Gourt > Arts > Animation > Anime > Fandom > Cosplay
, a contraction (or portmanteau) of the English words "costume" and "play", is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games, and, less commonly, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, or Japanese pop music bands. However, in some circles, "cosplay" has been expanded to mean simply wearing a costume.
In Japan, "cosplay" as a hobby is usually an end unto itself. Likeminded people gather to see others' costumes, show off their own elaborate handmade creations, take lots of pictures, and possibly participate in best costume contests.
The most specific anecdote about the origin of the word "cosplay" was that Nov Takahashi (from a Japanese studio called Studio Hard) coined the term "cosplay" as a contraction of the English-language words "costume play" while he was attending the 1984 Los Angeles Science Fiction Worldcon. He was so impressed by the hall and masquerade costuming there that he reported about it frequently in Japanese science fiction magazines. This ultimately triggered Japanese cosplay. This point is debatable, however, as the word fits in with a common Japanese method of abbreviation: combining the first two syllables of one word with the first two syllables of a second word (or, more precisely, the first two moras of each). Other examples of this include and .
More on [ Cosplay ]
Costumes :: Arts
Science Fiction and Fantasy :: By Type
@Cafechan If I were more bishie, I could totally cosplay as Alis with socks like these...
BeholdTheGears (Raien) Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:15:17 -0000
@Cafechan If I were more bishie, I could totally cosplay as Alis with socks like these...
Photo: Cheshire Cat Cosplay http://tumblr.com/xzg4xjn4y
R3active (Reactive) Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:15:01 -0000
Photo: Cheshire Cat Cosplay http://tumblr.com/xzg4xjn4y
Cosplay is fabulous
Beall16 (Graham Beall) Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:09:28 -0000
Cosplay is fabulous
I found one thing to agree on while watching The Fashion Show: "Good from far, far from good." Glad I'm not one of them. #cosplay #BlizzCon
sockazoo (Sakurazuka) Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:06:30 -0000
I found one thing to agree on while watching The Fashion Show: "Good from far, far from good." Glad I'm not one of them. #cosplay #BlizzCon
åæ¥æåé¢é£ç½åççæ¯èå©å©åï¼è¿ä»¥ä¸ºæ¯cosplay
hicrokee (Keeå) Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:05:15 -0000
原来我前面那白发的真是老婆婆啊？还以为是cosplay
@nadiah_ong End Of Year cosplay event @ national library drama center.
silverbtf (Teo Sheng Yang) Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:57:54 -0000
@nadiah_ong End Of Year cosplay event @ national library drama center.
AAnime.net - Conventions photographs of cosplayers in Japan, USA, France and Europe from 2001 onwards.
Acme Boyz Cosplay - Photos and reports from a male anime cosplay group.
Meta Description: [ Acme Boyz Cosplay, So.Cal Cosplay group. Established in 1999 ]
Adventures in Cosplaying - Cosplaying gallery.
Meta Description: [ rabidfanboy.com is a site dedicated to my costuming adventures in the fandom that is cosplay! ]
Alisa's Cosplay - Images sorted by character, individual and groups, CG cosplay, costume shop, personal information and links.
American Cosplay Paradise - Features a searchable database of members, with photograph galleries, and a forum covering upcoming conventions and costumes
Angel's Cosplay - Costumes sorted by character, CG images, and some commissions.
Meta Description: [ Welcome to CosplayAngel here you will find cosplay costumes from many different animes and video games! From Final Fantasy to CLAMP characters it is all here. ]
Angelic Star: Yaya's Cosplay - Costuming of Yaya Han. Costumes arranged by genre. Includes construction notes.
Meta Description: [ Portfolio of Yaya, showcasing her hand-made costumes, human-sized angel wings, Cosplay costumes, thousands of modeling photos and much more! ]
Animedieval - Contains photos and Matrix fan art pictures.
Ann's Anime Costumes - Costumes made by request.
Behind the Physics - Costumes categorized by genre, convention reports and cosplayer information.
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Cat on Mars - Photographs of finished and future costume projects. Costumes include characters from Gundam Wing, Slayers, and Rose of Versailles.
Charmed Seed Cosplay - Pictures of original costumes by Beverly. Costumes include Aeris, Yuna, Azmaria, and Rosa.
Chibi Otaku Paradise - Information about Texas conventions. Features pictures, bulletin boards, tutorials and comics.
Colorful Cosplay - Images of completed costumes, information on works in progress, and personal profile.
Cosplay ALLA Cosplay - Costume images and information, convention reports, cosplay scripts, and mascots.
Cosplay Destiny - A photo gallery.
Meta Description: [ You want to see Yuna from Final Fantasy X in real? Then KLICK! ]
Cosplay In Black - Anime, video game, manga and other costumes.
Cosplay Lab - Gallery of costume images posted by members, convention reports, and registration form.
Meta Description: [ Halloween like you've never seen. Character costumes come to life year-round at Cosplay Lab. Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy and tons more for you to explore. ]
Cosplay Portraits at Photino101 - Cosplay portrait galleries from the FanimeCon, AnimeExpo, Japantown Anime Fair, Metreon Festival of Anime, WonderCon, and other California events.
Meta Description: [ Cosplay, Strawberry Stardust, Cosplay portraits, Anime Overdose, Kikaida, Tofu Records, Japantown Anime Fair, Anime Expo, Fanime Con, WonderCon, Portrait Photography, Cosplay ]
Cosplay.com - Cosplay community anime, manga, role-playing games (rpgs), japanese rock (jrock), and japanese pop (jpop) can join. Has a forum and gallery for members to discuss and upload their photos from anime conventions.
CosplayMemories.com - Contains videos from conventions.
Meta Description: [ cosplay videos for download ]
Cvy the cosplay Funk - Featuring Cvy's cosplay manga, anime, rock music (silverchair to The Distillers), design portfolio (3D animation), cats and photography.
Cye-chan's Cosplay Photo Gallery - Female Japanese cosplayers sorted by individual and links. [English and Japanese]
Digital Angel - Hand-picked cosplayers focused on Angel Sanctuary and evil bishounen costumes, with images and journal.
Dive Into Shine - Sakura's cosplay has a blog and costumes from anime and video games.
Meta Description: [ mitsuki.net ]
Dreams to Reality Cosplay - A Canadian cosplay group specializing in final fantasy and anime costumes.
Meta Description: [ An asian Canadian cosplay group specializing in anime and video game costumes. ]
Eight of Hearts - A message board for cosplayers, crossplayers, and crossover. Topics mainly focus on anime conventions and costumes.
Francesca Atelier's Cosplay Showroom - Italian cosplayer, costumes sorted by character.
Meta Description: [ Francesca Dani Official Site-Italian Netidol Cosplay Girl-Francesca Dani is the first italian cosplay girl on the web with her site since 1998 ]
Garden City Anime Festival - A nonprofit, fan convention put on by students, and located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Meta Description: [ Fine Pieces of Art updated daily. Wholesale Art from dealer galleries, Self-Representing Artist, Contemporary Art 1950-Now, Digital Art, Drawings, Folk Art, Mixed Media, Antique Paintings Pre-1900, Modern Paintings, Contemporary Art Paintings ]
Golden Fluff Cosplay - The official website of the Golden Fluff Cosplay group based in Seattle. Contains photos, costumes, skits, karaoke, and convention coverage.
Meta Description: [ used cars car accessories cellular cell phone deals download ringtones ]
Hichan no ro_Om - Profile, images and links.
Hitomi Angel Cosplayer - Images from an Italian cosplayer. Profile, message board, and links.
Meta Description: [ Angel Hitomi Official page, Italian Cosplayer since 1998 ]
Hysteric Angel - Contains cosplay and photos.
Meta Description: [ 爆裂天使ファンサイト。ギャラリー、コスプレ、アート、グッズ等の紹介。 ]
Ichinigirls - Costume photographs and event reports of three-person cosplay group. Also includes hints for beginning costumers.
Identity Crisis Cosplay - Funny little romp through the Tanned Goddess side of cosplay. Claudia Grant, Rosebride, ect of course.
iPLAY - Infornography Cosplay - Southern California group that presents anime costumes at most conventions. Includes photos and descriptions of the construction of each costume.
Kaoru_ai - A photo gallery.
Meta Description: [ Your Site Description here ]
Kitty-armada.net - Content includes image gallery and cosplay tips.
Meta Description: [ Kitty s site of cosplay, modeling, & masquerade arts. ]
KoshiKoshi - Message boards, cosplay reports, resources, and links.
Life Stream Cosplay - This is a gallery of pics of Cloud and Aeris from Final Fantasy VII.
Meta Description: [ Aeris & Cloud Cosplay ]
Lindze - Portfolio, images, forum and links. [Flash]
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Lion-Hearts Cosplay - Showcasing anime and game costumes created by Bananaluvs for herself and her partner.
Michi's Cosplay - Costumes organized by anime, video games, and J-pop, with convention reports and photo galleries. Costumes include Mai Shiranui, Kuja, Athena Asamiya, Asuka Langley, and DOA's Kasumi.
Meta Description: [ Costumes organized by anime, video games, and J-pop, with convention reports and photo galleries. Costumes include Mai Shiranui, Kuja, Athena Asamiya, Asuka Langley, and DOA's Kasumi. ]
Muon Cosplay - Erika Door's cosplay, with an organized costume list and profile.
Meta Description: [ erikadoor.com ]
Natalie's Cosplay - Features mostly video game costumes, with a FAQ and jewelry shop.
nt2099 Cosplay Underground - Interviews, convention reports with images, and links.
Meta Description: [ In-Depth Cosplay Interviews and Cosplay Photos and more. ]
Paper Wings Cosplay - Cosplaying trio specializing in matching costume groups. Includes galleries and member profiles.
Meta Description: [ Paper Wings Cosplay ]
Patycosplay - Personal site of a Mexican cosplayer, including a profile and image gallery.
Meta Description: [ Patycosplay.com Cosplay, Image Galleries and Conventions Reports Tnt Comictlan ]
Petite Charlotte Cosplay - News, profile, blog, images, gifts and links.
Poro-Poro - Costumes listed by character. Convention reports and pictures listed by event.
Red Star Cosplay - Rinoa and Fayt's cosplay, with separate galleries and profiles for both cosplayers. Includes cosplay advice and convention photos.
Meta Description: [ an awsome cosplay website! ]
Rogue and Flexei's Cosplay Corner - Profiles of the duo, photos from their personal life and cosplay performances, and links.
Meta Description: [ cosplay duo featuring anime and video game costumes ]
Satin Dreams Cosplay - A community which includes features such as forums, a photo gallery and information about upcoming conventions and events. Other groups can promote their events here as well.
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Shiina's Cosplay Site - Ryou Shiina's bilingual cosplay site, with English and Japanese indexes. Includes event photos and a profile.
Meta Description: [ This page is Japanese cosplay artist,Ryou Shiina's site.YU-GI-OH! is the main. ]
Shiny Clouds - Costuming and modeling photo galleries, along with art and computer graphic work by the cosplayer.
Silver Wings Cosplay - Features video game and anime cosplay and a costuming FAQ.
SkyPirate - A-kon Gallery - SkyPirate's photos from various Texas conventions over the years.
Meta Description: [ A-kon Cosplay Gallery ]
Small Wish - Cosplay from an Ah! Megami-sama fan, with a small shrine to the series on the site alongside the costumes and some fanart.
Strike a pose - Images and links. [Flash]
Studio of Masquerade Arts - Canadian group that started in 2001 and attends Anime North and CN Anime Expo.
Meta Description: [ Canadian cosplay group that started in 2001 and specializes in Final Fantasy Cosplay ]
Tattered Wings - Judy talks about her hobby of media recreation costuming.
theOtaku.com: Cosplay - Anime cosplay community with free cosplay photograph hosting.
Through the Mirror: Kenzie-chan's Cosplay - This is my collection of anime cosplay, other costumes, and artwork.
Meta Description: [ Kenzie-chan's collection of anime costumes,other costumes,and artwork ]
USA Musume - Morning Musume cosplay group.
Water 7 - Cosplay photography from conventions across North America.
Meta Description: [ Creative ventures from the seas of Water 7/>
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