# Cosplay - I don't get it. Can someone please explain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002 "2010-05-02T02:50:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/61 "2010-05-03T06:44:47Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Bolding mine. How is he wrong, when you compare what he described to what you described? **Mr Martini** was implying that Cosplay was only practiced by anime/manga fans. See the distinction? As someone who hates anime and manga, I think it’s an important one! ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/62 "2010-05-03T12:09:25Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Sometimes you have to](http://nerdbastards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bad_cosplay_5.jpg) Thank Gid. I was afraid you were linking to Sailor Bubba. (Personally I tend to think od “cosplay” as being Japanese-inspired dress-up, the same way that “garb” describes Renfaire dress-up. It is a manifestation of the same impulse so it is accurate to say that cosplay is playing dress-up, but I do not think it would be precise to describe all dress-up as cosplay.) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/63 "2010-05-03T12:14:20Z")
> [@](#): > > To be pedantically specific, is any kind of dressing up in a costume cosplay, or is it generally considered to mean costumes from certain sci-fi/anime/videogame genres and/or going to a convention? For it to be “cosplay” as opposed to just “dressing up” there has to be some connection to a con or other public gathering. You can take pictures of yourself in your home in your cosplay costume to show it off, but that’s not really cosplaying in the strictest sense. > [@](#): > > I dress up in my Doctor costume and go to a sci-fi con; that’s cosplay. If I’m just going to the neighborhood Halloween party, is that still cosplay? No, that’s going to a costume party. > [@](#): > > Say I wrap myself in toilet paper and call myself a mummy and hand out Halloween candy in my own home; is that cosplay? No, that’s dressing up for Halloween. > [@](#): > > How about the kid who ties a blanket around his neck and is Superman jumping off the couch? No, that’s “make-believe” > [@](#): > > Is there any distinction at all between “engaging in cosplay” and “putting on a costume for whatever reason you want”? Yes, see the public gathering clause above. > [@](#): > > That’s the question. And even if you would say there isn’t, are there people who would turn up their nose and say of course there is, it’s more specific than that? THAT’s where the confusion is, not about the fact that it means dressing up or why people would have fun dressing up. Once again, cosplaying requires the cosplayer to want to show off their creation in public. Otherwise, you’re just a nut in a Superman costume. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/64 "2010-05-03T12:25:13Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > And how young some of you are… 🙂 I don’t see cosplay as being a “serious” (meaning significant) part of American culture in the slightest. I dunno 'bout Japan–IME, anime is much more popular there than here. > > It seems harmless and fun. It’s not my thing (obviously). And as with anything, I’m sure there is that segment who take it waaaaaay too seriously. Its not like its really new. I’m 43 and remember doing our version of cosplay at SF conventions in high school. Anime wasn’t big yet, but there was a period of time where there was always a Leia in her bikini. Followed by a time when there was always six or seven Xenas. The sort of extreme Goth and pre-Goth (white makeup, overdone eyeliner, clothes that start becoming costume) was a form of cosplay. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/65 "2010-05-03T14:20:26Z")
My only confusion was that I first heard the word “cosplay” in a slightly different context. Yes, it involved dressing up in a costume but definitely not in public. (Well, maybe in public for a few people, but anyway.) This led to a few confused moments when I first heard it in its current usage. I had a Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato costume I wore to conventions back in the early 1980’s. (I still have it in fact but it has apparently shrunk over the years. Yeah, it shrunk.) We didn’t call it cosplay then (or anime either; it was “japanimation” then). We just called them “costumes”. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/66 "2010-05-03T14:32:14Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > **Mr Martini** was implying that Cosplay was only practiced by anime/manga fans. See the distinction? As someone who hates anime and manga, I think it’s an important one! Nah, he said “_usually_ involving anime/manga” which implies (to me at least) that other geeky fandoms could easily fall under the umbrella. Consider that to the population at large, you say “sci-fi convention” and the first thing they think of is still “some fat smelly dudes wearing Spock ears.” Drawing a line between one kind of costume and another at the same kind of con seems too pedantic even for fanboys. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > For it to be “cosplay” as opposed to just “dressing up” there has to be some connection to a con or other public gathering. > > You can take pictures of yourself in your home in your cosplay costume to show it off, but that’s not really cosplaying in the strictest sense. THAT’s all I wanted to know; that there is in fact considered to be a distinction from “getting dressed up” which hadn’t been made clear till this post. Because to me, even the kid with the superman cape is “getting dressed up.” And judging by the different answers in this thread, that there also is a good deal of difference of opinion as to what exactly is cosplay and what is not. I can live with that. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/67 "2010-05-03T14:39:00Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Nah, he said “_usually_ involving anime/manga” which implies (to me at least) that other geeky fandoms could easily fall under the umbrella. Consider that to the population at large, you say “sci-fi convention” and the first thing they think of is still “some fat smelly dudes wearing Spock ears.” Drawing a line between one kind of costume and another at the same kind of con seems too pedantic even for fanboys. Except “usually involving anime/manga” likely isn’t true. While I don’t have any hard numbers to back it up, I’d wager a guess that “Leia in the gold bikini” is the most popular cosplay outfit. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/68 "2010-05-03T14:39:06Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Thank Gid. > > I was afraid you were linking to Sailor Bubba. Seriously…any picture claiming to be ‘bad cosplay’ that isn’t Sailor Bubba, or Man Faye is just pure fail. (Of course, Sailor Bubba and Man Faye are _meant_ to be bad, but still…they set a high bar, even if they do it deliberately.) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/69 "2010-05-03T14:47:58Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Except “usually involving anime/manga” likely isn’t true. While I don’t have any hard numbers to back it up, I’d wager a guess that “Leia in the gold bikini” is the most popular cosplay outfit. While I’m not sure that Leia is still the most popular character, I’d agree that cosplay is not limited to anime/manga characters: it can involve characters from western animation, western live action, western comics, television and video/computer games. However, at an anime convention, you might be limited to anime characters if you take part in the competitive cosplay – though that doesn’t stop you dressing up as Batman or Princess Leia outside the competition. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/70 "2010-05-03T22:20:28Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’ve always understood “cosplay” to refer to dressing up as a particular character. In Japan at least I don’t think it has much to do with the Lolita fashion or other street fashions. In the West it probably is the same general group of people who’d want to either dress up like anime characters or emulate extreme Japanese youth fashions, though. This bears repeating many times, because I think people in this thread aren’t getting it. Loli is not Cosplay. Loli is not based in anime. Loli is actually subculture fashion, like goth, or preppy, or fruits or whatever. -Necros, member, Colorado Gothic Lolita Society ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/71 "2010-05-03T22:32:22Z")
> [@Necros](#): > > This bears repeating many times, because I think people in this thread aren’t getting it. Loli is not Cosplay. Loli is not based in anime. Loli is actually subculture fashion, like goth, or preppy, or fruits or whatever. > > -Necros, member, Colorado Gothic Lolita Society Wow. I’ll bet there aren’t too many goths in Golden. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/72 "2010-05-03T22:42:06Z")
> [@Necros](#): > > This bears repeating many times, because I think people in this thread aren’t getting it. Loli is not Cosplay. Loli is not based in anime. Loli is actually subculture fashion, like goth, or preppy, or fruits or whatever. That said, there are some goth loli characters in anime, e.g., Anju Maaka from the vampire anime [Karin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chibi_Vampire). (If you’re googling for pictures of her, the protagonist of _Karin_ is Karin Maaka, Anju’s older sister, who has black hair and usually wears her school uniform. Anju has white hair, and usually carries around a doll called Boogie and a parasol, as well as wearing goth loli costume – since Anju is a “normal” vampire, she doesn’t go to school like her older sister.) ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/73 "2010-05-03T22:45:02Z")
More than you think! 🙂 But, again, Lolita isn’t goth, either. There are about a billion types of Lolita out there (we actually held a contest once where people wore as many different kinds as they could come up with), but there are some major categories: -Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL): Characterized by lots of black, lace, etc. archetypal example is Mana, lead singer of now-defunct band Malice Mizer: [http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/torikago/vk\_pics/mana04.jpg](http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/torikago/vk_pics/mana04.jpg) -Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA): Much the same aesthetic as EGL, but with a tophat-and-frock male oriented image: [Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles & More | eBay](http://store01.prostores.com/fanplusfriend/images/loli/jacket/b00011_01.jpg) -Kodona: Newsboy-inspired, with goth underpinning. A “dandy punk” style: [http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s211/luismoon/Kodona.jpg](http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s211/luismoon/Kodona.jpg) -Sweet Lolita: Imagine Strawberry Shortcake a la Dangerous Liasons. Keep in mind that males or females can wear any of these styles, but the Sweet category is pretty much exclusively women, and the scene as a whole is very androgynous-leaning-towards-feminine. None of it is sexualized, though. ETA for **Giles** :True, but that is more of a reflection of Japanese subculture, as opposed to the other way around as people in this thread have been implying. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/74 "2010-05-03T22:46:43Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Wow. I’ll bet there aren’t too many goths in Golden. We have them aplenty here in Phoenix, AZ. No wonder they’re so depressed. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/75 "2010-05-03T23:46:06Z")
> [@choie](#): > > As far as “if you don’t participate in it you’re out of touch,” the funny thing is, I don’t see anyone in the thread who actually participates in it themselves. So apparently we’re all out of touch! [http://www.massively.com/photos/final-fantasy-fan-festival-2007/#500339](http://www.massively.com/photos/final-fantasy-fan-festival-2007/#500339) That’s me being interviewed. It ain’t just for the young folks! —Maggie, age 39. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/76 "2010-05-04T00:11:42Z")
Also, on the topic of Loli/EGL fashion - I have a young friend (15) who is very into the Loli look. She socializes on LJ with a bunch of other young women who also enjoy the foofy-dress thing, and they all had a meetup recently. At the La Brea Tar Pits. Not a place I’d think to go in a $300 dress…but eh, it’s not my scene. There were about 15-20 of them, the oldest looked to be maybe 26 and the youngest was probably 12-13. Most were 16-18. Some of the dresses were really good, some were meh; some were purchased, some were handmade. If I had a dollar for every yard of crinoline… Anyway, all of them were white girls, except perhaps a couple who were part-Asian. I’ve also seen girls in Loli outfits just out and about - most recently a cluster of them were in the audience at the Pantages when we went to go see “Chicago”. Again, they were in their late teens, early twenties. It’s definitely a Thing. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/77 "2010-05-04T00:58:37Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Except “usually involving anime/manga” likely isn’t true. While I don’t have any hard numbers to back it up, I’d wager a guess that “Leia in the gold bikini” is the most popular cosplay outfit. I’ve seen a few people (White and Asian) dressed up in the Harajuku Girl/ LoliGoth style in town, but I cannot remember the last time I saw someone wandering around town dressed as Darth Vader or Batman or Mr. Spock. Like I said, when I, personally, hear the term “Cosplay” my immediate thought is “People Dressed As Anime Characters” because they’re the ones who go outside in their costumes; ie there’s an element of wanting to “be seen” there. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/78 "2010-05-04T02:40:16Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Its not like its really new. I’m 43 and remember doing our version of cosplay at SF conventions in high school. Anime wasn’t big yet, but there was a period of time where there was always a Leia in her bikini. Followed by a time when there was always six or seven Xenas. Well, there have always been people who dressed up for more than Halloween or costume parties, but it was never popular, common or formalized into “cosplay”. I don’t recall anyone dressed in costume for the (only) Star Trek convention I attended in 1975. YMMV. I’m not against cosplay in any way. I’m a bit bemused by it, but not anti-cosplay. Go for it! But don’t be surprised that not everyone shares the fun or understands the desire to take part in it. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/79 "2010-05-04T03:13:10Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’ve seen a few people (White and Asian) dressed up in the Harajuku Girl/ LoliGoth style in town, but I cannot remember the last time I saw someone wandering around town dressed as Darth Vader or Batman or Mr. Spock. > > Like I said, when I, personally, hear the term “Cosplay” my immediate thought is “People Dressed As Anime Characters” because they’re the ones who go outside in their costumes; ie there’s an element of wanting to “be seen” there. What in the holy blue hell are you talking about? Read like five posts up from you. Someone spells out, again, that dressing up as a stereotypical goth or harajuku girl is not cosplaying. It’s dressing up to match your subculture. Like punk kids do or grunge kids back in the 90s. I swear, it almost seems like you’re not getting it on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002/80 "2010-05-04T03:34:18Z")
Even if we substitute “Harajuku/LoliGoth” with “Anime Characters” (and let’s be fair here, the styles do overlap a great deal, especially to the layperson), I believe my point still stands. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosplay-i-dont-get-it-can-someone-please-explain/538002.md?page=5)