COSPLAY
The term “Cosplay” refers to person who likes to wear a costume of manga or anime characters.
Moreover, they make a dramatic representation and they pay attention to different details like:
hair styles, makeup, pose and way of speaking while they wear them. But, it was since 1990
when the Japanese anime and manga got more popularity and the Cosplay started to grow
quickly, increasing the number of people who took it as a hobby or life style. It has allowed to do
local and international competition where the Cosplayers evaluate their character
representation and behavior.
The cosplay phenomenon started in 1939 with the first World Science Fiction Convention
(Worldcon) when Forrest J Ackerman and Myrtle R. Douglas wore costumes based on Pulp
magazine and “Things come” movie. Next year more people attended with their costumes.
Although, it was in the 42nd Worldcon of 1984 where Nobuyuki Takahashi was impressed with
the costumes and wrote about that in My anime magazine and he used the term “cosplay” for
the first time making the contraction of the words Costume Play. But, the term wasn’t
understood in that moment until 1990, when the term and practice became common in Japan.
In this way, he started making “masquerades” also they went to different anime and manga
events.
For the cosplay events, the costumes can be obtained through many methods and can range
from simple to highly detailed costumes with the intention of replicating a specific character. In
general, the cosplayer makes his own costumes referencing to images of the characters using
much time in details and qualities. For this the cosplayers educate themselves in different areas
such as textiles, sculpture, fashion design, woodworking and other materials. Cosplayers also
wear wigs that are necessary for the characters who have unnaturally color and uniquely styled
hair. Some cosplayers make body changes as contact lenses, temporal or permanent tattoos,
body paint, hair dye, spray-in hair coloring and other specialized products. Additionally, some
accessories that are hard to replicate like weapons can be replaced by prop weapons. Shoes or
jewelry can be bought cosplay marker or another place and modify themselves to match the
desired look.
All this has allowed the realization of different competitions around the world, where different
awards are delivered depending on the category in group or individual. However, the judges
evaluate criteria like: accuracy, craftsmanship, presentation and audience impact. Some
