At first glance the term -Cosplay- looks completely incomprehensible and ambiguous but for people associated with gaming and manga world it holds significant meaning. Cosplay is the abbreviated form of -Costume Play-, and can be defined as a gathering of people who are attired in costumes who mimic the clothes worn by their favorite video game, manga or Sci-Fi character.
It’s being hailed as a performance art and has substantial fan following world over. The people who partake in cosplay are known as cosplayers. Cosplayers undertake meticulous endeavors to perfectly replicate the getup and costume dawned by their idols down to the tiniest details. The intent and objective of cosplayers is to portray their favorite character in every aspect conceivable which is not only limited to their attire. It may include playing out their characteristic behavioral traits and uttering trademark catch phrases, this is akin to an actor assimilating everything about the role he/she is playing.
Places where cosplays are a norm, it isn’t uncommon to find individuals roaming about fraternizing with others dressed similarly. When it comes to cosplay, there is no gender or age restriction, people from all walks of life who have a passion of the art are welcome to participate, all that required is selecting a character from any medium to idolize and dress correspondingly.
Cosplay differs from other traditional costume fares like Halloween because it doesn’t require any specific day to be played out, it’s an evergreen practice sort of speak and can be performed at any given time of the year. The venue of a cosplay can be any place where the general public convenes such as malls, amusement parks, comic book and game shows or even clubs and cafes.
In Japan, cosplay has received general acceptance and has infiltrated mainstream life to an extent that there are now cafes and dedicated clubs where the staff members dress up as anime or game characters which are a delight to visit for all cosplay enthusiasts. Even individuals who are not into cosplay would thoroughly enjoy visiting such places to share unconventional atmosphere they project.
The origin of cosplay is a bit disputed and shrouded in uncertainty with a generally accepted opinion that it all started in Japan and quickly spread to other Asian countries like Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. It’s equally popular albeit slight changes in the western hemisphere where people elaborately dress as their favorite comic book, cartoon or movie character.
This scribe while on a visit to Japan was fortunate enough to come across a cosplay being held at Tokyo convention center where the main theme was some popular manga (Japanese comic) which was turned into a video game also. I later discovered that it was sponsored by the company responsible for video game adaptation of the comic and its common practice for such companies to organize cosplays. Cosplay organized by video game producing companies serve as an effective marketing gimmick as they advertise their venture to the masses on a boarder, more interesting and unconventional platform.
The best cosplays in the gaming world can be found on Game Forums. Check out this Gaming Cosplay and share your thoughts.