|
|
|
|
|
CosplayCosplay (コスプレ) is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, and video games, and, less commonly, live action television shows, movies, or Japanese pop music bands. The term cosplay (pronounced kosupure in Japanese) is a contraction combining the words "costume" and "play" which accurately describes the hobby of having fun by dressing up as one's favorite characters. Besides dressing up for public events such as video game shows, there are dedicated cosplay parties, some very large, at nightclubs or amusement parks. Also it is not unusual for teens in Japan to gather with like-minded friends just to do cosplay. Since 1998 in Tokyo's Akihabara district there is a large number of cosplay cafes, catering to otaku - anime and cosplay fans. The waitresses there dress as game or anime characters. Maid costumes are particularly popular. Cosplay has spread across the world in recent years, joining with costuming at science fiction conventions in North America and Europe. There are some differences between cosplay and costuming in the United States and Europe, and in Japan. Firstly that in Japan cosplayers typically dress up as characters from anime, manga or video games, as compared to dressing up as Star Trek characters or in Renaissance-era costumes. Secondly, the age of cosplayers in Japan tends to start lower and range wider, with a great number of teen cosplayers dressing up as characters from currently popular weekly comics aimed at their age group, and older cosplayers often portraying "classic" characters. A recent trend at Japanese cosplay events is an increase in the popularity of non-Japanese fantasy and science fiction movie characters. This is due to the international success of such films as The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, in particular with female fans in Japan. Another growing trend at cosplay's largest event, the Tokyo Game Show 2004, was "cross-play" (cross-dressing cosplay). One small niche group in this field are dollers, a subset of kigurumi cosplayers. They wear bodysuits and masks to fully transform into their characters. Cosplayers are often referred to as "layers" and the otaku who photograph the layers are called "cameko", short for "Camera Kozo" or "Camera Boy". The cameko give prints of their photos to the layers as gifts. Increasingly there are tensions between layers and cameko due to a perceived element of stalker behaviour among some obsessive male otaku who push female cosplayers to exchange personal email addresses or do private photo sessions. One result of this has been a partial ban on photography at the largest otaku-related event in Japan, comiket. In North American otaku culture, cosplayers at conventions often find themselves on the receiving ends of glomps, a type of high-powered hug. Trivia The most high profiled person ever to cosplay is probably Lee Teng-hui who dressed up as a fictional character Edajima Heihachi of Sakigake!! Otokojuku. http://www.excite.co.jp/News/world/20041117120736/00011100660887-20.html See also External links
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|