Fantasy Becomes Reality When Anime Meets Japanese Cosplay!

Over the past two decades Anime has become increasingly popular and along with it anime conventions have begun to draw massive crowds. Born from these huge gatherings of fanatical anime fans was the hobby of creating anime costumes to imitate characters from various anime series. Derived from a combination of the English words ‘costume’ and ‘play’ this beloved hobby is known as ‘cosplay’.

In Japan, cosplay is an extremely popular pastime and can be commonly seen at public events such as video game shows, cosplay parties and nightclubs. In the more recent years since 1998 and beyond a great deal of cosplay cafes have begun to turn up in the Japanese Akihabara district and have grown drastically in popularity.

Many Manga events hold contests where the accuracy and attention to detail on a cosplay costume are judged based on their true depiction of the character they were designed after. This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of cosplay. The attention to detail and accuracy of a cosplay costume is the defining element of it. In this way, a players hair and skin are considered part of the costume itself and should resemble that of the character they are depicting.

Employing a variety of craft skills and art forms, cosplay costumes are commonly elaborate and may utilize a wide array of materials. Getting precise and accurate textures and materials is highly important to obtaining the most accurate costumes possible. For this reason, metalworking, leatherworking and a variety of trade skills may be required to guarantee the utmost quality of a cosplay costume.

Cosplay costume trends are always changing. On a yearly and monthly basis, depending on what anime, movies and video games are currently popular, the characters of cosplay change. In the past years even some non-anime characters have become popular cosplay choices. Harry Potter and Star Wars are common choices for non-anime character costumes.

Within cosplay there exist some more specific and unusual hobbies that have evolved out of the cosplay community. Enthusiasts of cosplay sometimes take on an extreme level of dedication to character accuracy. Some of these enthusiasts have developed what is known as ‘Crossplay’ which is when a cosplayer dresses up as a character of the opposite gender.

Cosplay in recent years has drawn a great deal of media attention. Every modern anime convention features a wealth of photographers who eagerly follow and photograph cosplay costumes to put online or catalog for cosplay magazines and publications. These photographers are usually referred to as ‘cameko’ or ‘camera boy’.

As the Romance Animes craze continues to grow and the art form of Manga spreads internationally, the Japanese Cosplay community continues to thrive and does not show any sign of slowing down. Cosplay provides a fun and creative way for anime enthusiasts around the world to express their interests in a productive and skillful way while enjoying anime and manga alike.