For those of you that are not aware cosplay(コスプレ) is a combination of “costume” and “play”, a term coined by the Japanese to describe this whole penomenon of people dressing up in costumes. Not to be confused with 制服コスプレ(seifuku cosplay), which is the adult kind of cosplay (think naughty nurse). Anyhow, this is not limited to just the Japanese. There is a huge cosplay culture around Asia, even in China, despite it’s Japanese roots.
Actually, this provides a great example of Chinese and Japanese getting along great and contributing to each others’ culture. In the cosplay event I was in, they had brought in “celebrity cosplayers” from Japan. One of these was Shiina Sakuya, a girl that is famous for playing all male roles. I knew from that whole Kabuki thing that Japanese were mixed up, but hey, I don’t mind. In fact that just makes it more interesting. She was the headliner of the show, famous for playing such parts as Obiwan Kenobi, Harry Potter and Jack Sparrow among others. Also among the celebrity cosplayers was Mariko Goku, famed for her Queen Amidala role. You can check out the pictures below to see.
My friend Redondo’s company, is one of the ones responsible for organizing such events. It seems there are many such events every year around China. Cosplay is actually a big business, with many companies and even individuals having stalls at the event selling all sorts of movie, TV show and other paraphernalia. The guests were older than one would expect, some perhaps more than 30 years old. I suppose this goes with the same phenomenon as Internet cafes where people come together to escape into another reality, one more enticing than than reality.
All in all it is just one big fun fest where everyone is just playing around having fun. There is almost a juvenile like spirit in the air, where everyone can just sit back and have fun, like being a kid for a day. I think it is a suitable alternative to getting piss drunk and making obnoxious passes at chicks. Anyhow, those crazy Japanese, spreading their Japanese insanity all over the world; It’s fun, no?
Here are some photos of the cosplay event I was in:
