Cosplay has helped a pair of best friends with the same names find new friends, confidence, and passion. Senior TESOL major Kierah Thurgood and freshman ICS major Cyra Olsen became friends while living in their hometowns in Idaho and are continuing to pursue their passion for cosplay on this side of the sea.
Cosplay is a combination of the words costume and play, according to Business Insider. “The best supported origin story on the Internet says that in 1984, Nov Takahashi, founder and writer for the anime publishing company Studio Hard, was sent to Los Angeles to cover the World-Con science fiction convention. He was impressed by the fans’ costumes and the elaborate displays at the masquerade, and when he returned to Japan, he coined the term to describe what he saw.”
Cosplayers translate their love of anime, manga, video game, movie or television show characters into costumes, transforming the wearer into the character.
While some people have misconceptions about cosplayers, Thurgood and Olsen said once you understand cosplay, it is not that different from other hobbies. Thurgood said, “It’s really fun bringing a character to life that you love or a character that you just think looks cool and being that character. It’s kind of like acting.”
Olsen said before she was introduced to anime, she also thought it was weird. She said listening to convention-goers explain why they do it, her perspective changed. She compared it to dressing up on Halloween and having favorite TV show characters, both of which are culturally accepted.
Another misconception, Thurgood said, is that convention-goers are antisocial. “People think that ‘nerds’–whether they’re for comic books or anime–are just weird people who don’t like to socialize. If you’ve ever been to a convention, they socialize until they have to kick you out of the convention center.”
Anime conventions are held periodically and annually. Olsen said, “For the larger conventions such as Comic-Con, they’re just once a year, and it’s a big big thing, drawing hundreds of thousands of people.”
Sophomore Teenie Wang from China said of cosplay, “I think it’s really cool, but I’ve never done it, [but] I went to comicon two years ago in Japan.” Conventions are held all over the world, Wang continued, “There are comicons held in Bejing, Shanghi and Guangzhou.”
Regardless of where it is held, Thurgood said, “The atmosphere at a convention is amazing... Showing off my hard work,” she continued, “That’s where my conceit side comes out. People are like ‘Oh my gosh you look amazing. Can I have a picture?’ So you stop and you’re maybe there for like five minutes or more because people keep coming and you just pose and pose.”
Olsen said it is a “buzzing” atmosphere, and convention-goers routinely compliment cosplayers even if they don’t know each other. “It’s a really nice environment.”
This atmosphere of acceptance draws people who love anime to conventions. Thurgood said it has made her more social and outgoing. She said, “Especially in my younger years, I didn’t really talk to a lot of people. I felt like no one had an interest in what I had to say.”
When Thurgood began going to conventions and doing cosplay, she talked with people who were interested in the same characters and shows as she was. She said, “It just gets you comfortable and happy. Just apply that to real life and life gets better.”
Olsen concurred and said, “People who are there are all usually there for the same thing, which is to find people who will love them and won’t be rude to them or judge them. It’s the love of cosplay that brings them together.”
Thurgood and Olsen agree that among the cosplay community, those who make their own costumes are considered more serious cosplayers.
Thurgood has learned how to sew and build props out of papier–mâché and foam. She said, “[They’re] very real life skill[s] that you can take with you in life.”
Thurgood has been making and wearing costumes since she was 17, and has won a Master Cosplayer award at a convention in 2011. Olsen is relatively new. The Anime Matsuri convention they attended on Nov. 28 in Honolulu was just her third convention. Thurgood has attended 13. Olsen said, “This is my first convention making my own cosplay costume. I’ve been in one other competition and it’s very exciting.”
The process of making a costume begins months in advance. Both Thurgood and Olsen began preparations as soon as they decided they wanted to be characters from the video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
Olsen is dressing up as an Animatronic fox. “He’s one of the more popular animatronics. His name is Foxy. But I’m doing more of a humanoid version, so we’re taking animatronic and making it a little more mixed with human.”
Her costume includes armor, oversized furry fox ears, a tail, and a corset, all of which the two friends have been sewing and crafting for three months.
Thurgood is cosplaying a female version of “the purple guy.” In the video game, the character is always shown in pixelated form. “It’s kind of hectic sometimes, doing it with school,” Olsen described, especially given the time and material constraints that come with being a full-time college student.
In the end, they both agreed it is worth every effort and they want to continue in years to come. Olsen said she has seen families of cosplayers at conventions. The children “get to go see some of their heroes and they love it.”
She said she wants to do such a thing with her future family. “I think that would be something really fun as family time, because [conventions] are on the weekends.”
Thurgood echoed, “I really want to raise my family in costuming, creating, conventions and artistic things.”