Hiragana Times Archive
This month Selection 1
Helping Cosplay Around the World
Cosplay (costume play) events are held somewhere in Japan every week. Many people from overseas want to participate, but many of them don't know how to. Chouko, a regular attendee of the big events like Cosplay Summit, helps such people through a community site and SNS.
"As event staff are usually stationed at many places to help visitors, participants do not need to worry. If you want to go to a comic market, each event's website will have information in several languages," says Chouko. "I am hoping to participate in a cosplay event overseas, so I can often be provided with their information by my acquaintances. It is give and take."
Two or three years ago Western cosplayers used to place importance on the first impression their costumes would make while those from Asian countries focused on costume details. However, it is said that the Western cosplayers are now also interested in details. Chouko says: "I sometime receive requests to send cosplay magazines published only in Japan. Probably because they contain the methods to make gadgetry and the costume patterns."
XU Xian, who lives in Japan, runs cosplay site JCC in Japanese and Chinese. The site introduces events in Japan and Japanese cosplayers, and furthermore is a source of Chinese information for people in Japan. "Visitors are pleased because they can see the atmosphere of the events in Japan where cosplay was born," says Xu.
In Japan people enjoy cosplaying individually, while they enjoy it as a group in China. Since they often perform on stage, they share the roles according to the story. Xu is involved in introducing Japanese cosplayers who want to participate individually in events in China and she writes articles for a cosplay magazine in China.
Kuratsu assists when TV companies in Hong Kong require foreign cosplayers. She will contact cosplayers living overseas and introduce those who are interested to TV companies. "Most of them become a Japanese comic character. Although cosplay was considered to be a weird hobby, some of the companies now use cosplay in order to draw their customers' attention."
"It was once looked upon as something for kids, however, you can recently see it even in game-shows, commercials, movies and dramas," says cosplayer PARK Hee Yeon in Korea. Now you will be able to see that cosplay is accepted by most people. Furthermore, cosplayers are exchanging information across borders and supporting one another.
(From April Issue 2009)
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