“Cosplay was a turning point for me,” says Wataru Oikawa Shrestha. “It was through cosplaying that I have gained confidence.”

Shrestha fell in love with the ideas of expressing through characters and added, “Thereis no ‘yes or no’ in cosplay. It is pure unadulterated joy.”

Shrestha is a visual artist and the initiator of Majin Studio that creates wearable art including jewellery, fashionwear, prop designs, cosplay and character designs. He has been working with production companies like jazz and fuzz factory production and his prop designs can be seen in the videos like Nepenthe(s) by kamero.

Born to a Newari father and Japanese mother, Shrestha’s childhood was filled with cross-cultural aspects of both Nepal and Japan. Living in a multi-ethnic environment was difficult as he was confused by the diverse forms of communication. This disorganised pattern of communication eventually led him to visual arts to escape the conundrum. He started expressing himself through art.