Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature

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


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.


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.


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


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


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


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


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).


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,


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.

http://www.blogger.com/profile/09662771599489967899


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


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


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)


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


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


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


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


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).


“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

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pleasure#pleasure__3

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/leisure#leisure__3


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


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


“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


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


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


“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


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

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/858623/behaviour

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/340003/life

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/333978/learning


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


“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


“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


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.


“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


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


“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


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


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?


Chapter IV

References

Abdula, M. et. Al. (2014, February 10). Socialization. Retrieved

from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/551773/socializati

on

Cairdiuil. (2011, June 12). Types of Cosplayers. All About Cosplay.

Retrieved from http://cairdiuil-

allaboutcosplay.blogspot.com/2011/06/types-of-

cosplayers.html

Cherry, K. (2014). What is Flow? Understanding the Psychology of Flow.

About. Retrieved from

http://psychology.about.com/od/PositivePsychology/a/flow.htm

Cherry, K. (2014). What Is Positive Psychology? A Brief Overview of the Field of

Positive Psychology. About. Retrieved from

http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsycholog1/a/positi

ve-psychology.htm


Crossman, A. (2014). Collective Behavior. About. Retrieved from

http://sociology.about.com/od/C_Index/g/Collective-

Behavior.htm

Feldmann, S. L. (2010, September). The History of Cosplay. Strange Land

Costuming. Retrieved from

http://www.strangelandcostumes.com/history.html

Jee, Y. (2008, July 3). The Origin of the Word Cosplay. YeinJee’s Asian

Blog. Retrieved from http://yeinjee.com/origin-of-the-

word-cosplay/

Le, L. (2014). Linda ‘Vampy Bit Me’ Le. Mad Catz. Retrieved from

http://madcatz.com/players/linda-vampy-bit-me-le/

LoveToKnow Corp. (2014). Fad. Retrieved from

http://www.yourdictionary.com/fad

Merriam-Webster. (2014). Art. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/art

Merriam-Webster. (2014). Creativity. Retrieved from

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creativity

Merriam-Webster. (2014). Self-expression. Retrieved from

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-expression


Nellis, C. (2014). A definition of fashion. About. Retrieved from

http://fashion.about.com/cs/historycostumes/a/whatisfashion.

htm

Oxfords Dictionaries. (2014). Cosplay. Retrieved from

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_e

nglish/cosplay

Oxfords Dictionaries. (2014). Hobby. Retrieved from

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hobby

Reika. (2012). Reika. Facebook. Retrieved from

www.facebook.com/pages/Reika/

Sarrosa, M. (2010). Myrtle Sarrosa. Facebook. Retrieved from

www.facebook.com/pages/Myrtle-Sarrosa

Tala. (2011, July 19). The 6 Different Types of Cosplays. Tala’s Cosplay

Blog. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=OgBpUy-qkq4

Wong, M. (2013, February 23). Yuegene Fay. HubPages. Retrieved from

http://milkcananime.hubpages.com/hub/yuegene-fay

Yaya Han. (2010). Yaya Han. Facebook. Retrieved from

www.facebook.com/yayacosplay


Photo citation

Fig. 1. Neliei, Gintoki Gintama. Source: Animepaper.com, 2013.

Digital image. Available from Fanpop,

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/gintama/images/22517265/title/g

intoki-photo (Accessed September 16, 2014)

Fig. 2. Faiz Fadhil Al Mukhaini. Gintoki. 2013. Digital image.

Available from Facebook,

https://www.facebook.com/yoshiarukun (Accessed September

16, 2014)

Fig. 3. CraveOnline. Uzumaki Naruto. 2013. Digital image.

Available from Capsule Computers,

http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au (Accessed September 16,

2014)

Fig. 4. Pipedreamergrey. Crossplay:Naruto. 2012. Digital image.

Available from Blogspot,

http://cosgeek.blogspot.com/2012/02/crossplay-naruto.html

(Accessed September 16, 2014)

Fig. 5. Stillmaza. Iron Man. 2013. Digital image. Source:

wallpapers.stillmaza.com (Accessed September 16, 2014)


Fig. 6. Julius Locsin. Iron Man. 2013. Digital image. Available

from Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/julius.locsin.7


Fig. 7. CraveOnline. Edogawa Conan. 2013. Digital image.

Available from MyAnimeList,

http://myanimelist.net/character/1742/Edogawa_Conan


Fig. 8. Michelle Angela Gabion. Detective Conan crossplay. 2013.

Digital image. Available from Facebook,

https://www.facebook.com/Misaigabs (Accessed September 16,

2014)

Fig. 9. Project Pokedex. Marill (Pokemon). 2014. Digital image.

Available from Bulpapedia,

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Marill_(Pok

%C3%A9mon) (Accessed September 16, 2014)

Fig. 10. Erika Elangos. Marill Gajinki cosplay. 2011. Digital image.


https://www.facebook.com/AwesomeAkii (Accessed September

16, 2014)


Fig. 11. Orce Jupiter Enano. OC by me. 2014. Digital image.


https://www.facebook.com/orthii.jupither (Accessed

September 16, 2014)

Fig. 12. Jhomari Nathan Isanan. No title. 2013. Digital image.


https://www.facebook.com/jhomarinathan (Accessed September

16, 2014)

Fig. 13. Yuegene Fay. Shintarou Midorima. 2013. Digital image.

Available from Cosplay Café,

http://www.cosplaycafe.info/2013/04/cosplayer-feature-

yuegene-fay_7090.html (Accessed September 16, 2014)

Fig. 14. Yaya Han. Lulu from Final Fantasy. 2001. Digital image.

Available from Facebook, www.facebook.com/yayacosplay


Fig. 15. Tony Guerrero. Iron Woman. 2013. Digital image.

Available from Comic Vine,

http://www.comicvine.com/videos/lbchc-2013-linda-le-vampy-

bit-me/2300-2432/ (Accessed September 16, 2014)


Fig. 16. Reika. Uta no Prince-sama. 2012. Digital image. Available

from Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/Reika/ (Accessed

September 16, 2014)

Fig. 17. Jesuke. Let the battle begin. 2014. Digital image. Available

from Deviant Art, http://jesuke.deviantart.com/art/Let-the-

battle-begin-441589822 (Accessed September 16, 2014)

Kosupure: Understanding its Meaning and Nature

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