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Meet Leo Bane.
He's a cosplayer from France who is known for his amazing (and muscley) costumes, the likes of which include Hercules, a Spartan from 300, gaston from Beauty and the Beast, and most recently, Sailor Neptune from the classic, '90s, magical girl anime Sailor Moon.
PRIDE got the chance to speak with Leo about his gender-bending cosplay, how he responds to close-minded haters, and why he thinks everyone should try getting into cosplay!
And for more awesome cosplay looks, make sure to follow Leo on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
What inspired you to cosplay as Sailor Neptune? Is she your favorite 'Sailor Moon' character?
I've wanted to cosplay someone from Sailor Moon for a while and I loved the design of Neptune. The green she is wearing is also my favorite color so it was perfect for me. She also has a relationship with Uranus that could be fun to do in pictures!
Follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more awesome cosplay looks!
Did you have any apprehensions when you first cosplayed Sailor Neptune?
Honestly, no. I’m the kind of man that lives for himself first and I don't care about what people think about what I'm doing, as crazy it could be. I’m in the cosplay world to enjoy my life and the moment of the con. I wanted to get some funny days with my friends as Sailor Neptune, so I did it.
Follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more awesome cosplay looks!
Do you think a lot of people are afraid to cosplay a character of a different gender?
It's something that is not understood by everybody. The world is full of people that do not understand and do not want to understand that men and women are the same: humans. We do not all have the same body, but we are equal, so why not cosplay a woman if you are a man?
A major part of this incomprehension comes from religious people who are a little bit too extremist and think that homosexuality is a sin. This bad idea is given to children and they grow up with that in their mind. However, I’m an optimist and think that the next generation will be how they should be. The rights of gay people are more and more present in many countries. I’m optimistic for the future.
Follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more awesome cosplay looks!
Do you get a lot of hate whenever you cosplay Sailor Neptune? How do you deal with it?
For this question, I’ll use a metaphor. There are two different kind of hates: one is like an iceberg with a visible but tiny part, and the other is a giant part that is not visible but present.
The visible part is something that you can see and that your followers notice too, which is like comments/unlikes. I received a lot of bad comments on my pictures and I still continue to receive some of them. I remove them continually because I don't want people who could enjoy the pics and what I’m doing to feel attacked by these stupid comments. That’s the best thing to do I think.
The invisible part is more like all the bad messages I receive. Honestly, I already have a hard time keeping up with all the good messages I receive, so I don’t give any attention to the bad ones. The invisible part is also the unfollow that my various accounts get when I post [Neptune] pics. With Facebook, for example, you can check what kind of reactions your pictures get, like the people that click on "do not show this kind of publication," "unlike the page," "report the pic," etc. For each Sailor Neptune pic I post, I lose a lot of followers and get many bad reactions. This is proof that what I do is not accepted by a lot of people. Maybe the people I've attracted since 2011 with cosplay were less open-minded that I thought.
But I’m happy to have made the decision to do this costume and I have many more that I want to do (I already began to work on another one)! This was, with no hesitation, one of my best decisions. This is like an big, fan-base clean-up. I prefer to attract people that are open-minded and ready for all the craziness I could do!
Follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more awesome cosplay looks!
What message do you have for the haters who don’t like your Sailor Neptune cosplay?
If you do not like something, do not give it attention. You are literally wasting your life to trash people whose work or mindset that you do not like. If you take 30 seconds (or even less) to comment or give bad thoughts to somebody, then you wasted those 30 seconds. Life stops quite quickly and all second are precious.
Follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more awesome cosplay looks!
What advice do you have for people who want to experiment with gender in their cosplay?
DO IT. It's really fun and the real definition of cosplay. Cosplay gives you the opportunity to be whatever you want to be. Take this chance.
Follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more awesome cosplay looks!
To see more awesome cosplay looks...
...make sure to follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
To see more awesome cosplay looks...
...make sure to follow Leo Bane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
