Why I cosplay
When I was a kid I had a vivid imagination. I was one of those kids who had an invisible friend...or several. I also had an invisible horse called Flinders, which was fun. If I played a game it was always so vivid and real in my mind. Action figures and cuddly toys became real in my head and I believed they could come alive (think Toy Story, but I came up with it first). One of my favourite things was to play dress up. This wasn't just fancy dress or for Hallowe'en either. I would become Cinderella or Ariel or Jasmine. Mostly I was a Disney princess (in my mind I was also Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Belle and Maid Marion). I didn't know it back then, but this was my early route to cosplay. Back then I hadn't heard of cosplay, but looking back I realise that is what I was dabbling with.
I admit that I didn't understand cosplay back then. I thought people went to sci-fi conventions and dressed as Klingons or Star Trek captains because they were weird nerds. Since then I have come to understand that there is so much more to it than that.
OK, personally I am probably a bit of a weird nerd. That is not the case for everyone and is probably not the only reason I cosplay. Many people do it and they come from all walks of life. I've known doctors, accountants, students, chefs, IT technicians, administrators and loads of others who all cosplay and have their own reasons for doing it. For some it is art as they create their amazing costumes. For some it is just a fun thing to do. For some it is the ultimate tribute to a much loved character. For others it is escapism from the real world.
Having always been a fantasist, and in possession of a vivid imagination, cosplay is a mix of things to me. I only started in September 2014 and I was nervous and clueless and didn't know what to expect. The first character I fully created was Misa Amane from 'Death Note'. She was a natural one for me because she dresses in a similar way to me so I could feel comfortable as her. Then I moved to L from 'Death Note' because, again, I felt comfortable in the clothes and limited make-up. Then I discovered 'Black Butler' ('Kuroshitsuji').
I fell in love with the anime and manga. Three of my favourite characters are Grell (or Grelle) Sutcliffe (the grim reaper), Madam Red (main character Ciel's aunt) and Undertaker (a retired reaper who is very eccentric and in the manga is becoming so important now). I decided to go all out and become those characters. I am still working on undertaker but I am pretty happy with Grelle and Madam Red (although I see them as a work in progress too).
Another character I am working on is a female version of Nagisa from 'Free! Iwatobi Swim Club/Eternal Summer'. The irony being that Nagisa is a girl's name and the joke is that all the boys have girl's names and that is why they should be friends (Rei, Rin, Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa) and their friend who is a girl, always has her name mis-read as the male name Gou (it should be Kou).
I have others I would like to try as well and now I have moved out I can. I think I chose those characters for their personalities. Misa and Nagisa are so up-beat and positive and I wanted to bring them out in me. Grelle is so confident and passionate and fun. Madam Red appears confident and happy too. I think all the characters have a dark side to them and an underlying unhappiness and I wanted to explore the idea that people cover up their true feelings with their attempts at being overly happy and confident. They are all interesting characters to get inside the mind of and actually I think they remind me of me. I am the sort of person that will put on a smile when I have dark moments inside my head. I love the ideas of these characters and love exploring their motivations and bringing them to life. I feel like I understand each of them so well as they are eccentric and intelligent and often misunderstood by others. This is how I feel about myself and by cosplaying them I have learned a lot about myself.
Also, it is fun to cosplay and it is escapism for a few hours when I do it. Most importantly though, most people in the cosplay community really support each other and that is the best thing of all. It feels like a family and I love that. It doesn't matter about age, race, gender or how good at creating costumes you are or body type. Most people respect others (all except I came up with my own hashtag on instagram after a particularly nasty event involving one of my wigs...#offensivewigisoffensive). I love that feeling of belonging to something positive for the first time in a long time and making new friends.
Below is my vlog on this subject too. Please check it out.
I admit that I didn't understand cosplay back then. I thought people went to sci-fi conventions and dressed as Klingons or Star Trek captains because they were weird nerds. Since then I have come to understand that there is so much more to it than that.
OK, personally I am probably a bit of a weird nerd. That is not the case for everyone and is probably not the only reason I cosplay. Many people do it and they come from all walks of life. I've known doctors, accountants, students, chefs, IT technicians, administrators and loads of others who all cosplay and have their own reasons for doing it. For some it is art as they create their amazing costumes. For some it is just a fun thing to do. For some it is the ultimate tribute to a much loved character. For others it is escapism from the real world.
Having always been a fantasist, and in possession of a vivid imagination, cosplay is a mix of things to me. I only started in September 2014 and I was nervous and clueless and didn't know what to expect. The first character I fully created was Misa Amane from 'Death Note'. She was a natural one for me because she dresses in a similar way to me so I could feel comfortable as her. Then I moved to L from 'Death Note' because, again, I felt comfortable in the clothes and limited make-up. Then I discovered 'Black Butler' ('Kuroshitsuji').
Misa Amane
L
I fell in love with the anime and manga. Three of my favourite characters are Grell (or Grelle) Sutcliffe (the grim reaper), Madam Red (main character Ciel's aunt) and Undertaker (a retired reaper who is very eccentric and in the manga is becoming so important now). I decided to go all out and become those characters. I am still working on undertaker but I am pretty happy with Grelle and Madam Red (although I see them as a work in progress too).
Grell
Madam Red
Another character I am working on is a female version of Nagisa from 'Free! Iwatobi Swim Club/Eternal Summer'. The irony being that Nagisa is a girl's name and the joke is that all the boys have girl's names and that is why they should be friends (Rei, Rin, Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa) and their friend who is a girl, always has her name mis-read as the male name Gou (it should be Kou).
Nagisa
I have others I would like to try as well and now I have moved out I can. I think I chose those characters for their personalities. Misa and Nagisa are so up-beat and positive and I wanted to bring them out in me. Grelle is so confident and passionate and fun. Madam Red appears confident and happy too. I think all the characters have a dark side to them and an underlying unhappiness and I wanted to explore the idea that people cover up their true feelings with their attempts at being overly happy and confident. They are all interesting characters to get inside the mind of and actually I think they remind me of me. I am the sort of person that will put on a smile when I have dark moments inside my head. I love the ideas of these characters and love exploring their motivations and bringing them to life. I feel like I understand each of them so well as they are eccentric and intelligent and often misunderstood by others. This is how I feel about myself and by cosplaying them I have learned a lot about myself.
Also, it is fun to cosplay and it is escapism for a few hours when I do it. Most importantly though, most people in the cosplay community really support each other and that is the best thing of all. It feels like a family and I love that. It doesn't matter about age, race, gender or how good at creating costumes you are or body type. Most people respect others (all except I came up with my own hashtag on instagram after a particularly nasty event involving one of my wigs...#offensivewigisoffensive). I love that feeling of belonging to something positive for the first time in a long time and making new friends.
Below is my vlog on this subject too. Please check it out.
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