Born from large gatherings and events full of fanatical anime fans, cosplay has become an international hobby with thousands of followers mangakakalot
. As anime has grown in popularity in the past two decades so has the hobby of cosplay. Cosplay is derived from the English words “costume” and “play” and is used to describe the hobby of crafting highly detailed and accurate costumes of beloved anime and manga characters.
In the recent years, largely from 1998 and beyond the amount of public acceptance of cosplay has increased. Today cosplay is a popular scene in public settings such as parties, nightclubs and video game shows. In some parts of Japan such as the Akihabara district there are even cosplay cafes.
Many anime events hold contests where the accuracy and attention to detail on a cosplay costume are judged based on their true depiction of the character they were designed after. This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of cosplay. The attention to detail and accuracy of a cosplay costume is the defining element of it. In this way, a players hair and skin are considered part of the costume itself and should resemble that of the character they are depicting.
Employing a variety of craft skills and art forms, cosplay costumes are commonly elaborate and may utilize a wide array of materials. Getting precise and accurate textures and materials is highly important to obtaining the most accurate costumes possible. For this reason, metalworking, leatherworking and a variety of trade skills may be required to guarantee the utmost quality of a cosplay costume.
Cosplay costume trends are always changing. On a yearly and monthly basis, depending on what anime, movies and video games are currently popular, the characters of cosplay change. In the past years even some non-anime characters have become popular cosplay choices. Harry Potter and Star Wars are common choices for non-anime character costumes.
Evolving from within the hobby of cosplay itself are some subset groups of enthusiasts who have taken cosplay in new directions. Crossplay for example is a type of cosplay where the players themselves dress up as characters of the opposite sex. However since anime tends to feature characters wearing a variety of unique and not necessarily gender-specific clothing, this is not seen as all that odd.
Cosplay has grown so much in popularity that in its modern incarnation, cosplay has magazines and websites devoted to it. These resources feature detailed instructions on costume making and materials as well as images of costumes from past conventions. Conventions routinely allow “cameko” or “camera boy” photographers who dedicate themselves to photographing cosplay events. You are probably thinking, “Yeah right, the last thing I want to do after a long night of homework is pick up a book and read some more. ” After all, you probably do enough reading for English class as it is. But, recently the teen literary market has taken off, evidencing an explosion in popularity of teen novels. It is pretty hard to go anywhere now without hearing a reference to the Twilight series.
In fact, a health rivalry has developed among the fans of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire novels and followers of the similarly fanciful Harry Potter series. Fantasy novels like the Twilight and Harry Potter series are just one option among many in terms of the subject matter out there. You may not have realized it, but Gossip Girl was a series of novels long before it was a hit Tv show. Actually, many of your favorite movies were based on books which were popular long before they were movies.
Some examples of teen novels which recently made the book to movie transition include: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (part of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia), I love You, Beth Cooper, The Vampire’s Assistant, and Tim Burton’s latest, Alice in Wonderland.
All of these novels reflect trends in teen reading. Some of the most popular books right now aren’t the boring books from your parents’ generation you might be picturing. Because of the recent success of various teen serious, there are many options available beyond so-called classic literature.
Graphic or manga novels are a less traditional reading choice. First popularized in Japan, graphic novels have transitioned to the united states and are a sort of novel-comic book hybrid. Graphic novels contain both an exciting visual and written storyline.
As mentioned, many teen novels are series. These can be a fun choice because over time you get to know the characters and the story lines develop further from book to book. The first book will introduce you to the characters, and as the series continues you will learn more about their lives, the story line will build with time, creating excitement and suspense as you wait for the final outcome. A series can be as engaging as the daily drama at your high school or junior high.
The most important thing when choosing a book is to choose one that interests you. Whatever your interests are, it’s likely that there’s a book to match. You can find a book you like in a variety of ways. There are dozens of suggested reading list on numerous websites. Amazon. com offers a feature for each book it sells where customers can provide their own reviews about the book. This can be a great way to see what other “real” people thought about the book you’re considering.
mike