Cosplay?

To cosplay or not to cosplay, that is the question! In other words, should you dress up for an anime convention? Cosplaying is just a fancy way of saying that you’re going to dress up as a character from an anime/manga and go to a convention. It’s kind of a like going to a costume party where, depending on how well you’ve pulled off the costume; people will want to get pictures with you. If you’ve been reading my blog and have found yourself becoming a bit of an Otaku, looking for something to do before the next convention, then keep reading – because this post is for you! If you haven’t jumped on the Otaku bandwagon have no worries. This post offers more than just learning about the Otaku way of life and its habits, this time we’re going to get a little creative!

When deciding to cosplay you have a few options to choose from. Choosing your level of creativity and how much you’re willing to spend on a costume will help you decide which cosplay path is best for you. If you find yourself to be generally creative and low on funds the best path is to visit fabric stores and thrift shops. You can let your creative side flourish as you create and try to mirror one of your favourite characters. One Otaku I’ve run into in a past convention decided to play the knight version of Al Elric from the anime Full Metal Alchemist. Now for those of you who know who this character is (I’ve linked a photo of the character to give you a better idea of what he looks like) you will see that pulling off a full knight’s costume. Well if you’re as creative as this fellow was, then you would have purchased a ton of duck tap and cardboard and spent three weeks creating this costume. (And when I say three weeks, I mean working on it three to five hours a day) Yep, that’s how dedicated some of us Otaku’s are.

Now, this obviously isn’t the most appropriate path for everyone. Not everyone has that much time on their hands. So if you have a bit of extra money to spend and don’t have all the time in the world to put together a costume then you might settle for a different path: buying online or in anime-selling shops. I would hesitate before choosing this path however. You have to keep in mind that some of these purchased costumes can be a little pricey. To see an example you can click HERE to see an example of ones you can buy online. Another factor to think about is that many conventions will not allow purchased costumes to participate in Masquerades (essentially a place where people can compete and show off their costumes for prizes at conventions). If they do allow them then you will not be eligible to win any prizes.

As you can see each path has its pros and cons but in the end: it’s your costume. You have the final say on what you’re going to do when it comes to cosplaying and both paths are used in every convention. In many cases, it is very difficult to tell whether a costume has been made by hand or purchased. Another thing to keep in mind is not to feel pressured to cosplay. Many people do and many people choose not to. No one will ever make fun of you for not wearing a costume to a convention, in fact only a small selection really do. It’s not for everyone but speaking from experience, I always find it a lot of fun.

Until next time, Dewa mata!