So what were those crazy kids doing? Cosplaying. Originating in Japan where it is a popular form of entertainment, cosplay, short for "costume play", or the Japanese "ko-su-pu-re", refers to the activity of imitating fantasy characters. Cosplayers imagine themselves to be a chosen fantasy character, usually from sci-fi, anime, manga, or video games, and dress, move, and speak the part. Cosplayers say it's much more than playing dress up, they need to understand and interpret their characters. As a popular cosplay slogan reads, "Cosplay isn't just costume, it's a state of mind."
Introduced to China in recent years, a new homegrown form of cosplay has emerged. At a comic and animation competition in Beijing last year, a frequent cosplay judge explained that unlike cosplay competitions in other parts of the world where similarity to the original character is given priority in judging, in China judges award points mainly based on original stage plays conceived of and performed by cosplayers.
It takes an enormous amount of dedication to be a young Chinese cosplayer. Besides the time and energy required in writing and rehearsing a play, costumes will always be an integral part of cosplay. Making real-life costumes that resemble the imaginative products of animators is very time-consuming, and if you use a professional tailor, very expensive. Even less expensive tailors, such as students at Beijing's Institute of Clothing Technology, can charge around 1,000 RMB for a cosplay costume. And then there is always the non-relenting parental pressure to stop to endure. Most parents try hard to keep their kids from reading comics, playing computer games, and watching animation, let alone cosplaying.
However, when you see the passion and creativity of a bunch of young people who just want to dress up like comic book characters first-hand, you can't help but support them.
(Text by Pan Jingjing and Allen Chai)
Also on Chinastic:
Guozi – Hardcore Cosplayer
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