To be a cosplayer is to be a fan – something that doesn’t differ from those who write fan-fiction or marathon their favorite show time and time again. As someone who enjoys cosplaying and attending cosplay conventions, I have seen how pop culture has grown and how much of an influence it has on simply dressing up.
When people find out I enjoy cosplaying and attending cons, they either think I’m an extreme geek or they want to know what’s so great about them. I’m not the greatest cosplayer in the world, and I don’t cosplay all the time, but when I do, I have a ton of fun, and I put my all into preparing the costume.
Cosplay is a contraction of the words “costume play” and has been going on for decades, even before many of today’s biggest pop culture convention fans. To the uninitiated, cosplay can seem like a big Halloween dress-up parade at the wrong time of the year, but as a fellow cosplayer, I can say that cosplay allows for a deeper connection to the chosen character, something that elevates the experience from just dressing up
Though cosplay did not start in Japan and is not an original concept of the Japanese, the term was created by Japanese reporter Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard. It was in 1984 when attending his first convention, the 1948 World Science Fiction Conventions (Worldcon) in Los Angeles, that he coined the term “cosplay” to describe what he saw — people dressed in costumes, and a stage masquerade featuring the biggest and brightest of the costumes.
Since then, it is the extent of Japanese involvement in the creation of cosplay that helped spur the boom. The rapid growth in the number of people cosplaying as a hobby since 1990 has helped cosplay make a significant impact on the popular culture of Japan and some other parts of Asia and in the West.
Cosplayers in Japan used to refer to themselves as reiyā (レイヤー), pronounced “layer,” but are now more currently called kosupure (コスプレ), pronounced “ko-su-pray.” In Japan, apart from the fan conventions, there are a number of districts that contain cosplay restaurants, cafes, or informal gatherings to engage in cosplay in public.
Cosplay is also common in many other Asian countries such as South Korea, China and Thailand with conventions taking place regularly throughout the year.
Due to the popularity of cosplay in Japan, there are misconceptions that cosplay is specifically a Japanese or Asian hobby. The term cosplay is of Japanese origin, but costume play was originally a hobby from the United States where is was referred to as costuming. Western cosplay’s origins were based primarily in science fiction and fantasy fandoms and was more common for Western cosplayers to recreate characters from live-action series.
During the late 2000s, the popularity of Japanese animation increased outside of Asia, which led to an increase in American and other Western cosplayers to portray manga and anime characters. In addition, anime conventions also became more numerous in the West.
There are cosplay conventions all across America, including one that is happening right now here at home. Supercon is Miami’s largest comic, anime, gaming and pop convention created by “Supercon Mike” Broder. Other fan conventions in Florida include Megacon in Orlando, and Metrocon in Tampa. For Florida residents and visitors, it’s geek heaven.
Cosplay itself is so much fun, but more than that, it’s a form of escapism. Everyone has dreamed of dressing up and living as their favorite character, and at cosplay conventions, it’s a chance to live and breathe as your favorite character for a few hours, or even a few days! The glory of it all is when you stand before the flash of a camera in full costume, bringing smiles and cheers from other fans. It’s especially great fun recreating iconic poses and expressions of characters from movies, comic books, games or animations. Cosplayers adopt the same mannerisms, posture and accent, completely embodying the character the entire time in costume.
In addition to fun, cosplay allows for creative exploration. Slipping into a costume, whether store bought or handmade, fills cosplayers with pride, courage and self-confidence. A convention is the ideal place to debut or revive a costume after months of hard work and preparation, and with each wearing, helps us grow because we figure out what works and looks best, what can be changed or improved, and is open to interpretation.
Overall, I love cons and cosplaying, and the most sincere way of being a fan is not just to be a geek, but to be yourself.
All photos taken by Maytinee Kramer
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