Post on 23-Feb-2023
KOSUPURE: UNDERSTANDING ITS MEANING AND NATURE
Michelle Angela E. Gabion
M.A. Ed. Social Studies
Prof. Jason Cocjin
Instructor, Social Institutions and Group Interaction
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 2
October 2014
Chapter I
Introduction
Media and entertainment, a newly identified social
institution is one of the most influential among the youths and
young adults today.
It has been invading our society with rapid changes
since the beginning of the 21st century. Most of it causes great
influence on people and would likely to create such new trends
and effects. One of the most trending forms of entertainment is
cosplay.
This form of entertainment is widely known all over the
world. Every year, it is one of the most anticipated events by
children, teenagers and those who are young at heart for it is
their chance to meet their favorite characters come to life.
Background of the Study
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 3
Since the creation of media, people have been finding
ways to create shows and express themselves in so many different
ways. Some would even try to think of different strategies to
show or freely express themselves and that also includes
influencing others by means of entertainment. Aside from that,
they could use media to socialize with other people. One example
of entertainment is cosplay.
The origin of the word cosplay or costume play was
first coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard while he was
attending the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in
Los Angeles, California. He combined two Japanese words “costume”
( ココ ) and “play” ( ココ ) (Jee, 2010).
One could easily be familiarize with the term cosplay
since that sub-culture is already growing and been known for
years already. The cosplay became widely known here in the
Philippines after Myrtle Sarrosa, a cosplayer, was identified as
the Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition Season 4 Big Winner (Sarrosa,
2010).
Most of the people would define cosplay as costume
playing of a character.
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 4
So what does cosplay really means and how can it
influence people to join the growing number of members in the
cosplay community? To further understand the meaning and nature
of cosplay, I, the researcher attempt to put up the following
objectives:
a. To know the definition of the term cosplay in a
cosplayer’s point of view;
b. To find out what/who influenced the cosplayers in joining
the cosplay community;
c. To know the reason why they cosplay;
d. To know how cosplayers prepare in an event; and
e. To determine what they have learned and how cosplay
helped them as a person whether they are a student or are
already a professional.
Significance on the study
The primary reason on why cosplay is the main subject
of my research paper is to let the readers fully understand the
nature of cosplay based on the definition and knowledge of the
cosplayers themselves.
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 5
Scope and Delimitations of the Study
This research focuses on the nature of cosplay adopted
by the Filipinos, regardless of gender and age. Using the survey
method (questionnaire and a one-on-one interview) the respondents
who were chosen through snow ball sampling technique, will define
the meaning of cosplay and explain its nature based on their own
knowledge and experiences as cosplayers.
In this research, it does not attempt to look on the
socio and economic status of the individual who does cosplaying;
but rather on the entertainment, social interaction, and the
psychological impact on the individual.
As a whole, this study focuses and limits only on
cosplaying, the definition of the term cosplay, the preparations
made by the cosplayers, the reasons for cosplaying and how they
were influenced by it, the lessons they have learned and the
benefits they have gained while cosplaying.
Review of Related Literature
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 6
In this chapter, the main focus is to explain the
history of cosplay and that would also include the common types
of cosplayers and a short profile of some famous cosplayers
around the world.
The History of Cosplay
Cosplay has been very popular among the teenagers and
young adults all over the world. Cosplay conventions are being
held every year and are participated by both cosplay enthusiast
and cosplay fans. But how did cosplay or costume wearing started?
Who are the people behind the beginning of this phenomenom?
First of all, cosplay did not start in Japan and is not
an original concept of the Japanese. The actual word "cosplay"
was invented by a Japanese reporter, yes, but that is the extent
of Japanese involvement in the creation of the hobby. In 1984,
Nobuyuki Takahashi was sent to report on the goings-on of the '84
WorldCon, being held that year in Los Angeles, CA. He coined the
word "cosplay" to describe what he saw going on at WorldCon –
people wearing costumes in the halls, and a stage masquerade
featuring the biggest and brightest of the costumes of the
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 7
weekend. In Japanese linguistics, they often form composite words
("portmanteau") out of loanwords from other languages, such as
English; in this case, he took "costume" and "play" and smashed
them together to try to describe what he was seeing at WorldCon.
What is important to note is that while we can only speculate on
what he meant by "play," what is almost certain is that he did
not necessarily refer to "acting," since the only stage
performing at WorldCon is the masquerade, in which performances
did not necessarily involve spoken dialogue. In fact, many of
them that year didn't. More importantly, the sort of costumes and
costume-wearing habits and traditions viewed at WorldCon in the
early 80's were the culmination of literally decades of
convention traditions. The creation of costume, the genres and
styles of costume, and the times and places for proper wearing of
costume had all been well-established by that time via science
fiction conventions across the country. The state of costuming
and costume-wearing habits evolves very little among those sci-fi
conventions, so even though it has been over 30 years since that
infamous WorldCon, one can look at fan and costumer behavior at
any mid-size regional sci-fi con still running today and discern
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 8
what Takahashi probably saw. This includes the masquerade, which
is often a convention's crowning point of Saturday evening
entertainment; media recreations regardless of the media source,
and daily hall costuming (Feldmann, 2010).
It is not hyperbole to say that hall costuming has been
going on for decades, longer than many of today's anime-
convention fans have been alive. The first documented hall
costume was worn by Forry Ackerman in 1939, at WorldCon held in
New York. Early WorldCons and other small sci-fi conventions were
primarily attended by young men only, and revolved around the
discussion and distribution of science fiction anthologies and
periodicals. (Feldmann, 2010).
Because little existed in the way of "media" besides
literature, those early costumes were likely to be informal and
original or generic design. Women were either not admitted or not
often seen at sci-fi expos until sometime in the 40's. Among
these expos, the biggest and most influential for the longest
time was WorldCon, because it changes location annually and is
billed as a world meeting of sci-fi buffs. In the modern era,
there are many conventions that haul in annual attendance rates
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 9
triple that of any given WorldCon, but it is so firmly entrenched
as the longest-running convention in the world and the mother of
all sci-fi conventions - and by extension, the mother of all
anime, gaming, literature, and other genre media cons. Thus,
trends established at WorldCon and the host conventions that
carried it through the 1940's, 50's, and 60's are the ones that
should be understood as the origins of hobby costuming. Over
time, with the proliferation of science fiction and horror themes
in movies and the heyday of superhero comic books, recreations of
popular media characters began to creep into both hall costuming
and stage masquerade costumes. This includes anime, as there were
nerds getting their hands on "Japanimation" in the late 60's and
early 70's. It is suggested that Karen Dick might have done the
first anime costume in the US, when she put together costumes
from Captain Harlock for the halls in the late 1970's, and then
entered a Starship Yamato group at WorldCon and other west-coast
conventions in 1980. That group went on to win Best in Show
regionally, the first anime costumes to be awarded the highest
honor in a masquerade, four years before Takahashi even heard of
WorldCon. (Feldmann, 2010).
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 10
What is still unknown is how soon after the '84
WorldCon and Takahashi's article that the Japanese actually began
to make costumes and display them at local conventions. Also
unknown is whether the first Japanese person to actually don a
media recreation costume was wearing something of Japanese
origin, or instead copied the Americans to the point of making a
Spider-man or Han Solo costume first. Because these two crucial
things are unknown and undocumented, no one can make a claim that
the Japanese originated cosplay as we know it today. One thing,
however, is certain: the concept of creating and wearing a
costume of a character from a media source was not in any way
originated by anyone of Japanese nationality. No one in Japan can
claim to have invented or started cosplay, no matter how popular
a phenomenon it might have become in the present day over there.
There are some who might use the term to describe solely costumes
originating from a Japanese media source (anime, manga, or video
game), but even then, without proof that a Japanese person in
Japan created a costume of a Japanese media character prior to
anyone in America doing the same, "cosplay" under the narrow
definition still cannot be claimed by the Japanese. In fact,
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 11
since Karen Dick was making and displaying Harlock costumes in
1979, she has Takahashi's audience beat by five years (Feldmann,
2010).
Different Types of Cosplayers
In a cosplay convention, one would be very amazed to
see a great number of cosplayers roaming around the event area.
You will not only see characters from movies but also those who
are from Marvel, CAPCOM, fairy tales, anime, books, etc.
There are six common types of cosplayers according to
Cairdiuil in her blog entitled “Types of Cosplayers” (Cardiuil,
2011) and on a Youtube video entitled “The 6 different types of
cosplay!” (Tala, 2011):
Usual or Regular Cosplayers
These are persons who’s
cosplaying or dressing up a
regular character they love and
enjoy and do that character for
self expression or pure fandom.
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 12
Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Gintama Gintoki cosplay
Crossplayers
These are people who cosplay as
characters of the opposite sex.
Female cosplaying male
characters or male cosplaying
female characters.
Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Uzumaki Naruto crossplay
Mecha
These are people who cosplay
robots or armored characters.
Fig. 5 Fig. 6
Iron Man Cosplay
Gender-swap or genderbend
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 13
This is a type of cosplayer who
put a twist or spins on a
character. They make a guy
character into a girl character
or a girl character into a guy
character.
Fig. 7 Fig. 8
Edogawa Conan cosplay
Humanoid or anthropomorphism
More commonly known as gijinka.
Taking a non-human beings,
objects, concepts, or phenomena
and making it into a human
character or form.
Fig. 9 Fig. 10
Marill from Pokemon
Original character
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 14
These types of cosplayers who
create their own characters in
any style they want.
Fig. 11 Fig. 12
Famous cosplayers around the world
Here is a collection of profile of some famous female
cosplayers around the world.
Yuegene Fay (Thailand)
Yuegene Fay is a famous Thailand
cosplayer. She mostly does crossplay
since her body built is that of a male
and easy for her to manage male
characters
(Wong,
2013).
Fig. 13
Yaya Han (America)
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 15
Yaya Han is one of only few cosplayers in the world to build
a business in this hobby-ist community, but even after a decade
of success, she strives to stay true to what got her into this
field originally - fun and creativity. To this day, Yaya has made
a myriad of costumes in the genres of anime, manga, video games,
sci-fi, comic books and of course from her own original designs.
Her intricate and lavish creations have won awards and acclaim
worldwide, and she has been invited to appear as a Guest,
Panelist, Judge, Performer and Host to over 100
conventions and other events all over the globe. Through hard
work, unmatched passion and infectious enthusiasm, Yaya has
helped cosplay gain respect and integrity as an artform in the
fandom world and art communities, and her decade long campaign
for creativity has helped raise
Cosplay to the standards we know
today. Everyday, Yaya continues to
pave the path for the beloved art and
lifestyle we know as Costume Play
(Yaya Han, 2010).
Vampy Bit Me (America)
Fig. 14
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 16
Heavily interested in fashion and the arts, Linda
“Vampy Bit Me” Le learned to style in the States, and then
went abroad to London and Japan to continue her studies.
Upon arriving back in the States, she began to teach makeup
and dabbled in modeling.
Having made a splash in the cosplay scene with her
depictions of classic anime and video game characters, she was
discovered by Japanese toy company Kotobukiya and was featured in
the cosplay showcase book Otacool 2, which became
a worldwide success. Eager for more creative outlets, she then
teamed up with Long Vo, the artist on Super Street Fighter II
Turbo HD Remix, to create images, artwork and a comic for Udon
Entertainment’s book, VENT.
She is currently part of a costume/prop maker’s group named
Team Mantium Designs who builds and fabricates highly articulate
armor. She continues to keep pushing for creative freedom in all
mediums and loves to teach everyone she can about the Otaku
lifestyle (Le, 2014).
Fig. 15
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 17
Reika (Japan)
Reika usually cosplay male
characters which gained her a lot of
female fans. She garnered more fame
after cosplaying Levi Rivai from
Shingeki no Kyojin.
She makes her own costumes as well
as her make up with utmost details that
made her as one of the famous and best cosplayers around the
world (Reika, 2012).
Jesuke Jes (Singapore)
Jesuke Jes first debuted her
cosplaying last 2006 as Sasuke Uchiha
from Naruto. After that, she gained a
lot of fans due to her cosplay skills
and cosplayed over 20 characters (both
Fig. 16
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 18
male and female). She has been joining cosplay convention from
her hometown in Singapore, Korea and recently here in Iloilo
City, Philippines. (Jesuke Jess, 2014)
Chapter II
Methodology
This chapter disserts what kind of method is used upon
conducting the study. Under this method is the research design,
locale of the study and units of analysis.
Research Design
The method used is the descriptive method wherein the
qualitative approaches were applied to fulfill and satisfy the
objectives of this research paper.
Locale of the Study
The research is conducted through the use of the
internet and social media network (Facebook) due to the tight
schedule of the respondents but there is an exemption from one
respondent who had a one-on-one interview.
Fig. 17
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 19
Units of Analysis
The respondents of this study are six cosplayers from
Iloilo City and one from Bacolod City ages 16 to 26. The
respondents were chosen through snow ball sampling technique.
Chapter III
Results
In this chapter, an analysis of the data collected for
the study is made and interpretations are made in order to draw
conclusion of the study.
When the respondents were asked on what’s the meaning
of the term cosplay based on their own point of view, their
answers were the following.
a. Self expression. It is the expression of your thoughts or
feelings especially through artistic activities such as
painting, writing, dancing, etc. (Merriam-Webster, 2014).
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 20
“Cosplay is about self-expression, the ability to express one's
enthusiasm and interest in a series/game he/she likes. It's about
bringing your favorite character to life out of love and passion and not
for selfish reasons.” ~Bea, 17
“Cosplay is a form of art or self expression…” ~Claudine, 19
b. Hobby. It is an activity done regularly in
one’s leisure time for pleasure (Oxford Dictionaries,
2014).
“Cosplay is… a hobby very much like your painting, composing,
writing and fishing and such.” ~Claudine, 19
“Cosplay is a hobby since I’ve seen a lot of my cosplay friends doing
it in a regular basis. Every time there is a cosplay convention, they
would regularly attend it because I can see it in their faces that they
are gaining pleasure from it.” ~Michelle, 26
c. Art. It is something that is created with imagination and
skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 21
ideas or feelings. It is also defined as the conscious
use of skill and creative imagination especially in the
production of aesthetic objects (Merriam-Webster, 2014).
“Cosplay is a form of art…” ~Claudine, 19
“It is a form of art because you do not only portray the character
but you also show your skills in creating props and costume which is
also considered an art.” ~Michelle, 26
d. Dressing up. It is to attire in clothes suited to a
particular role (Merriam-Webster, 2014).
“It is dressing up as a favourite character whether from games,
anime, cartoon, comics etc. And being the character itself when you
wore the costume~” ~Daphne, 24
“Cosplay Means "Costume Play" and is the practice of dressing up
as a character from a movie, book, or video game, especially one from
the Japanese genres of manga and anime.” ~Mackie, 16
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 22
The respondents were also asked on what or who
influenced them to join the cosplay community and their common
reasons are: themselves, celebrity cosplayers and their family,
relatives and friends.
a. Themselves
“Well I can't afford life size character figure so I decided to dress up
and be one. XD” ~Claudine, 19
“What influenced me is my love of anime back then.” ~Daphne, 24
“Me! Because I really wanted to see other cosplayers around the
world.” ~Mackie, 16
b. Celebrity cosplayers
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 23
“The main person that influenced me to join the cosplay community
was the Thai cosplayer, Yuegene Fay. It was through her works that I
was motivated to try and enter the hobby.” ~Bea, 17
“I remember Alodia hime featured cosplaying on a gamers site and
I was like "whooaaa "shes so cool!! Yeah so basically she is my 1st
Cosplay idol ohohoho..” ~Karasu, 20
c. Relatives/friends
“…then later Cousin Kim open the doors of cosplaying.” ~Karasu, 20
“My cousin who’s a fanatic of anime and games in the US
influenced me into this hobby, also my love and passion as well on
video games and anime.” ~Justine, 24
“It was my co-teacher’s son who influenced me in cosplaying. Mam
Fatima introduced me to him because she knew that I love anime like
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 24
her son. After we met, he invited me to witness a cosplay event and
introduced me to his friends who are also cosplayers.” ~Michelle, 26
When asked on the reasons why do they cosplay, the
answers of the respondents were all similar to each other.
“I cosplay for fun, for leisure, for the love of the fandom, for self-
expression and most of all, for friendship. I believe that these are the
key factors that most cosplayers state as the reason why they engage
in the hobby. I personally believe that I continue to cosplay because I
think about the fun and excitement to work on a new costume and to
meet fellow cosplayers who will also share the same feeling as you do.
I could care less for popularity, gaining friends who'll stay with you
until the end is much more important.” ~Bea, 17
“Because I want to be a life size figure. Lol. Seriously. And I also
want to be like the character I like most.” ~Claudine, 19
“I have many reasons why I cosplay. Here are some of my reasons
why I cosplay. Cosplay is self-expression. It gives me the chance to
showcase my talent with the related arts. It also gives me the chance to
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 25
be my favourite character from the animes. Cosplaying also gives me
the opportunity to meet new people with the same interest in one area,
I mean you can find them all gathered around in one place during
cons and events. And my favourite part in cosplaying, not only do I get
to be my favourite character, I get to have different looks. With the
power of make-up (plus costume and wigs) I get to play with myself,
and sometimes surprise myself with how I would look like. It makes me
diverse~” ~Daphne 24
“There are two things 1: develops my self confidence 2: I feel
great!!!!” ~Karasu, 20
“It's fun! And it's a really great way to meet new people who like the
same things you do. It's so challenging as well, getting designs, sewing
the clothes, making props, etc. But it's worth the effort. A lot of people
do it to show off their skills, others do it to show their love for certain
shows, games, comics, etc. It's just something a lot of us find really
enjoyable.” ~Mackie, 16
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 26
“I cosplay because I get to express my love and passion of the
character I love and felt inspired.” ~Justine, 24
“I cosplay to portray my favourite character and to develop self
confidence since I’m a shy person when I’m in a crowd. Also to gain
new friends with the same interest as I have.” ~Michelle, 26
Based on the respondents’ answers, I consider cosplay
as a form of collective behavior. According to Ashley Crossman
(2014), it is a type of social behavior that occurs in crowds or
masses. Riots, mobs, mass hysteria, fads, fashions, rumor, and
public opinion are all examples of collective behavior. It is
argued that people tend to surrender their individuality and
moral judgment in crowds and give in to the hypnotic powers of
leaders who shape crowd behavior as they like.
The most common examples of collective behavior made by
the cosplayers are fashion and fads. You can use fashion to
express yourself, to serve as an extension of your personality:
goth, skater, soccer mom, professional (Nellis, 2014). The
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 27
definition of a fad is something that people are interested in
for a short period of time (YourDictionary, 2014).
I also consider cosplay as a form of socialization.
Socialization is the process whereby an individual learns to
adjust to a group (or society) and behave in a manner approved by
the group (or society). According to most social scientists,
socialization essentially represents the whole process
of learning throughout the life course and is a central influence
on the behaviour, beliefs, and actions of adults as well as of
children (Britannica, 2014).
Another question given to the cosplayers is how they
prepare in a cosplay event. What are the things that they should
prepare before the big day? Most of the respondents have common
answers.
“Well, I would first find a series that I would love so much I would
be motivated to cosplay someone from the series. I usually start off by
picking the costume I want to do. Then I would start planning on what
materials I want to have the costume made and where will I have it
done. I dislike cramming and rushing my costumes as I want to give
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 28
the best possible output I can have on all of my costumes. So I pick an
event I want to attend and usually prepare 2 - 3 months before the
event date. In preparation, I usually find all the pieces needed for my
costume and order them ahead of time if they need to be shipped to
me. As much as possible I also do my best to work on some pieces of
my costume, such as minor props and accessories that I can craft
myself.” ~Bea, 17
“I usually am the crammer type of cosplayer where I would make my
costume 1 week or 3 days before the event and do my act on stage on
the spot. Haha.” ~Claudine, 19
“Well if you ask for an “event” I would answer, just be ready, and
pack everything you need. But if you mean how do I prepare myself
with an upcoming event and planning on cosplaying. Well cosplaying
is one of the most expensive hobbies. You really have to have money to
be able to make props, costume and buying the essential things you
have to need. You have to plan it long before finally deciding to
cosplay a certain character.” ~Daphne, 24
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 29
“I always prepare a month before an event or some photoshoot but
I actually make it 1 week before the event ahahha.... cramming
overlord.” ~Karasu, 20
“Be prepared a week before the event and you need to prepare
your costume and props and also your music when you’re joining a
contest.” ~Mackie, 16
“There are many ways to prepare for a cosplay event. One is to
save. Saving money is critical because you don’t know how much a full
costume would be like materials, tailor labor, paint, make up set,
props, etc. another is to budget your time. Time management is crucial
in preparation to a cosplay event since you will never know when a
certain piece or part of your costume is not yet ready. It pays to be
prepared. Another is RESEARCH! Research on who your character is
because as a cosplayer you need to know how your character moves,
acts, talks and etc. but that doesn’t mean that you have to go to
extremes just to be your character. Like if your character smokes you
need not to risk your health for that.” ~Justine, 24
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 30
“I usually choose the character I want to portray and study his/her
personality. Then prepare the necessary stuffs like costume, props,
accessories, etc. months before the event.” ~Michelle, 26
According to their answers, preparing in a cosplay
event usually takes time and needed to be organized. The
cosplayers are in a completer state of immersion in an activity.
This kind of activity is known as flow. Flow is one of the major
topics of interest in positive psychology (Cherry, 2014).
Aside from the knowledge of the respondents regarding
cosplay, I also asked them on how cosplay helped them as a
person.
Since my respondents are ages 16-26, the respondents
are coming from the group of students and working/professional.
Here are the answers of the respondents who are still
students. Most of their answers show that being a cosplayer could
give positive reinforcements in their studies.
“As a person it definitely boosted my self-confidence. It actually
helped me to love myself more and definitely made me realize the
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 31
hidden talents that I actually possessed. As a student, it helped me
with my time management and actually helped me acquire skills that I
could use on my school projects and activities. It also motivated me
and inspired me to do good in my studies. People often think that just
because I cosplay I only think about the hobby, anime and don't have
a care for my studies. In reality, I actually perform well in school with
good grades to match.” ~Bea, 17
“As a student, cosplay helped me overcome my shyness and meet
new fellow cosplayers and friends.” ~Mackie, 16
“Cosplaying helped me gain some friends despite being an Aspie. It
also helped me gain some ideas and creative ways to make a project in
school from the skills I've learned in making my costumes.” ~Claudine,
19
Cosplay do not only helped these young respondents but
also those who are already working or professionals. Most of them
were helped in boosting their self confidence and self esteem.
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 32
“Cosplay helped me developed my social skills, before I used to be
quiet and shy type of person, unsociable, doesn't talk to anyone.”
~Karasu, 20
“Cosplay gave me confidence and helps me build up my self
esteem.” ~Daphne, 20
“Cosplaying helped me as a person in a way that it has helped me
in increasing my self-esteem and even helped me in gaining new
friends. As a professional it helped me in making me more organized
in time and in being careful in paper works and contracts and
organizing.” ~Justine, 24
“As a professional, it helped me build up my self confidence
especially when dealing with people. It also helped me in broadening
my knowledge in arts since cosplay itself is an art.” ~Michelle, 26
The respondents’ answers supported the statements of
Kendra Cherry, a psychology expert, regarding positive
psychology. One major finding in positive psychology is that
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 33
people are generally happy and while happiness is influenced by
genetics, people can learn to be happier by developing optimism,
gratitude, and altruism (Cherry, 2014). Cosplay develops optimism
among the respondents because it helped them boost their self
confidence and their creativity.
The last question I gave to my respondent is, ‘What
have you learned in cosplaying?’ and each gave their answers in
which most of them learned in being creative especially in crafts
and in make-up.
“What I learned is make-up skills and the art of making friends.”
~Daphne, 20
“I learned the value of time, effort, responsibility, sacrifice and
friendship. Through this hobby it broadened my horizons and gave me
experiences that not only helped me improve as an individual, but it
also made me into a better person. It was through this hobby I
realized that hard work is required in order to produce an amazing
output and it is also through dedication that one can achieve higher
heights.” ~Bea, 17
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 34
“Make-ups and wig styling (still practicing) XD and how to
overcome your shyness in public.” ~Mackie, 16
“There are lots of things that I've learned from cosplay one is that I
learn how to be more creative in my costume, another is to be
innovative in making my props and such, also I learned how to
managed my time and to make better and more mature decisions.
Also is learning how to socialize more with people.” ~Justine, 24
“Ohhohohhoho make ups and detailing!!!” ~Karasu, 20
“I learned how to be more creative especially in doing crafts that
would help me in my work. I also learned in socializing with other
people since I’m an introvert when I was a kid. It also helped me in
realizing that as we age, we should learn how to fully enjoy life.”
~Michelle, 26
“I learned how to do make up and crafting and sewing. XD”
~Claudine, 19
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 35
Creativity is an ability to produce something new
through imaginative skill, whether a new solution to a problem, a
new method or device, or a new artistic object or form (Merriam-
Webster, 2014).
Summary and Conclusions
In this study, I found out that cosplay is about self-
expression, art, hobby and dressing up of any characters. That it
could influence people in all types of ages whether you are
studying or working.
By cosplaying, you could develop your self confidence
and artistic side. It discloses lots of your hidden skills,
talents and abilities.
It could also help you in being organized because
cosplay requires time to prepare certain things like costume,
props, music and research in the personality of the character you
are cosplaying.
Cosplay could also means a form of socialization
wherein you could meet fellow cosplayers and form a group that
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 36
shares the same passion as you are. You could develop your social
skills through events.
Recommendation
I have generated some questions as recommendations for
future researches in regards to cosplay.
a. What does non-cosplayer thinks of cosplay?
b. Are cosplayers considered as deviant in the society?
c. What are the reactions of parents where their
children are engaged in cosplaying?
d. How can cosplay benefit a person in a society?
e. How does cosplay cause a psychological impact on
people who are not cosplaying?
Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 37
Chapter IV
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Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 40
Photo citation
Fig. 1. Neliei, Gintoki Gintama. Source: Animepaper.com, 2013.
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Fig. 5. Stillmaza. Iron Man. 2013. Digital image. Source:
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Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 41
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Available from Facebook,
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Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 42
Fig. 11. Orce Jupiter Enano. OC by me. 2014. Digital image.
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Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature 43
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