Of the many cosplay groups, there are those with their own characteristics. One of them is the group Endiru, short for `The Endless Illusion'.

"Oh, Endiru is definitely the best in Indonesia because of their costumes. They are so beautiful! I am such a big fan of them," said 18-year-old Nimas.

Nimas also said it might be Endiru's leader, Pinky Lu Xun, who introduced cosplay to Indonesia in 1998.

Pinky, who works as a project architect for a major company in Indonesia, started cosplaying solo in 1998.

"(However) I became really envious of cosplayers from other countries who could take great pictures together as a group. I then began my search for other Indonesian cosplayers to start a group. I almost give up, but then I met Orochi X in 2004 and we started Endiru," Pinky explained.

Endiru's activities mostly involve creating costumes for private photo shoots and some cosplay competitions. A member of Endiru, Tsadhe, said she got the biggest kick out of making the costumes.

"My most elaborate costume is the one for Esther Blanchett from the anime and manga Trinity Blood. The material cost a lot, because she is a queen and is deserving of luxury materials like velvet. It's a highly intricate costume," Tsadhe said.

The costume-making process lasts three to six months. This does not include the planning, the pattern making, the material hunting and the endless meetings.

This is where Endiru is unlike other groups. "We are an all-girl cosplay group. Not only does that make us unique but it also comes in handy when we need to sleep over at a friend's house to finish a costume," Pinky said.

Pinky said having an all-female cast had never been a problem.

"We choose roles we are comfortable with. Some of our members specialize in cross play (cosplaying as the opposite gender) and it's not hard for them. Also, I find it much easier to act out intimate scenes with another female. It would be awkward acting it out with a male," Pinky said.

Unlike Endiru, which puts most of its energy into making costumes, another Indonesian cosplay group, Machipot, said their strength laid in the quality of their performances.

"You will know what makes us different when you see us perform," said Handian, the cofounder of Machipot. Handian guaranteed Machipot's performance was "breathtaking".

Thirty-year-old cosplayer Franky said Machipot's on-stage energy made them the best in the country.

"I was totally blown away by their performance at the 2005 Animonster event as the terrorist organization Akatsuki from Naruto," he said.

That particular event was in fact the first in which Handian and his friends performed together as Machipot.

Handian cosplayed as one of the members of Akatsuki, the ruthless Uchiha Itachi who has the ability to blow giant fireballs from his lungs.

"Our performance for that was total! I even learned how to blow fire from my mouth for two days to portray Uchiha Itachi. It's things like this that make me want to continue with cosplay, improving the cosplay world," Handian said.

He also cosplayed as Kuchiki Byakuya, a cool and suave character from the anime Bleach. For this performance, Handian tried his best to portray Byakuya in his powerful final form.

"I spent four hours styling my hair to look like his and I wore a life-size pair of wings with a big electrical halo which lit up! All to create Byakuya in his final form," he said.

While he confessed Machipot members did not make their own costumes, he said this allowed them time to focus on their performances.

Handian said Machipot was currently busy rehearsing their latest cabaret for the upcoming Animonster event. The anime they are acting out?

"It's a secret!" Handian said.

--Virania Munaf

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