To cosplay like a pro, you need to live and breathe your character. This takes time and money plus bucket-loads of commitment. Cosplay is adult dressing up and a license to let go and have fun.
Getting Started
Cosplay attracts quirky types who have always been fascinated by unique characters. Dressing up as one is a chance to lose yourself in the creative expression of a character without being made to feel silly or strange. You can choose a character or two from any genre: anime, steampunk, manga, or geek. You can choose almost anything as long as there’s a costume that’s imaginative and expressive.
Imagine being Catwoman, complete with shiny skintight cat wrap and ears, and it’s not even Halloween. You might be a big fan of Tanjiro Kamado from ‘Demon Slayer’ complete with a green and black cape or, even better, Kanao Tsuyuri, Tanjiro’s future wife; all you need is a wide-eyed smile and a green and pink butterfly hair slide.
If you can imagine it, you can bet your bottom dollar there’s a costume for it! However, they can sometimes be expensive, so ensure you shop around or look for promotions or discount vouchers. This is a great approach for trying something new without breaking the bank. This popular strategy is seen by consumers in many industries like streaming services, e-commerce, and the online casino industry, which has offers such as the BetMGM promo $10 for $200 at thegameday.com. These kinds of promotions are a great way to involved in new experiences, so keep your eyes open for deals on costumes.
Big Business
There’s little doubt that cosplay is big business, and new characters are always getting airtime on social media. Look at Cyperpunk’s Black Butler; what an interesting choice. To summarise this manga series, Ciel Phantomhive, the young Earl of Phantomhive, serves as the British Queen’s protector.
Ciel’s job is solving crimes in the underworld of London in Victorian times. Ciel has sold his soul to Sebastian Michaelis, a demon who takes on a butler’s disguise to administer revenge on those who inflicted torture and murdered his parents. In exchange for the demon’s services, Sebastian will be allowed to consume Ciel’s soul. There’s pain and pleasure and plenty of opportunity to wear a black suit and adopt a demonic expression.
Science fiction has always attracted fan fiction and, in turn, cosplay. The term cosplay was first used in Japan around 1984; in the UK, 1984 was the year of Terminator, Ghostbusters, and Dune, promoting Arnie look-alikes, Ghostbusters costumes made out of sheets, and the cool look of the sand soldiers that inspired the catwalk.
Worldcon
Cosplay costumes grew out of costuming conventions created at the First World Science Fiction convention in 1939. The mother and father of cosplay was Worldcon held on 2–4 July 1939 in the Caravan Hall in New York in conjunction with the New York World’s Fair, called ‘The World of Tomorrow.’ attendees took it upon themselves to dress up, and so cosplay was born. Trends for the next five years – the fact is, anything goes, so if you want to dress up as the jolly green giant, don’t let anyone stop you. Cosplay is here to stay, so keep your eyes on TikTok, where the hashtags #cosplay #animecosplay #mangacosplay #superherocosplay will find you a host of dressing-up ideas.
