Book Appreciation - Cosplay

I think that all of us can collectively agree that after finishing a story or a series sometimes our love, and obsession in some cases, go beyond that final page. Personally, I find myself wanting to consume more content related to the story or the characters because I can never just walk away from an amazing book. Even with a satisfying ending, I’m often still holding on, especially if I’m deeply in love with a character or a concept from the story. I’m sure all of us have felt this same deep appreciation and have found our own ways to express that love.

Fanfiction and fanart are some of the most common ways people continue to honor a favorite character. But today, I want to focus on the extraordinary art of cosplay and how it perfectly encapsulates what a lot of us wish we could do, which is becoming part of the story ourselves.

Although it may be common knowledge amongst fanatics of any genre of storytelling, cosplay is the act of wearing costumes to represent characters from an anime, cartoon, comic book, manga, television series, or even video game. (“Cosplay”) Dating back to 1939, cosplay has been around for a long time and the art it has only gotten more incredible. Cosplay can be a costly and time-consuming hobby, especially for those who create highly detailed recreations of their characters. Some people choose to recreate more simplistic versions of their characters and adapt the character to their individual body types such as gender-bending. A variety of different skills go into cosplay including: “textiles, sculpture, face paint, fiberglass, fashion design, woodworking”, and more. (“Cosplay”) Lots of thought is given to recreating a character design down to tattoos, eye color, hair color, and even weapons or accessories. Some cosplay includes mechanics to incorporate the movement of accessories or lights.

This type of character appreciation seems difficult to get into because of how intense some characters’ costumes may be, however, there are plenty of cosplay fashion lines where you can buy premade costumes. It is a hobby that has a lot of creative freedom where you are free to be as complex or simple with your design as you want. There is a lot of appreciation for the casual cosplayers that manage to incorporate aspects of a design into everyday wear through subtle jewelry or simple color coordination.

For example, Wisdom Kaye, influencer, creator, and stylist is popular for a variety of different fashion related work he does. However, what first drew me to his page were his reels that were, as he worded it, “Looks based on anime characters.” Not only has he done anime looks, but he’s also done popular cartoon characters, Marvel heroes and, even time based looks that future his interpretation of futuristic fashion. His cosplays, or “looks based on~” are great examples of everyday wear that we can aspire to for a more permanent installation of anime-esque attire. (You can find more of his stunning looks at his instagram @ Wisdm if you aren’t following him already.)

Cosplay is widely appreciated and even within manga and manhwa alike, you can often find sketches by the artist that show the characters cosplaying as popular characters from other series. There may also be a chapter dedicated to Halloween or a school festival, which may not have anything to do with the plot of the story and are often referred to as ‘filler chapters’. These chapters often have scenes with the characters cosplaying or dressed up in a variety of different outfits. However, there are a few mangas that focus entirely on cosplay such as, My Dress-Up Darling by Shinichi Fukuda.

This series follows Wakana Gojo who has an affinity for Hina dolls and Marin Kitagawa who desperately wants to cosplay as her favorite characters. The two classmates learn of each other’s interests and begin exploring what it means to stand by what you love and follow your dreams without shame. Gojo diligently becomes Marin’s personal cosplay creator and they both find joy in what cosplay has to offer. However, the story is controversial for its portrayal of Marin, who is a young high school girl, in sexy costumes and compromising situations with the Wakana. This has led to the wide sexualization of Marin’s character which once again questions the way underage girls are depicted in manga.

Despite this fact, My Dress-Up Darling explores cosplay in such a fun and informative way that it made me want to try it for myself. The art style is outstanding and getting to see the adorable outfits Wakana makes for Marin is such a reward! So if you’re okay with the questionable portrayal of young girls in manga, this manga has a great friendship turned romance and a detailed exploration of how to cosplay with actual tips!

Now before I go, I’d like to quickly recommend some of my favorite real-life cosplayers who have mastered the art of becoming our most beloved characters from a variety of different stories. The cosplayers I choose often cosplay as characters from anime or manga, however, there are some who cosplay as Disney or popular novel characters.

@ moonkiller17 (she/they)

The absolute diversity of this Anime Shapeshifter is unmatched. Their confidence, the poses, the props, and the execution of their cosplays is so well thought out and expertly composed! Gamer, model, artist, this cosplayer does it all! Some of their cosplays that really stick out to me is Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop (like the pose, come on) and totally sick-of-your-crap Levi Ackermann from Attack on Titan.

@ summerdru

I’m absolutely in love with the way this cosplayer incorporates her hair into original and unique depictions of the characters she cosplays! This cosplayer is a perfect example of how one can mold a cosplay to fit your aesthetic rather than the other way around. I love her original takes on some great characters and especially how she plays up her femininity for male characters like Nanami from Jujutsu Kaisen. Another iconic cosplay of hers is Nier Automata cosplay which absolutely folded me.

@ saimasmileslike (she/they)

Saima is a hijabi cosplayer who has mastered the art of framing and styling their hijabi perfectly to resemble the hairstyles of their favorite characters. Doubling as a fashion icon and jewelry designer, Saima creates a variety of different types of content, but my favorite has to be their reels which show the meticulous process of styling their hijabi to create their iconic looks! My favorite looks have to be their Sakura Kinomoto cosplay from Cardcaptor Sakura and Yae Miko cosplay from Genshin Impact.

Sources

“Cosplay.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 March 2023, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:History/Cosplay

Edited by Rebeca Edwards.