Sunday, January 6th, 2008...11:07 pm
Cosplay embarrassing serious anime fans?
One of the more interesting debates I’ve read lately was kicked off when the UK’s first and only dedicated anime TV channel “Anime Central” invited the so-called crème of British cosplayers to strut their wares on digital television in front our derisive nation. Though many of the UK’s long-suffering elite were excited by this, just as many were horrified; not as much by the cosplay itself, but rather the anticipated reaction from random outsiders (themselves potential anime fans) only too willing to rip-the-piss out of the inescapably “geeky-looking” anime addicts.
There is a clear divide between anime fans; those who treat it as (and want it to be perceived as) a serious art form, capable of melting even the coldest of hearts, and those who see anime as just another style of entertainment where anything can go. Put simply, for the serious fans, cosplay is an inescapable and embarrassing element of fandom; after all, you may spend months trying to convince pessimistic friends to sit down in front of Cowboy Bebop, but one look at Man-Faye is likely to ruin them forever. However, while cosplay may lower the still poor general perception of Japanese animation to almost subterranean levels of public ridicule, there is something in its eccentricity.
For an example, lets look at the most popular sport in the world; football (or, as it’s known to our foreign readers, “soccer”). Consider that so-many people attend matches dressed in the replica kit of their favourite team; hell, some even go so far as to have their favourite player’s name and number printed on their shirts. As fans in their thousands, these people herd together into stadiums, proudly wearing their team’s colours, to show their support. Some girl cosplaying as Haruhi at an anime convention is doing the same thing; she might not look too cool, but the tenacity and passion required to do this should be commended and, most of all, valued.
The only difference is that while football has been around for over a hundred years, anime is relatively new and foreign, and hence, weird in the eyes of the lemmings. For every six people bugged out by the weeaboo vibe, one person might be inspired, fascinated or encouraged by the idea that they aren’t alone, and if someone is superficial or insecure enough to feel genuinely threatened by that, perhaps they aren’t worth the effort in the first place?
Every step forward for Japanese pop culture into the Western world has been accompanied by innovation. In particular, the last decade has seen massive success for manga simply because the publishers stopped trying to force their Japanese novels into the Western perception of comics. Who would have thought that so many (and so many females, too!) would be willing to read obscure Japanese illustrations from right to left? All these little eccentricities, weird as they may seem, create a definite image, something for people to latch onto and claim as their own.
Cosplay is the same, and if you’re trying to stifle that, or hide it from view, you’re simply succeeding in lessening interest in your beloved anime. Of course, I’m a serious anime fan, sometimes I feel embarrassed by how anime is perceived by the masses, I want people to name-drop Satoshi Kon along side the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese, but not if it means telling some fat guy he’s too wide to dress up as Shonen Bat; putting aside all the politics, no one fan is better than another, we all love anime.
15 Comments
January 7th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I recall a great episode of Comic Party that dwelt on this issue too and came to a similar conclusion. Though it’s also interesting to note that the ComiKet website’s English FAQ warns: ‘Please be aware that cosplay and masquerading have yet to be widely accepted in mainstream Japanese society. Do not come to or leave the Comiket wearing a costume.’
IMHO I’d say: ‘Cosplay embarrassing anime fans who take themselves too seriously’
January 7th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Cosplay is great - when done right, And sadly to say, It never really is ever done right when touched on by “westerners” such as ourselfs. An Asian looking Haruhi, Rei or Faye seem to always look just that bit more spectacular than a American person, Even if they were wearing exactly the same clothing. I do agree with the Cosplayers though, You get a incredible sense of joy when you see people wearing clothes and spotting out who they are. And I for one, would still love to Cosplay; but only if I found the right clothing.
Yet, I wouldn’t want to see it on AC or the like, I would much prefer if they presented it all over the website rather than sticking still images on the channel. Some Videos of conventions I suppose would be alright for one-off “documentaries” and I use that word lightly. Still… The New Years Holiday has gone and the idea of Cosplay on AC as far as now is pretty much non-existant.
@Zyl: That ComiKet FAQ is quite hilarious, I don’t really see the appeal over here to go to it. Its mainly all Doujinshi and watchign people get excessively sweaty and such. The Lucky Star depiction was brilliant I thought. Saying this, It must have its appeal if its been going for 30+ years. The Jump Festa sounds like the coolest convention to go to IMO.
January 7th, 2008 at 1:58 am
There are some bloody good caucasian or black cosplayers. By some, I actually mean as common as a golden flying tiger. I recall seeing the best ever Witch Hunter Robin cosplay by a sharp nosed caucasian girl.
Anyway, the point is, if it’s good, it’s not embarrassing. If it’s shit, then it is.
January 7th, 2008 at 9:12 am
If people want to cosplay, who is anyone to say otherwise?
Personally I think it adds a lot of spice to the likes of conventions and when done right is great.
Good comparison with the football by the way, never really looked at it like that.
(God I cant get that image of Man-faye out of my head mow^^)
January 7th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Cosplay in my opinion is probably the worst thing in anime fandom, I can see why they do it, but they really shouldn’t. -_-
January 7th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
To be honest, I’m not too bothered about cosplay itself, I’m more interested in how it often uncovers the innate insecurity of anime fans. Often it’s not whether the actual cosplay is good or bad, it’s rather how it makes you look when your non-otaku mates connect cosplay with anime. As embarrassing as it may seem, pretending it doesn’t exist won’t work for long and the faster all fans come to accept each other, the faster we can push anime further into the mainstream.
January 8th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Before I was an anime fan or knew what it was the whole ‘dressing up’ cosplay thing did amuse and scare me. But since going to conventions like the London Expo have seen the fun that can be had with it, seeing people’s costumes and/or taking part yourself. I would never take cosplay seriously but think it a harmless hobby!
January 10th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I’ve never seen the harm. Let the cosplayers do their thing.
@Jayme: There was an incident at the filming that meant it had to be postponed/cancelled. I don’t think it was meant really to be for a program timeslot anyway.
@Lupus Inu: You are talking a load of crap.
January 10th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
I totally disagree with you, and I don’t think you are being ‘fair’ (for want of a better word) to my side of the argument.
Firstly, I don’t dislike cosplay out of any inherent mean-spirited attitude - I’d never tell anyone they were “too wide to dress up as Shoenen Bat”. I’d just be embarrassed to say I was a fan of Paranoia Agent if I saw someone dressed as Shoenen Bat outside of an anime convention. And I’m certain that’s how most feel about it, too.
Comparing cosplay to soccer jerseys is bizarre. Soccer jerseys don’t stand out as much as cosplay. Someone isn’t necessarily making a statement with a jersey (well, at least not as loudly as cosplayers are). If the issue was as simple as the issue of soccer jerseys, you wouldn’t be writing articles in favor of cosplay and I wouldn’t be disagreeing.
As for the ‘weirdness’ of cosplay attracting fans being compared to flipped manga, I also disagree, and I think neither are comparable at all. People aren’t “attracted” to manga because it’s read the wrong way round - at least I hope that’s not why people are attracted to manga!
Cosplay is not something that should be a part of anime fandom. It doesn’t deserve a regular place here. Some people like cosplay, some people even call it an art form (which, I suppose, is fair enough) but I shouldn’t have to deal with it just because I like anime and manga. It’s a sub-fandom, it should be treated that way.
I’m sure many ‘new’, more mainstream fans would be horrified by cosplay. It’s halting anime and manga’s progression to mainstream status. It’s not good.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:41 am
“Cosplay is not something that should be a part of anime fandom”
It is a part of most fandoms, for better or worse, though not under the same name. I’ve been to many conventions and seen people in SG1 uniforms, startrek uniforms, Lord of the Rings costumes etc etc. People dress up as characters from musicals sometimes too! There is also the fact that fans of certain music acts adopt a certain dress-style of that band when going to gigs.
Cosplay is a part of the anime fandom, like it or not, just does not have to be the MAIN factor behind why people are there. It is down to individual choice when it comes to the final crunch.
January 11th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
@ Ice Climbers: No, I’m not, if you don’t like my opinion don’t read it, dawg. ;/
January 19th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Great article Paul - that’s what I want to do with my blog entries, to create analytical and thoughtful arguments that expand on the spectrum of anime culture.
@CitizenGeek: I think it’s a fitting analogy, but if you want something less inconspicuous then look at the football fans who take off their shirts and paint their face in the team or country colours while waving the flag. It’s just a game - anime’s more than that.
I agree that it can be embarrassing, but I don’t tend to find that it is (unless they’re really bad costumes). I’ll always use football fans as my go-to-analogy now, if I need to explain it to anyone, and of course, there are good cosplays.
January 19th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
The football supporters analogy is a good one - under what other circumstances is it socially acceptable for grown adults to dress up, cry in public or dance around in the streets?!
It’s a shame that cosplayers are viewed even among fellow fans as the ‘embarrassing’ ones…perhaps this view is justified in the case of the bad costumes but the cosplayers I’ve spoken to at conventions and so on have put such a staggering amount of time and effort into it (with impressive results I might add), I can’t help but admire them in that sense.
I’m too self-conscious to dress up like that even if I had the talent to make the costume in the first place but I always remind myself that the time and money invested is probably the same as what I’ve spent on buying and watching the DVDs. In that case the only real difference is that the evidence of my hobby is sitting on a shelf at home, rather than proudly displayed to onlookers. Maybe we should be congratulating cosplayers for trying to share their enthusiasm?
April 15th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
This topic is quite trendy on the Internet right now. What do you pay the most attention to while choosing what to write ?
November 13th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I disagree with cosplay being embarrassing. People dress up all the time in much more embarrassing get-up (the recent influx of super slutty/dirty Halloween costumes come to mind) and it is just another way of expressing themselves. Anime conventions would be pretty drab without spotting your favorite characters and getting them to pose for pictures, don’t you think? I have never gotten a negative comment when I have cosplayed, in fact people seem very happy/excited. If I can make others happy as well as doing something I love (making costumes, acting) then I don’t see anything wrong with it. I don’t see people covering their heads and running away FROM cosplayers (I can think of one exception but it’s too disturbing for thought…Man Sailor Moon with beard) If you don’t like it, whatever, don’t approach them. It’s not like they’ll chase you down or anything. Like so many other things it is just another way to express something you like.
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