(LEFT) Kekhiideno Richa, who was adjudged the winner of the Cosplay contest at Nagaland’s first Anime Cosfest in Kohima on June 29. (Right) Participants of Nagaland’s first Anime Cosfest in Kohima. (Photos Courtesy: Menuolhoulie Kire)
Kohima, June 29 (MExN): An alternative reality provides individuals an escape from the mundane routine of conformity. It further allows them to express an innate affiliation to some personae that would seem odd or strange to most people. Hundreds of people gathered today in Kohima to portray their alter egos in Nagaland’s first Anime Cos fest. It was held today at The Heritage, Old DC Bungalow, Kohima.
Organised by the Nagaland Anime Junkies the festival saw more than 500 Anime, Manga and other comic lovers from Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh participate in the daylong event. The main highlight of the event saw Anime lovers ‘cosplaying’ their favorite anime characters like Naruto and Uchiko. Anime body art and caricature stalls, Karaoke bars, Instant photo booths and Ichiraku Ramen stalls were the highlights of the day. The Nagaland Anime Junkies (NAJ) was formed in 2011, by Baby Shini Angami; NAJ also has a Facebook group which has 2200+ members monitored by 7 administrators.
Recent years have seen an increase in interest for anime movies and series creating a wave among the young generation. Anime (short for Japanese animēshiyon) is a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes.
Cosplay (kosupure), short for “costume play”, is a type of performance art in which participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea from a work of fiction. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture centered on role play. A broader use of the term cosplay applies to any costumed role play in venues apart from the stage, regardless of the cultural context. Favorite sources include Manga, anime, comic books, video games, and films. Any entity from the real or virtual world that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Inanimate objects are given anthropomorphic forms and it is not unusual to see genders switched, with women playing male roles and vice versa.
