CREDIT: COSPLAYPHOTOGRAPHERS
Enter the world of cosplay, where anything is possible.

You may recognize anime as a style of animation you have seen in cartoons on television as a child. It is characterized by colourful images, vibrant characters and surreal themes. Despite what many people may think, this animation style originating from Japan can be suitable for people of all ages, and it's steadily gaining in popularity in North America.

While Disney's famous Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs might have inspired Japanese animators, anime definitely stands as a genre and classification of its own. It has gained a large fan base who are loyal not only to the anime style but to specific shows and genres. The international fandom is only continuing to grow and become more widely known and accepted in North American culture, yet sometimes the lengths that fans go out of dedication can still be astounding.

There are many types of enthusiasts and an otaku is commonly thought of as the stereotypical nerd who hoards anime merchandise and lacks social skills — a social recluse. Yet there is so much more that people might not understand and respect about anime enthusiasts in particular and how they display their affection.

One such form of anime appreciation is cosplaying. Cosplay is the art of taking an animated character and bringing it to life. A cosplayer will choose a character and mimic everything from his appearance to his behaviour. Cosplaying has become an outlet for people to demonstrate their enthusiasm and passion towards anime and Japanese popular culture.

An example of the appreciation for cosplaying is the group Coshalfnaked. Coshalfnaked was founded in 2013 at Con-G (an anime convention in Guelph) by a trio of young men. Each takes on a specific archetype known in anime by staying physically fit and mixing make-up and costumes; Grey becomes the “cool” and “quiet” character, Bdawg portrays an “angry” or “kind senpai” (an older role model) while Ooki is responsible for the “shota” (child-like) or “megane” (glasses-wearing) character.

Coshalfnaked member Grey first started cosplaying after a friend introduced him to the whole process, finding he enjoyed the constructing, building and portraying the characters, along with the photoshoots. Cosplay requires a great deal of time and commitment, especially when it comes to dedicated cosplayers, something that people outside of the cosplaying world might not understand.

One thing Grey urged was for everyone to give anime and cosplaying a chance. “There are many anime shows that are extremely well written and [that] have dramatic storylines [that] rival full-featured films. Cosplaying is fun and allows you to express your creative side and open yourself up to becoming different characters.”

For the Coshalfnaked members, cosplaying allows them to enjoy themselves and explore various creative outlets and create alter egos.

“Cosplaying isn't only for people into Japanese animation. If you love games, comics, sci-fi, horror and other movies, you can dress up. That is what cosplay is all about — dressing up as whoever you want to be,” Ooki said.

“The traditional notion of which group[s] of people cosplay really need[s] to be re-evaluated ... The media may place emphasis on ‘nerds' and ‘geeks' as the type to dress up, but the fact is, within the crowd, I've met [people of all types] who easily defy this ‘traditional category.'”

For many, cosplaying is a combination of various forms of craftmanship and dedication, and brings together vastly different people who are united through their love for anime and cosplaying.