Studios will promote upcoming releases, stars will appear in full-force while giving us their best “we’re so happy to be here” smiles, and there will almost certainly be some secret trailer that everyone will be talking about. But the most important element of Comic Con is the fans, many of whom partake in cosplay.
Here’s a brief guide to why people dress up like esoteric video game characters and what it is about comic conventions that bring out these costumes:
We all know that cosplay is short for costume-play. In plain English, cosplay refers to someone dressing up as a superhero or a video game, comic book, or movie character. Cosplay’s popularity surged in the ’90s, when Japanese anime and manga gained popularity overseas. Cosplaying is so popular now that there’s even a television show about it.
You know what? This might be more easily told in pictures. Here are a couple of cosplayers dressed up as characters you might recognize.
Anyone can cosplay anywhere. But you’ll usually find cosplayers at comic conventions, especially the country’s bigger draws like San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con (in October). At conventions, cosplayers are going to be cosplaying in front of fans who will actually recognize the characters (even the esoteric ones) they’re cosplaying as, as opposed to your neighborhood rec center or TGI Friday’s.
Other people are reading:
16 Wonderful Game Character Cosplay Photos
Great Cosplay Photos that Make Your Day Exciting
How to Complete Your First Cosplay Character
Review on Kousaka Honoka Cosplay Costume from “Love Live”