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Dress to impress. It’s a saying that existed as far as anyone can remember. Most people heed it, especially during job interviews, dates, and parties. During these events, people dress up like there’s no tomorrow to astonish people, making an impact thus. In the East, however, there exists a performance art where people don extraordinary clothes and accessories. This event has taken the world by storm. People call it cosplay. Coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of a Japanese studio, the term cosplay is a product of blending the words costume and play. He was amazed and impressed when he attended a world convention in America where people dressed up like science fiction characters. He reported this on a science fiction Japanese magazine, and everything began from there. People started engaging in cosplay in Japan, and these cosplayers are usually those people who are fans of anime and manga. Latest inspirations of cosplayers include game characters (such as Final Fantasy and Super Mario), western cartoons, and TV shows. Cosplayers convene on different events like toy, comic and book conventions, and the largest gathering of cosplayers is the anime convention. Moreover, in some areas there are also designated parties solely for cosplaying. In some specific areas in Japan, people gather with their friends on Harajuku and Shibuya to practice cosplaying on streets. Furthermore, there are other events, like film showing, where people have to dress up to watch anime. Now, people may confuse cosplaying with Halloween or Mardi Gras. However, these events differ in objective. Obviously, Halloween and like events are holiday celebrations as opposed to cosplaying that is initiated (any time of the year) by people who watch anime or otakus themselves. Moreover, when people are dressed up like the characters, they are expected to act, talk, and behave like the character. Lastly, those people who watch anime educate themselves in the art of developing costumes. Though some people get theirs by purchasing at specialty stores, others create and design their own clothes. Cosplayers usually study crafting techniques such as sculpture, molding, fiberglass, and fashion design. For make-ups, they also dedicate time in examining the characters’ make-up and practice applying many times over. This is because cosplayers all around believe that dressing up is to express and not to impress.
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