Interview: Emiru Talks Anime, Cosplay, and State Farm Gamerhood

Streamer Emiru has made a name for herself in the content creation and cosplay space, evolving from a League of Legends streamer on Twitch to a professional content creator affiliated with an agency, fetching multiple nominations for Streamer of the Year at the Streamer Awards, and having cultivated a unique audience of gamers, anime fans, and variety content enjoyers alike. Emiru was also one of the creators that took part in Season 5 of State Farm Gamerhood, a multi-episode competition series featuring popular names in the online content creation space going head to head in a variety of challenges. Season 5 features the every-player-for-themselves, free-for-all competition format originally introduced in Season 1, as opposed to the team-based format of other seasons.

Alongside her appearance on State Farm Gamerhood, we had the opportunity to speak with Emiru about her career, streaming, taking part in Gamerhood, and, of course, anime.

Q: You’ve had the opportunity to play though tons of games on your own stream and do lots of collabs with other streamers. How does Gamerhood compare to your usual collabs?

Emiru: Gamerhood is very different compared to typical collabs, and I mean that in the best way possible. When you’re doing regular collabs, you’ve got that direct chat interaction by reading comments and responding in real-time, or being IRL, or playing games together. But with Gamerhood, State Farm created a full Hollywood production experience that felt more like a legit game show than a stream, and we were playing games against each other while also playing one large game to win the show.
My experience as a gamer was helpful during the season and I was able to use that during our gaming challenges. And what really sets Season 5 apart is the free-for-all format, so it was every person for themselves. We were all fighting for our share of 100K gifted subs, which is significant for the streaming community. Subs are our currency and help our channels and community in such a huge way.

Q: During Gamerhood episodes you don’t have a chat to interact with in the same way you do for typical streams. In what ways do you proactively create moments for engagement with this kind of content for your audience and keep things active when it’s time to watch back episodes?

Emiru: The cool thing about Gamerhood was that it really was like a reality TV show or game show that you would watch at home but with a unique opportunity to engage beyond a regular TV show like in the confessionals. We could talk about what was happening behind the scenes from our perspective and it contributed to the final show because we didn’t know what was happening from all of each other’s perspectives or challenges or gambits – and that became the entertainment to see it all pulled together.
I was just being myself on set because I know that’s what my chat wants but also that is all I know how to be. It was great to watch and react to the episodes each week with chat, they loved it and because I didn’t know all of the events in each episode, we were in it together.

Q: What aspect of the competition was the most surprising for you or caught you most off guard? Do you have any memorable behind-the-scenes moments?

Emiru: What surprised me the most was how mental the free-for-all format is compared to being on teams. When you don’t have teammates, every single decision falls on you. But, the pressure of being IRL adds more complication and competitiveness and it really affects your gameplay and mentality going into each challenge.

Q: In addition to gaming, you’ve made a name for yourself in the cosplay space. What were some of the first anime you watched, which were most formative for you, and what were some of the earliest characters you imagined yourself cosplaying?

Emiru: I have watched anime for a long time. Your favorites and your perspective changes from when you watched anime since you were 10 years old. I love the nostalgic and classic series since it is core anime. Chobits is the first anime and manga I watched and read.

Q: What is it about a cosplay that makes it satisfactory or fulfilling for you?

Emiru: I started dressing up around the age of 5 because I wanted to look like the character Boo in Monster’s Inc. I grew up with deep interests in gaming and anime and I gravitated toward recreating my favorite characters in cosplay. I like dressing up and becoming another persona and I like helping others get into cosplay because it gives them a new identity and freedom. Creators ask me to collab because they want to try it.

Q: Looking toward recent anime and the massive increase in popularity the medium has had over the years, what has changed from your perspective? Over the course of your streaming career has the way you approach anime content or cosplay shifted?

Emiru: Cosplay has been meaningful to my streams because I can bring the game to life in new ways. My interest in anime have steered some of my interests in games.

Q: You’ve explained and introduced different anime concepts to non-watchers (including other streamers like QTCinderella) and participated in cosplay streams with streamers who aren’t typically known for cosplay. Do you feel as though you’ve influenced others to step more into the anime medium?

Emiru: I host an annual Cosplay Contest – it is the largest online contest of its kind on Twitch. This has been important to me to highlight the work and passion of cosplayers but also to show how it is and can be for everyone. I want to contribute to the growth of the cosplay community and my interests in it have done that for the friends that I have dressed in cosplay.

Q: If you could pick one anime character to be your teammate through the kinds of challenges you went through in Gamerhood, who would you choose?

Emiru: I’d definitely need someone who can handle the mental pressure and the unpredictability, so I’d probably choose Saitama from One Punch Man just because he’s unshakeable. No matter what challenge you’re facing, no matter how chaotic things get, he’s just got this calm approach to everything. Plus, he’s literally overpowered, so confidence isn’t an issue. In a competition where things are constantly changing and you need to adapt having a teammate with that level of composure and raw capability would make us unstoppable. Also, I love the idea of Saitama being somewhat bored by the competition. He’d probably find humor in the chaos of the show while simultaneously destroying everyone at it. He’d probably take it seriously but not too seriously.

Q: Lastly, are there any recent anime favorites you think your fans (or anyone) should be checking out?

Emiru: I don’t have a specific anime to recommend because people have different interests and preferences. I would simply encourage my community to watch and try a big variety of shows because anime is great storytelling and dynamic and there are shows to fit everyone. My favorite or the most popular may not be yours. And that’s the best part of anime – there is a lot of content to choose from and participate in anime and be part of the community for it. Netflix hosted KPop Demon Hunters – and that is a mainstream platform signaling the relevance of anime and how it is entertainment for everyone.

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We’d like to thank Emiru for having a conversation with us and thank State Farm for putting on Season 5 of Gamerhood. Episodes of the season are available to watch on YouTube.