Cosplay is an English term, formed by the joining of words custom (fantasy) and roleplay (joke or interpretation). It is considered a hobby where participants dress up as fictional Japanese pop culture characters.
A cosplay can be related to characters from games, anime and manga, but it can also encompass any other type of characterization that belongs to western pop culture.
Usually, the cosplayers (people who cosplay) are fans of the characters they represent and the respective series, movies, games or cartoons to which this character belongs.
Learn more about the meaning of anime and mango.
Cosplay is based on the idea of DIY – Do It Yourself (“Do Your Own”, in Portuguese), that is, the participants produce their own costume, as well as all the equipment and accessories they may need to characterize the character.
Also, the cosplayer not limited to just dressing up, but also playing the personality of the chosen character.
Currently, there are large events aimed exclusively at the cosplayers
, Otakus (a term used in the West to designate fans of anime and manga) and science fiction fans, who promote competitions to reward the best cosplay, whether in terms of characterization (best costume) or interpretation (best presentation of the character).See also the meaning of otaku.
cosplay origin
Many people consider the Japanese to be the creators of this game, however the credit belongs to the North Americans.
According to historical records, the first person to dress up as a science fiction character was Forrest J. Ackerman, in 1939, in the I World Science Fiction Convention, in New York.
Over the years, more and more fans of fictional characters went to costumed events, creating the concept of the customing, fan custom or masquerade, as it was also called.
The creation of the term cosplay would have emerged in 1984, when Nobuyuki Takahashi, after visiting the science fiction event in Los Angeles, met the masquerades and, upon returning to Japan, he wrote an article for a magazine describing the people dressed as cosplayers.
From the 1990s, with the popularization of Japanese anime and manga in the western world, the word cosplay was related to the characterization by characters that belong to the cartoons Orientals.
See more about the meaning of fanfic.
