Cosplay and the fandom
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Read part 1 - Costume play: Passion and livelihood
Have you ever thought about being one of the fictional characters you love so much? Dressing like them, talking like them, walking like them--all of those tiny details about the character that you fancy, being a part of you. Costume playing or cosplaying makes that possible for literally anyone.
Sato (@sato3rd) used to cosplay back in the days and he did confirm that what attracted him to cosplay was “to live the imagination of becoming my favourite character.” By doing so, he found a way to emulate an experience of being the said character, even for a moment. Gloria, a casual cosplayer, said cosplaying seemed fun for her. “I love the (fictional) character and I have friends in the community.”
Image courtesy of Sato
On the other side of these cosplayers, there are fans who find the performance enjoyable to see. “What piqued my interests in cosplay the first time is the art of it,” Yami stated. He specified that he has never cosplayed, but he enjoys the performance delivered by cosplayers: from the craftsmanship behind the costumes to the acts unique to each character.
Yami added that to see that there are people who understand, interpret, perform and bring their waifu or husbando to life is exhilarating for the fans. The terms ‘waifu’ and ‘husbando’ are a Japanisation of the words ‘wife’ and ‘husband,’ referring to characters fans love so much they would want to marry. “It feels like seeing an angel descending to Earth, even though they might not look that angel-like.”
The key is in the shared understanding and awe of the impersonated character. This created a sense of relatability between the cosplayer and the non-cosplaying cosplay fans. Again, cosplay is not only about dressing up and looking cool; it is also about character analysis and reinterpretation. Different cosplayers would impersonate one character differently, and in the current cosplay scene, fans have a wide range of choices of character impersonation by different cosplayers.
As casual as some of the fans are when they cosplay, there are efforts they need to make, still. Claiming to be doing a simpler kind of cosplay, Gloria who is a fashion design student focuses more on crafting fabric-based costumes by herself. She usually crafts simple costumes that she can still wear daily if she so wishes.
Sato, who cosplays not only manga and anime characters, but also Visual Kei musicians, reflects a similar process. He mostly designed the costumes he had in mind down to the smallest details in sketches and gathered all the materials needed, then he commissioned costume makers to bring the costume to life.
Back then, even when he cosplayed for fun, he would still spend Rp300,000-Rp1,000,000 each time he was planning to cosplay. It is a range of budget that couldn’t be considered small during the period 2005-2010s, especially for casual cosplays. However, for him, cosplaying was akin to a recreational activity where he could let loose and relax.
“It was fun that I could forget all of my responsibilities for a bit when I was in my costume,” he said, “I’m also happy I could meet new friends who share common interests.”
Image courtesy of Ichi
Even as a hobby, cosplay may affect a fan’s life in more ways than one. If you lean to Japanese pop culture-related content and are on TikTok, you might have seen Ichi (@yagaichi__). While they didn’t make cosplaying their profession, they did fall for cosplay and ended up finding their passion while doing it.
“In the beginning, I found that my interests in crafting, wig-styling, costume-making, etc. wasn’t as strong as my interest in drawing,” they explained. “Then I gave makeup a try since it’s the closest to drawing and...I started my career from there.” In their experience, what they got from cosplay cannot really be measured by the expenses. Today, Ichi is still actively working as a make-up artist while channeling their passion in acting via cosplay.
However, the cosplay scene wasn’t always as free as it is today. Circa 2007, some big local cosplay competitions began to prohibit depictions of yaoi or male-and-male relationships in their events. Some even prohibited crossplay or crossdressing cosplay, in which the cosplayer would dress up as a character of the opposite gender.
This situation might not stay for long, however. Younger, active cosplayers and fans like Gloria, Yami and Ichi did not seem to be aware of this nor have heard about this. According to them, most competitions and environments nowadays are considerably more open and inclusive.
As mentioned in the first part of this series, cosplayers earn their living by not only winning competitions, but also by being invited as guest stars to events, brand ambassadorship, crafting costumes and even selling merchandise. In showing support, fans would not only subscribe to their online channel, but also make sure to always pop up wherever the cosplayers are making appearance and buy their merchandise.
Balsa, a fan of a Japanese cosplayer REIKA, went as far as to purchase the photo book and attending events when REIKA visited the country. She admires how REIKA could go all-out the way she does when she’s cosplaying. “Her makeup and costume-making skills are top notch,” she said.
Even though REIKA is so good at what she’s doing, Balsa admitted that what she finds interesting about REIKA is the fact that she is unique. “No matter whom she portrays, we’ll know for sure that it is her.”
Since the pandemic broke out, many local and international cosplay-related events are cancelled. However, thanks to the ever-developing technology, we can still see and support our favourite cosplayers digitally.
Nowadays, a lot of cosplayers are releasing limited photographs on membership-based platforms, such as Patreon and Trakteer. Many fans prefer this method than purchasing physical merchandise, too.
The current state of technology also makes it easier for competitions to be held online. Many international events are cancelled, but local events are now resorting to holding online competitions. Yukitora Keiji, a professional cosplayer, said that this allows not only cosplay-related events to keep running, but also cosplayers to explore other aspects in cosplay digitally.