Understanding and Defining Cosplay

      Cosplay (コスプレ, kosupure) is a contraction (or portmanteau) of the English words “costume” and “play.” It is, more specifically, a subculture that focuses on dressing as characters from anime, manga, video games, television shows, fantasy films, pop music bands, and sometimes pop culture icons from other countries (Wikipedia NP). Cosplayers gather in Harajuku, Akihabara, and Anime Conventions around the world to see others’ costumes, show off their own elaborate handmade creations, take lots of pictures of one another and in large groups, and participate in costume contests.

      Cosplay has been called many things: a hobby, an art form, a youth clique, a fashion movement, a social event, a designing process, detachment from society, or even just something to do out of boredom. All of these things can be true, at least in part and depending on the situation, but the essence of cosplay is that it is a form of expression for young people in the subcultures that practice it. Alongside this expression (and often confused with cosplay) are the kinds of youth fashion displayed in magazines and books like Fruits Magazine which sprung up in Harajuku and gained about the same international exposure and popularity as cosplay. These two movements are important to understand both independently and together, because the members of both groups often overlap in various ways. Extreme youth fashion in Japan is often driven by the creation of an outfit that protests market fashion trends and is instead “initiated by the wearer” (Aoki 1). (See Figure 2-4 of some Fruits Fashion known as Decora Kei (Decoration Style) and sometimes as Kawaii (Cute) Overload.

     Cosplay, specifically, is the act of dressing up as a character, person, or creature from an anime, manga, movie, music group, or other Japanese pop culture genre. People who cosplay “take on the role of” their character for an entire day or weekend. This usually means they theatrically portray the character they are emulating throughout their day, much like an actor in a large-scale play. The construction of the costume is done by the wearer and involves very little purchasing of items from stores if one is considered a “core” practitioner. The definition of cosplay is expanding in many ways and now sometimes includes costuming of Western characters. There is resistance and controversy to this, as I will discuss later on. What is important to note is that most cosplayers truly LOVE what they do. It's more than a hobby and in many ways immerses them in a passion for design and expression in a craft that emulates the characters they love from their chosen media.



The Historic Context of the Cosplay Sub Culture

      It is said that cosplay became popular in the late eighties, and it is argued that Nov Takahashi coined the term after traveling to a science fiction convention in the United States and seeing all the costumed attendees as their favorite sci fi characters from film and television. It is pretty much impossible to get only one answer from anyone about the roots of cosplay in Japan. Some say it was because Star Wars and Star Trek conventions had brought with them to Japan people dressed as characters from their favorite series. In turn, there were Japanese who took the idea to a whole new level. Others say it was initiated by the trendy new wave fashion artists on the streets and a natural result of fashion experimentation. Another widely held point of view is that it was a natural evolution of costuming culture in which people dress up into another identity on occasion to escape from the mundane repetition of average, daily life. My conclusion is, that cosplay has come to different countries for different reasons, and, depending on that country's level of costuming history and culture, manifested itself in a new and unique sense.

     Wikipedia and a few other people around the internet and the cosplay scene argue that Nov Takahashi (from a Japanese studio called Studio Hard) specifically coined the term “cosplay” as a contraction of the English-language words “costume play” while he was attending Worldcon in the 1980s. It is said that he was so impressed by the hall and masquerade costuming there that he reported about it frequently in Japanese science fiction magazines and further encouraged cosplay as a way to promote anime series in Japan. (Cosplay 2007: NP). He has said in public appearances that he worries some people become too obsessed with costumes, and have less enthusiasm for the series itself, but still promotes cosplay avidly.

Construction and Creation:

      Cosplay is certainly a construction, and it has several fundamental properties, as well as nuanced components, that make it whole. Each cosplayer makes a conscious choice of what to express by picking a character and “look” to cosplay. Many will also choose a genre or category of media for their inspiration. One will note that many of the genres that inspire cosplay exist in their own right and are not distinctly a part of the cosplay community. A member of the hip hop group becomes one because they wish to be a part of that community every day, whereas a cosplayer of someone from the hip hop community is only doing so for a weekend (or other short period of time) to express an ideal they do not actually live in their everyday reality. When they dress up they take on not only the full appearance, but also the complete personality of that person or thing. In a way they are like actors playing parts in their own version of a community-wide, completely improvised play.

In Character and What "counts" as Cosplay:

      Many of the youth cosplay community can often be seen shopping, hanging out, and at conventions with other cosplayers who are also acting “in character.”  Examples of being “in character” by cosplay enthusiasts are similar to actors on a stage. Their actions could include making trademark facial expressions, or memorizing lines to say and reciting them out to people who pass by or interact with them. The idea is to take on the personality of the portrayed character, and attempt to emulate that persona as much as possible. When asked why they have picked a particular character, many cosplayers have lengthy responses about how they might relate to said charcter, or that it's fun to portray the character because they are nothing like them, or they wish they possessed some personality trait or quality that the character does. Many cosplayers will go at lengths to ensure the completeness of a character, and will feel frustration if they do not believe their portrayal is accurate or true to what they had envisioned.

     Some cosplayers will write an original character from a particular universe or genre to cosplay, and will go at lengths to write up a back-story and adventures that the character has participated in. There is some argument in the cosplay community that original characters are not considered "cosplay" because there is lengthy debate (particularly in the United States and Europe) as to whether cosplay can only relate to pre-established, Japanese-created characters from the media industries of manga, anime, pop music, etc. or if cosplay can include characters from other forms of media outside of Japan (or original characters written by the cosplayer themselves that take place in a pre-established universe or genre). What is interesting to note is that in Japan the term cosplay is often used quite loosely to describe someone who is engaging in the basic meaning of the word, "Costume Play," meaning they are simply dressing up as a character other than themselves and perhaps acting like that character. Usually, those outside of the Otaku and Geek cultural circles will use the word cosplay with very little understanding of what it actually has come to mean for those who engage in cosplay.

      An example of playing “in character” I witnessed while in Japan in the summer of 2006 that I found particularly interesting was a couple of girls dressed up like Strawberry Shortcake, a female character from the now-classic American children’s cartoon of the mid 1980’s. They had even memorized several lines from the show in English and spouted them out to me when I interviewed them. They were acting spunky, caring, and lighthearted just like Shortcake herself. Their costumes were not what most would consider to be "accurate representations" of the visual aspects of the character, and yet it was still considered to be cosplay. Again, this is where much debate occurs in regards to the "definitive" properties of cosplay. It is also frequently said that Japanese cosplay is "hard core" in the sense that their is a widespread perfectionist attitude that, if one does not follow a character to the absolute fullest, they are dishonoring that character (and themselves as a cosplayer/costumer). Many Japanese have admitted to me that they will not cosplay a character unless they feel they can 100% emulate everything about that character - costume, attitude, makeup, hair - everything!
 

     Masquerades have existed in many forms throughout history. Perhaps the most commonly known image of a classic masquerade is that during the Western European Industrial period when the wealthy would attend masquerade balls in masks and elaborate costumes, thus hiding their identity and creating an upscale party atmosphere based on illusion. As many note, many novels have been written about masquerade balls because they provide "an endless supply of plot devices" (Wiki NP). Interestingly enough, many clubs decided to bring back the masquerade in the modern United States in order to drive up attendance, and somewhere along the line various Science Fiction Convention and Renaissance Fair founders in the US decided it would be a neat idea to incorporate the masquerade ball into a convention event for people who were dressing up to attend their events. I have searched far and wide to find the origins of this practice but it seems we may never know who really "started it all." What is certain is that in the 1990's, as interest in anime increased and groups who once attended other conventions split off and formed their own Anime Conventions across the United States, they took many aspects of Science Fiction and Comic Conventions that were already established (like the Masquerade Ball and Masquerade (costume) Performance Events, Costume Parades, Contests, etc.) and incorporated them into their structure. What you see at cosplay conventions today can often be traced back through comic book and sci fi conventions like the most famous comic book convention in the US - Comic Con in San Diego, California.

     In the past twenty years, sci fi, comic book and anime conventions have seen significant increases in attendance. Anime conventions have sprung up literally all over the world and there are large groups of cosplayers in many countries as the internet is allowing for increased flows of information and media share of anime, manga, and of course, cosplay. Alongside this, in the US, the popularity of Renaissance Fairs Roleplaying Games like Dungeons and Dragons and Live Action Role Playing (also known as LARPING) is rapidly growing. What were once considered extremely niche social circles that were subject to heavy ridicule and outcast-like treatment by peers are becoming somewhat more accepted and integrated among youth groups in the Untied States. Although much discrimination still exists for these groups, members will note that it is significantly less than what occurred during the 1970's and 1980's. Many podcasts, sites, and blogs seem to share the sentiment that being "Geeky" in the US is a whole lot cooler than it once was (indeed, as a self-proclaimed geek girl I tend to agree!). Being geeky, socially, is now associated with a wide variety of subcultures that exist within that rather large classification. It could mean one is an avid player of video games, a watcher of science fiction films, a cosplayer, or a member of some other subcultural group. Many times these groups overlap and mesh to create even more subcultural variation! To make a lot of academic analysis into a very short-and-sweet description: This means there are literally thousands upon thousands of variations on geek culture, which in turn also means there is a ton of variation on the many cosplay subcultures popping up all over the world! Now that's an overwhelming bit of information to think about! Just think about how many different kinds of cosplayers are out there because of the information made available to them through the internet, the conventions and other events they can attend, social media like facebook, youtube and twitter, networking sites like Cosplay.com and the Anime News Network, and other popular media!

     So the real question is, then, what unites cosplayers internationally as cosplayers? Is it the concept of costuming and character acting that binds certain aspects of cosplay as universal? Is there any such thing as a universal definition of cosplay at this point? I believe this is a point to consider carefully because different people from different cultures might perceive the "ideal" practices of cosplay as something completely different from another. What's important, of course, is that people are uniting around the concept of cosplay as a hobby that becomes a significant part of one's lifestyle, and therefore sharing ideas and information across language and cultural borders that might not have been crossed by those people and in those ways, were it not for cosplay.

      Creating the actual outfit one will wear is the most time consuming part of being a cosplayer. From start to finish it is an intricate process that begins with designing an overall outfit plan. Sewing often is done with a standard sewing machine, but intricate and delicate parts of an outfit must be hand-stitched. If one cannot make a part of a costume (a surprisingly rare occurrence with the amount of information available online guiding cosplayers to make virtually anything their costume needs) then items are often traded with other cosplayers or bought only under extreme circumstances. Frequently purchased items are the wig and contact lenses because they are so difficult and costly to make without proper supplies (also, I don't know anyone who knows how to make contact lenses!). This system of making clothing by hand and trading it with others is shocking to some adults who simply didn’t understand why their children suddenly want to learn how to sew, an art that is certainly not used much anymore with clothing being so readily available at low cost to the consumer. Most cosplayers feel a kind of loyalty to their craft, however, and there are many cosplayers who will refuse to spend any money on the pre-crafted designer cosplay clothing you can find in Akihabara, Harajuku, or other locations of specialty boutiques (and of course, on the internet!). Increasingly there are more anime specialty stores and convention booths in the United States that sell cosplay clothing, particularly at conventions, but if you want to participate in any competitions or the masquerade you must make your outfit yourself or be disqualified!

      Accessories are usually the most difficult part of a costume to make or complete with accuracy. Many anime and video game characters wield weapons or other accessories that are difficult to replicate. Think about how tough it would be to create an accurate replica of a sword or gun without actually knowing how to do metallurgy or molding! Furthermore, conventions have rather strict rules regarding swords and other weapons. Often, they cannot be metal and they certainly cannot be sharp (or used as real weapons). This is further complicated by laws in the towns and cities where the conventions are held. You wouldn't go around with air-soft or realistic toy replica pistols in Boston and not worry about being stopped by a police officer!

     Most cosplayers will use a kind of synthetic (usually a plastic or clay) material to create the weapon and mold it by hand. Wood is a good material to fall back on as it can be altered with shop materials found at your local home depot. Plastic molding casts are also frequently used due to their accessibility and because instructions for crafting with molds are widely available on the internet. Many cosplayers go to forums on sites like Cosplay.com to exchange ideas and get advice on costuming techniques.
 
     Hair dye and styling are also an extremely important part of completing a character, with Japanese (and international) youth finding ways to shed traditional hair color for any in the rainbow. Neon hair colors are especially popular along with spiky hair styles that defy gravity with gels and sprays that are similar to glue in texture. Contact lenses of various colors (all over pigment or iris cover only) are also used to complete a landscape image. Basically, cosplayers are going to try to get their image as close as possible to the character they wish to emulate.