of the beginners. Also hanging with my friends, but not too much cause I get socially tired and then I need to sleep! I love traveling as well and walking different streets. I've never walked before and this is something I enjoy doing with other people more than alone.

Where can fans find more of you?

SuicideGirls: https://www.suicidegirls.com/girls/juliju/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Juliju_cosplay