Cosplay- A Lifestyle?

Anime and manga have a huge following all over the world, and a significantly large one in Qatar. Interestingly, those anime and manga subcultures that exist all over the world have their own subculture cosplay, which is when Otakus, fans obsessed with manga and anime, dress up as their favorite characters and live out the world in cosplay gatherings, conventions or even restaurants and bars. However, this particular subculture isn't one that exist all over the world and is mainly situated in Japan. While I myself am a fan of Anime and Manga I find the idea of cosplaying weird, yet I understand the reasons behind cosplay as a way to live the lives of your favorite characters, escape society and live out ones childhood.

This subculture is a very serious one in Japan, they have official photoshoots for cosplayers, contests, and roleplaying. To the naked eye this may simply seem like when people dress up as superheros in Comicon, after all it both involves a bunch of adults dressing up in costumes. However, it is far from a similar thing, in cosplay people don't simply dress the part but live the part. If two characters have a relationship in an anime, two people who dress as the character live the romance, even if they may not know each other or if two characters have a rivalry the two cosplayers will stage a fight.

Japan has a specific area known for cosplayers, such as the Akihabara District, as well as cafes, nightclubs and amusement parks specifically for cosplayers to meet, socialize and live out their fantasies. Furthermore, some cosplayers dress up as characters of the opposite sex, crossplay, in order to live out a certain fantasy. These crossplayers are a subgroup to cosplayers and have their own set of rules and hobbies.

These cosplayers have certain norms and regulations. For example, one more would be that when in battle, or a performance the cosplayer must never get out of character. A folkway would be that when in costume the costume must be true to the character. Cosplayers spend months perfecting their costume, the better the costume the more respect the person gets in his or her community.

In Conclusion, cosplaying is more than just a hobby, rather it is a way of life. Cosplayers gather socially in cosplay nightclubs, cafes and bars they have social networks related to cosplay for dating and friendships.