On the opening night of fantasy series like Harry Potter one may spot a gaggle of friends dressed up as characters from the movie, from bespectacled Harry to husky Hagrid. No, these adventurous people do not just wear a simple cape to become a mere doppelganger; they get decked out with every facet of the character covered - including their voice. No detail is too small, and no character is too unknown.
To some, such activities look like a bunch of dorks geeking out to their heart's content with no insecurities whatsoever. However true that may be, there's an entire subculture based on "playing dress up" - and it's taken very, very seriously.
Cosplay is the act of dressing up as a character from either a movie, TV show, manga, anime or video games. The term comes from the pairing up of "costume" and "role-play."
The origins of cosplay can be found in Kabuki theatre performances and traditional Clowning; it was popularized in Japan back in the mid-80s. Japan (in particular Tokyo's Harajuku and Akihabara districts) is widely-known as "cosplay central," where like-minded cosplayers meet up and compare costumes in local coffee shops, where even the workers don outlandish outfits that ape characters from all sources of arts and entertainment.
To some, such activities look like a bunch of dorks geeking out to their heart's content with no insecurities whatsoever. However true that may be, there's an entire subculture based on "playing dress up" - and it's taken very, very seriously.
Cosplay is the act of dressing up as a character from either a movie, TV show, manga, anime or video games. The term comes from the pairing up of "costume" and "role-play."
The origins of cosplay can be found in Kabuki theatre performances and traditional Clowning; it was popularized in Japan back in the mid-80s. Japan (in particular Tokyo's Harajuku and Akihabara districts) is widely-known as "cosplay central," where like-minded cosplayers meet up and compare costumes in local coffee shops, where even the workers don outlandish outfits that ape characters from all sources of arts and entertainment.
niac
This was a great article. :)