If you are fond of watching Japanese animation (anime) and reading mangas, then you must be aware of cosplay. Cosplay, or costume play, is a performance art that originated in Japan. Cosplayers portray their favorite anime, manga and sometimes video game characters by wearing costumes and accessories. Some cosplayers even go as far as having their bodies painted so as to accurately recreate their favorite characters. More often than not, cosplayers also mimic their characters’ personality and traits, so if you happen to see a cosplayer in character, don’t be surprised if they don’t speak normally.
There are different reasons why people do cosplay. One reason is to showcase their adoration for their characters. They try to recreate the characters’ costumes as accurately as possible. Another reason is to promote an anime or a manga, and finally, cosplay is a venue for a person’s creativity. Making a costume is not easy. It requires a lot of imagination and patience, and in some cases, a huge amount of skill. There are some cosplayers who recreate robots (Gundams, Voltes V, Daimos and others) and it is one of the most difficult costumes to create.
Cosplay is not only a good hobby, but it is also a good way to make new friends and meet new people. You’ll surely meet people with the same interests, and you’ll soon find yourself helping other cosplayers in their anime cosplay costumes.
Creating anime cosplay costumes takes a lot of time. You have to allot a few months so that you can fully recreate a costume, with all its details and intricacies. You also need to do a lot of research, especially if the character you want to recreate is not as common as other characters. If you don’t have enough time, you can just buy official anime cosplay costumes in specialty shops, but they would cost you a lot of money, and most of the time, the sizes are not perfect. It is always better to make your own anime cosplay costumes so you can be sure that you’ll have the best experience.
To all cosplay beginners out there, just enjoy what you are doing and let your creative juices flow. Participating in a cosplay competition or convention would surely be the best experience you’ll ever have.
