Cosplays are back after the big Covid break. Nepal's Otaku Jatra leads the way
Cosplay
Nepal just celebrated its largest, annual comic convention event and its an indication that this is all the world needs to get its zing back in 2022!
Like all comic convention events celebrated all over the world, Nepal celebrated its annual comic con event, Otaku Jatra. It started in 2016 with multi-cultural events around pop culture and has grown to include all elements of pop culture on one platform.
SO, WHAT HAPPENS HERE?
People dress up as their favourite characters and perform role plays at Comic Con venues to feel like a superhero themselves and be among other humans, who dress as other superheroes.The event was held in 3 different stages; one for the Cosplayers, one for the gamers, and one for music and dance performances. Replete with photo booths, KPop performances, face paints and competions, the photos are like a breath of fresh air for the world, as it is still struggling with the Covid crisis.
Here is a look at some of the best Cosplay characters from Otaku Jatra 2022:
1. SINDRAGOSA - THE FROST QUEEN (World of Warcraft)
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2. HIMIKO TOGA (My Hero Academia)
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3. KAKEGURUI- THE COMPULSIVE GAMBLER
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4. THE CLOWN
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5. ELMA AND TOHRU - MANGA
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BUT WHAT IS COSPLAY?
Cosplay is the act of dressing up as a character or a concept, and the people who engage in it regularly are called ‘cosplayers’. Cosplayers occasionally go above and beyond copying the character’s outfits and might also ‘role-play’ as characters, by copying their gestures and mannerisms down to the last detail. Cosplayers achieve their looks through a mixture of costumes, wigs, accessories and props.
WHEN DID IT START?
In the early 15th century, Carnivals and Masquerade Balls in Italy (during the Renaissance era) were events for people to dress up as objects, concepts, famous historical figures, or popular characters from fiction or stage plays. The upper classes held elaborate dances to commemorate it.
Costume parties or fancy-dress parties became famous in the 19thcentury in Britain as people wore national or abstract costumes.
The first chapter of the Science Fiction League outside the USA was formed in Leeds in 1935, the group hosted what is widely regarded as the world’s first science fiction convention, on January 3, 1937 at the Theosophical Hall– which remains at 12 Queen Square. #SciFiDay ? pic.twitter.com/Vo1os5ZOaF
— Leeds Lib Galleries (@LULGalleries) January 2, 2019
Then came the era of fan costuming, and the first people to wear a costume to attend a convention wore science fiction pants. They attended the convention in 1939 dressed in futuristic costumes.
The first #cosplay took place at one of the world's first science fiction conventions, Worldcon I, in 1939: https://t.co/AIJdVdDbBa #history pic.twitter.com/qq3b446qKO
— FanX® Salt Lake Comic Convention™ (@fanxsaltlake) February 23, 2018
The Japanese genres of anime and manga were brought to life in 1984 by the founder of Studio Hard when he attended the 42nd Worldcon in Los Angeles. He was extremely impressed by the masquerade and reported it on “My Anime” and coined the term “kosupure”, from which the term Cosplay has emerged.
After the tradional Science Fiction event, contemporary comic or pop culture conventions followed in, like the San Diego Comic-Con. Nowadays, Marvel and DC Universes are changing cosplays to be more mainstream.
BUT WHY IS EVERYONE OBSESSED WITH COSPLAY?
The opportunity to be creative, to have a camaraderie and the chance to become someone else is enthralling! As people bond with the community over the fantasy creations of the movies, books and anime, it creates a common ground, and makes it such a huge global cultural phenomenon. Remember Cosplay events that the characters of the Big Bang Theory attended?
Top cosplayers like Enji Night, Hana Bunny, or Jessica Nigri have made cosplaying their career. What do they do? They get paid to dress up, attend cons, and even promote brands!
THE MAIN COSPLAY EVENTS IN 2022
1. Manga-Comic-Convention 2022: March 17-20, Germany
2. Supanova Comic-Con & Gaming - Melbourne 2022: March 5-6, Australia
3. AnimeFest: May 20-22, Czech Republic
4. CozXpo: Apr 8-9, UK
5. PopCUlt Anime Con: August 27-28, Boston, US
6. Dragon Con 22: September 1-5, Atlanta, US
7. Comic Con Africa: September 22-25, South Africa
Have you been to a Comic Con festival?