The Academic Reason a Sanata Dharma University Student Cosplayed as Kamen Rider During His Thesis Proposal Exam

A student from the Master of Cultural Studies programme at Sanata Dharma University (USD) in Yogyakarta, Yogi Fajar Darmawan, went viral on social media for wearing a full Kamen Rider Black costume during his thesis proposal exam. Behind the eccentric act lies an academic reason connected to the research he is conducting. “It started from my personal experience as a cosplayer. I am often called childish, immature, and a daydreamer. I was even once mistaken for a street busker while cosplaying as Kamen Rider,” Yogi said when contacted on Friday (24/7/2026). He had a similar experience when portraying the character Kiryu Kazuma from the Yakuza game series, where he followed the character’s choreography by removing his shirt to reveal a dragon tattoo on his back. “In the cosplayer community, that is part of the character. But people who do not understand cosplay consider it indecent because you are taking your shirt off in a public place,” he said. From these experiences, Yogi decided to make the stigma against cosplayers the topic of his thesis. He also found many members of the cosplay community in Bandar Lampung who had received similar treatment. “Friends in the community experience the same thing. Whether cosplaying anime, tokusatsu, or doing crossplay, they still get stigmatised by society,” he stated. Through his research, Yogi hopes the public can better understand that cosplay is a form of self-expression, not merely wearing a costume. “The hope is certainly to educate the public that cosplay is a form of self-expression. It starts from a hobby, liking a particular character, then manifesting it through cosplay. So do not immediately attach a negative stigma to it,” he explained. Yogi revealed that the idea to wear the Kamen Rider costume during the proposal exam originated from a joke made by his supervising lecturer when he proposed the research topic. “When I proposed the title, the lecturer said, ‘This research is interesting. When you come to class, just cosplay.’ I asked, ‘Is that allowed, Sir?’ He said, ‘You can if you really want to,’” he recounted. “Then I also got whispers and support from friends who urged me, ‘Just cosplay, it’s fine.’ From there, I got the idea, ‘I’ll cosplay for my exam too,’” he added. Yogi chose the Kamen Rider Black costume for his thesis proposal exam, which took place on Monday (20/7). He deliberately selected Kamen Rider Black for its nostalgic value. “Kamen Rider Black is the first tokusatsu series to air in Indonesia. It left a deep impression on 90s kids. Besides that, it was also the first Showa era series I watched,” he said. His arrival in full costume in the examination room initially shocked the examiners. “When the lecturers came out, they were surprised, then said, ‘Wow, cool, let’s take a photo together.’ They were also nostalgic because they used to watch Kamen Rider Black back in the day,” he concluded.