Thursday, October 9, 2008

Cosplay

When I went to Anime Expo this past summer, more so than any events or panels, the real attraction was the cosplay. I don't exactly go to a lot of these conventions, so it was pretty shocking to find myself surrounded by so many fans unabashedly dressed as their favorite fictional characters, many of which were far too obscure for me to identify. While I had never considered dressing up prior to arriving, the intoxicating atmosphere soon had me convinced that the cosplaying lifestyle was a wonderful thing. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a tad envious even, as I observed my costumed companions repeatedly receiving compliments and requests for photographs (for outfits that were honestly pretty simply assembled).

Without actually having committed to any other conventions, I had already begun to wrack my mind over what costumes I could make for myself for next time. As I got to imagining myself dressed up as various characters, however, feelings of revulsion came over me. For reasons not entirely clear to me, the idea of taking on the persona of another individual, whether real or fictional, is more than I can deal with. I could say that the cosplay thing is just not me. But isn't that the entire point?

Halloween is coming up soon, and I'm not sure what to do. A more generic outfit--a broad concept instead of a specific individual--might be more workable, but I'm not entirely comfortable even with that. Perhaps I'm just too attached to my own persona.

6 comments:

Czardoz said...

Just dress up as Omega Warzard, complete with world-crushing fists. If you can't get that, then dress up as that shirtless gay dude you created in Soul Calibur IV.

Czardoz said...

By the way, Indy truly killed at AX. And I don't mean that fraud in the white shirt. The only thing he killed was good taste.

Riyuu said...

I agree with the Indiana Jones-wannabe, in that you should cosplay as yourself. You can even get one of those cheap Hulk-type fists (for the world-crushing fist thing) that you used to see on TV commercials!

Henry said...

"Omega Warzard" is merely one aspect of my normal self. It is no more a costume than my work clothes or the Seabiscuit cap.

Czardoz said...

But the gay dude - that counts as a costume. . . . Or is that merely another aspect of your so-called "normal self"? Because if that's normal, then I want to throw up.

Henry said...

1. He's not gay.
2. His aesthetic appearance is a meaningless byproduct of my formula for perfect fighting ability.
3. I don't have the beast-hide helmet, monocle, or man-bra needed to make the costume.