Japan Anime Cosplays

Cosplay (コスプレ kosupure?) is a short way of saying of "Costume Play". It is an act of dressing up to look like an anime, manga, video game, Japanese rock, or Jpop character. A person who does this is called a Cosplayer.

Cosplay can be divided into two parts, basic cosplay and masquerade cosplay. Both types of cosplay involve trying to physically look like the character, including speaking like the character, memorizing quotes and so on. Masquerading, or "The Masquerade," usually refers to a cosplay competition where cosplayers demonstrate their skills in creating costumes, putting on skits, and in technical matters.

Even though cosplaying is originally from Japan, there are a number of cosplay communities in Malaysia, China, the United States, Indonesia, and the Philippines, because of the popularity of Japanese animation, movies, and popular culture in those countries.

Cosplay communities often hold events such as parties and conventions. Some of the best cosplayers can be famous amongst otaku.Some types have compititions for a reward

The rapid growth in the number of people cosplaying as a hobby since 1990s has made the phenomenon a significant aspect of popular culture in Japan and some other parts of Asia and in the Western world. Cosplay events are common features of fan conventions and there are also dedicated conventions and local and international competitions, as well as social networks, websites and other forms of media centered on cosplay activities.

The term "cosplay" is a Japanese portmanteau of the English terms costume and play. The term was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard while attending the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Los Angeles.He was impressed by the hall and the costumed fans and reported on both in Japanese magazine My Anime. The coinage reflects a common Japanese method of abbreviation in which the first two moras of a pair of words are used to form an independent compound: 'costume' becomes kosu (コス) and 'play' becomes pure (プレ).