The Art and Hobby of Cosplay

You've heard of the nerds who dress up as Naruto or Sailor Moon to hang out at convention centers a couple of times a year, but really, what is cosplay? There is so much more to it than dorks in badly made costumes running around with foam swords. Cosplay has become an intricate sub-culture of Japan, America, and the rest of the world, and more than that, an art.

In America (and perhaps elsewhere, but I can only really speak for my home country) cosplay is very popular among teenagers and young adults, particularly those interested in Japanese anime and video games. It has been popularized by the growing number of anime conventions (or cons) across the country and the growing popularity of anime. Not all cosplayers restrict themselves to conventions, though. Many make friends at these conventions and want to continue the fun after the con is done and join online cosplay communities to stay in touch and showcase their work. Through these websites smaller gatherings might be arranged from picnics to ice skating and even bowling! When doing it just for entertainment, costumes can be hand made, commissioned, or bought from stores.

Some cosplayers choose to take the hobby one step farther and enter costume contests at the conventions they attend. There are two general categories within these contests: craftsmanship competition, and masquerade (or skit competition). For the masquerade (commonly abbreviated as masq.) contestants create dance routines, skits, or other short talent show style numbers to perform in costume in front of a panel of judges and an audience at the convention. To enter the masq. one does not have to wear a self-made costume, but those who enter in the craftsmanship contest generally have the option of entering the masq. as well. Craftsmanship is judged before the masq. and the costumes must be self-made. Most conventions accommodate various skill levels in their craftsmanship contests so that those new to sewing do not have to compete against veterans of several years.

As cosplay grows in popularity, so do the number of costumed events at conventions. In addition to the masquerade and craftsmanship contests there are formal balls, scripted performances, and dozens of improv. shows, most popularly the Cosplay Dating Game and Cosplay Human Chess.

The Cosplay Dating Game is very much what it sounds like. Three panelists (in costume and acting in character) are placed on one side of a curtain, and on the other a contestant sits and asks them questions to determine which panelist he or she wants to take on a “date.” The actors, including a host and occasionally special guests, all play the game in character (in theory) and generally hilarity ensues for the entertainment of the audience. Some conventions offer a late-night variation of this called the Yaoi/Yuri 18+ Cosplay Dating game which is basically the same thing, only for homosexual parings.

Cosplay Human Chess involves a giant checkered board on stage, two chess players, and a couple dozen costumed individuals on stage. That’s right, this is a game where the chess pieces are portrayed by real people, and when a piece is captured a battle ensues, much like Wizard’s Chess in Harry Potter, only the fighting is staged so nobody really gets hurt. At the beginning of the game a host will announce each piece and the two players (who may or may not be in costume as well) and as the game is played the two players direct their team members where to walk and who to attack. Some pieces have special attacks involving other characters who appear on stage only during the fight and at some conventions scripted moments are played out for dramatic (or comedic) effect, such as a pawn character “transforming” and being replaced once he or she reaches the other side of the board and is queened, or two characters from the same series being set to fight against each other in order to reenact a moment from the show or game.

This is just a brief and general overview of the cosplay world. So much more could be said on any number of sub-topics only hinted at here, so if you want to know more please feel free to ask, or else check out a convention yourself and join in on the craziness.