Meaning of cosplay (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Cosplay:

Cosplay is the practice of dressing up as a fictional character. The word, as such, comes from English and is formed by the contraction of costume , which means 'disguise', and play , which translates 'game'; it's the disguise game.

The purpose of cosplay , as such, is to represent in the most realistic way possible a fictional character, who may have been drawn from comics, movies, books, anime, manga or video games, as well as artists or musicians.

In cosplay , participants, also called cosplayers , wear costumes, accessories, and costumes to make a faithful representation of the character. But, in addition, they delve into aspects such as role playing, costume design and makeup.

Also, the cosplayer can can interpret an anthropomorphic character or a zoomorphic character adapted to the human figure, there is also the cross-dressing or role playing of the opposite sex, among other things.

In recent years, cosplay has become a subculture. Its origin, however, dates back to the 1970s, in the comics market in Tokyo, Japan. There, the young people were dressed as their favorite characters from manga, anime, comics and video games, they shared and bought magazines.

Cosplay

Cosplay and otaku refer to different things. An otaku is a person who is a fan of any subject or field, but especially video games, comics, anime, manga, movies or series, etc. The word, which comes from the Japanese language, is often used mostly to designate fans of Japanese popular culture.

Instead, cosplay designates the act of dressing up as a fictional character, which can also come from comics, series, movies, books, anime, manga or video games. In this sense, they are terms that we can relate to, but that are in no way interchangeable.

See also Otaku .