What is Cosplay?
Cosplay (コスプレ, kosupure) is a contraction (or portmanteau) of the English words “costume” and “play”. More specifically, it is a subculture that focuses on dressing up as characters from anime, manga, video games, television shows, fantasy films, pop music bands, and sometimes pop culture icons from other countries (Wikipedia NP). Cosplayers gather in Harajuku, Akihabara, and at anime conventions around the world to see each other’s costumes. Cosplay gained popularity in the late eighties. This subculture has created a special community in Harajuku, attracting many teenagers who travel there on weekends or afternoons after school or work. Note that this community mainly gathers on weekends.
Cosplay has several basic characteristics and nuanced components that make it whole. Each cosplayer consciously chooses what they want to express by choosing a character and a “look” to cosplay. Many young people in the cosplay community often shop, hang out, and attend conventions with other cosplayers while acting “in character. Examples of being “in character” are similar to actors on stage. Their actions may include making distinctive facial expressions or memorizing lines to recite to people who pass by or interact with them. The idea is to take on the personality of the character being portrayed and try to emulate that persona as much as possible.
Conventions and Gatherings
Cosplayers often come together to attend conventions, concerts, and public events dedicated to cosplay. Japan hosts many cosplay conventions each year, and anime, video game, and sci-fi conventions also support the community. The world’s largest and most famous comic convention, Comiket (also known as Comic Market), is still held every other year in the Odaiba area of Tokyo, Japan. Fans sell dojinshi, or fan-produced manga, that you cannot find anywhere else in the world.
Cosplayers from all over the world often spend months or even years creating costumes to wear to this convention. Layers Paradise, held each year in Odaiba, is arguably the biggest cosplay event of the year in Japan. Cosplay parties held at amusement parks, nightclubs, and cafes now draw followers to new parts of Tokyo (especially Akihabara, which has spawned a huge tourist industry as people flock to Tokyo to see cosplay and the community that surrounds it) and throughout Japan to interact with the ever-growing group. Karaoke also remains a popular activity to engage in while cosplaying!
Convention Rules
If you plan to attend a cosplay convention, you must follow the rules for costumes and items:
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