Where did the word “cosplay” come from, and why is it used in place of the word “costume” so frequently? Are they the same thing?
In: Culture
It’s a portmanteau of costume and roleplay.
The original concept was to roleplay as the character rather than just bring yourself in a costume.
But yeah, that meaning has been watered down over time, and these days people use it interchangeably with just costume.
While most westerns use cosplays and costume in the same way, the origins are different. In Japan you not only dress as your favorite character, you behave like them as well – you play them. That’s why it’s a combination of costume and role play.
It comes from Japanese, who have a habit of shortening and connecting two words together – in this case costume + play -> cosplay.
Cosplay is simply the combination of costume and play.
A costume is simply dressing up as something you are not. Cosplay adds specificity and fandom.
Put on a cape and a shirt with an S on it, and you are Superman. That’s a costume. Accuracy isn’t super important, so long as you have the elements required for people to recognize you as Superman. You might not have any strong feelings about Superman, you are just dressing up because it is Halloween.
Dressing up as the George Reeve’s Superman, season 3 when they went to color and had to redo all the wardrobes, that’s cosplay. You don’t just want people to say “hey, your Superman”, you want to dress up as a particular incarnation of Superman to impress other fans.
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