Cosplay
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2007) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Visual_kei.jpg)
Cosplay (コスプレ, kosupure), a portmanteau of the English words "costume" and "roleplay", is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games, and, less commonly, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, or Japanese pop music bands. However, in some circles, "cosplay" has been expanded to mean simply wearing a costume.
In Japan, "cosplay" as a hobby is usually an end unto itself. Like-minded people gather to see others' costumes, show off their own elaborate handmade creations, take lots of pictures, and possibly participate in best costume contests.
The most specific anecdote about the origin of the word "cosplay" was that Nov Takahashi (from a Japanese studio called Studio Hard) coined the term "cosplay" as a contraction of the English-language words "costume play" while he was attending the 1984 Los Angeles Science Fiction Worldcon. He was so impressed by the hall and masquerade costuming there that he reported about it frequently in Japanese science fiction magazines. This point is debatable, however, as the word fits in with a common Japanese method of abbreviation: combining the first two syllables of one word with the first two syllables of a second word (or, more precisely, the first two moras of each). Other examples of this include Pokémon (ポケモン, short for ポケットモンスター, or "Pocket Monsters") and puroresu (プロレス, short for プロレスリング, or "professional wrestling").
Cosplay trends
A recent trend at Japanese cosplay events is an increase in the popularity of non-Japanese fantasy and science fiction movie characters, perhaps due to the international success of such films as The Matrix, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Characters from the Harry Potter films have a particularly high number of female fans in Japan, with female cosplayers playing either male or female characters, Draco Malfoy being an extremely popular choice.
The act of cosplaying as characters of the opposite sex is called "crossplay" (cross-dressing cosplay). A small niche group in this field are dollers, a subset of kigurumi cosplayers; usually male, they wear bodysuits and masks to fully transform into female characters.
Another recent trend in cosplay is a blurring of the distinction between costumes based on characters from games and anime, and "original" costumes based upon a general theme or existing fashions. In particular, the Tokyo teen-fashion trend of Gothic Lolita has attracted some cosplayers who might not have the inclination (or possibly courage) to wear such distinctive clothes around town, but who would like to dress in such a manner on some occasions.
Cosplay and the sex industry
In Japanese, the term can also mean — and may originate from — the use of costumes for sexual purposes, in which case the "play" refers not to dressing up, but sexual play while dressed up. The term hence overlaps what would usually be known in English as sexual roleplaying or sexual fetishism: for example, wearing a schoolgirl uniform before or during sex would be known as seifuku cosplay (制服コスプレ), and many Japanese love hotels offer costume rental services.
In the Japanese sex industry, sex clubs that specialize in sexual cosplay are known as image clubs. In addition to standard fetishistic standbys (schoolgirl, nurse, policewoman, etc), an increasing number, pioneered by the now defunct Wedding Bell chain, cater to otaku with staff dressing up as anime characters.
Cosplay by notable persons
- Forrest J Ackerman attended the 1st World Science Fiction Convention in 1939 where he wore the first "futuristicostume" (designed and created by Myrtle R. Douglas) which sparked fan costuming.
- Lee Teng-hui, former President of the Republic of China (Taiwan), dressed up as the fictional character Edajima Heihachi of the anime series Sakigake!! Otokojuku.[1]
- Daisuke Enomoto, a Japanese entrepreneur, was set to be the 4th person to go into space with Space Adventures as a private individual in October, 2006. He intended to go into space wearing a Gundam costume of Char Aznable. He failed to pass physical examinations.[3]
- Vic Mignogna, a voice actor for FUNimation Entertainment has dressed up on many occasions at anime conventions and Risembool Ranger Dinners as characters he voiced.
- Tiffany Grant, a voice actress most well known for having dubbed the voice of Asuka Langley Soryu for the English-language version of Neon Genesis Evangelion, has attended many conventions dressed as Asuka.
Australian notes sourced from: *Kirstin McLean (2004). [4]. Retrieved October 20, 2005.
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Gothic Lolita
- Society for Creative Anachronism
- Fursuiters
- Live action role-playing game
- cosplay restaurant
References
External links
- Cosplay at the Open Directory Project.
- Cosspace.com, CosplayLab, Cosplay.com and COS or NOT are community websites where cosplayers show and discuss their costumes.
- Cosplay in Taiwan
- Dokoni.net, CosWiki, and CosplayWiki are link directories and wikis about cosplaying.
- Janchan.com is a longstanding free resource site for Cosplayers from beginner to expert.