Coplay - A question

[Fred588]

I'd like to ask a question regarding cosplay.

I know that the word is a condensation of "costume play," but does the costume have to be of some already-established character or can it be original? I'm guessing its the latter, but, if so, what other criteria must be present? And, with respect to the "play" part, are there criteria that distinguish cosplay from, say, other forms of improvisational play?

[101927700]

Most cosplay I know is when you dress up as a fictional character already established.

[A20]

I've seen female versions of a male character costumes and vice versa. So there's some creative freedom with that. Some make cosplays based on fan art too, as well as human-versions of an animal character.

[Viridian]

"Cosplay" generally refers to dressing up as a specific character, as opposed to a generic costume. The majority of the effort is in getting the costume to look as close to the character as possible. For example, rather than dress up as a "pirate", a cosplayer might specifically be Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. A Lara Croft cosplayer needs the iconic tank top, shorts, pistols and hairstyle. As the characters need to be recognisable, "cosplay" doesn't cover original characters -- that would be more generally referred to as dressing up in a costume.

I'm not sure about your question regarding "play". Cosplay is about dressing up, not about performing.

[Boggy Man]

I'm not sure about your question regarding "play". Cosplay is about dressing up, not about performing.

I interpret the "play" in "cosplay" as "acting in character".

[dlodoski]

I'm not sure about your question regarding "play". Cosplay is about dressing up, not about performing.

I interpret the "play" in "cosplay" as "acting in character".

I got the idea that it just meant 'play', like in pretend, or fun.

Of the many cosplay images I've run across on Asian binary newsgroups, the vast majority of them were simply poses, usually in the company of others (conventions etc.). I get the feeling that a lot of the gals enjoy dressing up (in an exhibitionist sort of way).

[Viridian]

I got the idea that it just meant 'play', like in pretend, or fun.

That's pretty much it. It's just playing around with costumes. Unlike dressing up in a hired costume, cosplay is a bit more serious in that the accuracy and detail are as close to the source as possible.

Remember that cosplaying isn't generally seen as a fetish or even exhibitionist. Sure, there are fantastically sexy costumes, but the majority of cosplayers do it for the fun of designing costumes and pretending to be a character. It's not quite the same thing as a fancy dress or Halloween party. Serious cosplayers kit themselves out as much as possible - makeup, hair, wigs, costumes, weapons, etc., with the goal of being as close to the character as possible. Guys and girls take part in it.

[Fred588]

Thanks for these responses. If I may, I want to follow up with a somewhat different question addressed primarily to those members who enjoy OBSERVING cosplay:

It is possible to express what it is about cosplay (observing it rather than doing it) that you find interesting. For example, I know, or think I know, from conversations with clients who have commissioned custom scenes involving costumes that it seems to be as much the kind of campy acting they appreciate as much or more than it is the costume or the character itself. I suspect that understanding this sort of thing would be helpful to myself or any producer in creating the kinds of things that people want.

[A20]

Thanks for these responses. If I may, I want to follow up with a somewhat different question addressed primarily to those members who enjoy OBSERVING cosplay:

It is possible to express what it is about cosplay (observing it rather than doing it) that you find interesting. For example, I know, or think I know, from conversations with clients who have commissioned custom scenes involving costumes that it seems to be as much the kind of campy acting they appreciate as much or more than it is the costume or the character itself. I suspect that understanding this sort of thing would be helpful to myself or any producer in creating the kinds of things that people want.

From an observing standpoint, for me(as I saw people dress up at cons for 4-5 years before I started doing it), I think it's more about the costume and the overall look of the cosplayer's accuracy. When they're performing lets say in a convention masquerade, I'd expect them to be in character during their skits. Not to perfection, but depending on what action it is, if it's something I don't see fit with a character I know, then it's a bit of a deal breaker. What I like about cosplay is getting to see a 2D character in the flesh. Especially if the character's outfit is very appealing.

[quagmire_uk]

Actually the term cosplay isn't just used for dressing as an established character, original characters are fine too.

I'm pretty sure that in Japan the term literally just means dressing up in fancy dress. I've read some hentai where characters referred to someone doing cosplay because they dressed up in a sexy costume for the bedroom... it wasn't any particular character.

Although cosplay is a broad term that covers dressing up in any sort of costume, there are fans in Japan for whom fancy dress is a very big deal, and there's lots of people that put massive amounts of effort into imitating anime/manga/game characters, and that's spread to the West.

In the West, though, cosplay is usually used to differentiate the people that dress up as characters at sci-fi/anime conventions from people wearing Halloween costumes or a sexy nurse for the bedroom.