NGOCO Podcast: What's Up with Pokémon?

One of the recent realized social media experiments involving Pokémon, and of course me, is my being featured on a podcast belonging to a local band I know very well, Hyakushiki. It is also an experiment for them as they deal with non-band content. The podcast is titled "NGOCO", which is an abbreviation of "Ngobrol Bareng Konco", meaning "Talking with Friends". Obviously, we're really good friends with each other, which is why they chose me as their first guest, and that is an honor to be sure. The first episode with me in two parts is titled "Ada Apa Dengan Pokémon?", which is a rib on a very popular local teen romance movie and means "What's Up with Pokémon?".

In Part 1, which is only about 15 minutes long, I and two of the band's members - the drummer and a guitarist - discussed mostly about my cosplay background, including where I started and what makes me tick as a cosplayer and a person in general, including my daily life. The answer to the first can also be found elsewhere on this blog, while the second is obvious, as it is the overarching theme of this blog and subsequently a partial focus of their episode with me. Another key point that was discussed in this part is my popularity relative to local events and conventions, which in a way has become quintessential among other things. It serves as a neat introduction to who I am and their new podcast concept.

Part 2 is significantly longer at nearly 30 minutes, around twice as long. There are a few more tidbits about me in this part, but a good deal of time in this part was spent for answering questions that had been submitted ahead of time. Interestingly, many of the questions could be answered by tidbits that I had previously dropped in Part 1 and a little earlier in Part 2, so it was only a matter of elaborating some of the more obscure tidbits. At the end of Part 2, the band members also presented a challenge to rate the cosplays of certain people since I had been a judge before; I have to admit that since it wasn't a formal judging, my ratings were slightly generous, but it was a fun challenge nonetheless.

The nice thing about this video podcast is that certain images can be shown for clarification, including Trainer Red as one of the non-Ash characters I've cosplayed, as well as the event poster where I first cosplayed. This was also very much necessary for the rate-the-cosplay challenge in order to provide context to viewers. One thing that I had been hoping for is that since Hyakushiki is a band, we could have done a collaborative musical number to go along with the podcast, but admittedly none of us were ready when we recorded the whole thing. Still, the rest of the podcast is what matters, and perhaps we can save the collaboration for another time when we are all ready, especially with more of the band.

What can be construed about this podcast is that it is as much an experiment for them as it is for me, as I've noted even way before. Yet it is a good experiment with a good concept, in bringing friends who (may) have been somewhat disconnected even in current times and reconnecting with them through lively dialogue. For me and many others, though, Hyakushiki will always be known for their band content, but this new content allows for a deeper insight into their non-band relations, and especially in letting guests like me shine. I feel like I've done just that with my appearance as their first guest and with the information I've brought on the podcast, and the hope is that we can all continue to shine no matter what we take up.

One year ago: Get Sporty for Sports, Pokémon Style

Two years ago: The Changing of Boxes

Three years ago: Toy Block Pokémon?

Four years ago: Cosplay Briefings