Myingthungo Shitio Dimapur | February 1 For those who are unfamiliar to the much happening subculture called ‘Cosplay’, it is the “practice of dressing up as a character from a film, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga or anime.” [caption id="attachment_247137" align="alignnone" width="245"]Cosplayers in Nagaland ready to take it to the next level
Yim ya Lkr as Kabuto from 'Nauto'. (Photo Courtesy/Hopong Chang)[/caption]
The word ‘Cosplay’ comes from the trend of contracting words and in this case, those words would be 'costume' and 'play'. Cosplay in simple words is dressing up as a fictional character and role-playing as that Character.
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Chuimei Lungleng as Sengoku Musou by Goose Perspective.[/caption]
In Nagaland, Cosplay is now taking baby steps and it is not surprising that many are unaware and foreign to one of the best in custom play episodes in the globe. Nevertheless, the number of Cosplay fans is on the rise and Nagaland has its own Cosplayers.
A Cosplayer is an artist. It takes a lot of effort and skills to get the details of one's costume to make it look like the original character. Cosplayers in Nagaland make it happen with the limited resources they have. Props are built with common materials like wood, paper, cardboard, glue, paint etc. Despite this cosplayers show real creativity while making their costumes.
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Amanda Verma as Asui Tsuyu from 'My Hero Academy'.[/caption]
An etiquette that people should inculcate while attending a Cosplay event is, respecting a cosplayer’s costume. Discouraging them by passing comments on the inaccuracy of a costume is highly inappropriate.
Cosplay involves sewing, prop making, sculpting, modeling, photography, hair and makeup.
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Akhum Thonger as CaptainMayuri from 'Bleach'. (Photo Courtesy/Hopong Chang)[/caption]
Cosplay is an art and is a sort of escapism that takes people engaged to a place of fantasy that as kids we always dreamed about. Whole communities are building around this hobby. There are grand conventions that are held all around the world to celebrate and showcase this art form. It is a great way to socialize with people of the similar interest. There are accounts of people on the internet who say that they are introverts and cosplay seems to be their preferred method of socializing.
Yim-Ya Lkr, an avid cosplayer said, “I have been into anime since I was a child and dressing up like one of them was one of my desires since childhood. Given the platform of cosplay events in Nagaland, cosplaying has become one of my major hobbies.”
When asked about his thoughts were on the people who were skeptical about this sub culture, Yim responded on a positive note saying, “I haven't come across many people who are really skeptical about cosplay and the trending anime wave in Nagaland. Maybe it is because everyone in my friend circle pretty much watches anime, but in the end, people are people. They have the right to chose and live the way they want, so, if people were being skeptical about cosplay I would respect their opinion, because at the end of the day I too, hate watching Korean movies.”
Another Cosplayer known for his ‘Captain Mayuri’ cosplay from the anime ‘Bleach’ Diplikhum L Thonger said, “I cosplay because I love the art and culture in it.” He also said that he was passionate about Cosplay and when asked if it held any special meaning to him said, “Yes, it does hold a very special place. The smile on a person's face when he/she happens to meet the (anime/marvel/games) characters that they love is the sweetest thing you get to see.”
Amanda Verma, another cosplayer when asked if cosplay had helped her in any way said, “It helped me meet wonderful people, make good friends and gain confidence in myself.” She also added that before she got into cosplay, she had low self-esteem. It is indeed wonderful to see how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, especially n cases like this.
Hotaro Juno is a cosplayer from Arunachal Pradesh. She is representing India in the ‘World Cosplay Summit 2017’. She said, “I cosplay because I love cosplaying!” then, she explained what she meant by ‘cosplay’ saying, “By ‘cosplay’, I mean crafting, making costumes, make up and performing.”
Juno said, “Cosplay might be just a hobby to some but it helped me a lot”. Then she related to us her story of how cosplay helped her saying that, back before she started cosplaying she was an anti social person. People bullied her in hostel, which led her to become an anti social person. She could not communicate with anyone because she was shy and was short tempered. “I literally had people, scared of me during my school days. Most of my relatives treated me like a useless person because I couldn't socialize with them,” she said. She started cosplaying in 2012 with the help of her supportive mom.
Juno said that cosplay could help improve one’s skill in designing, sewing, crafting and much more. “Through cosplay, we can make friends like I did! I will always be thankful to cosplay,” says Juno.
The Nagaland Anime Junkies is the organization that organizes the “Annual NAJ Cosfest' in Nagaland, held during summer in Kohima. Another organization that provides a similar platform is “Basement Empire” who organizes events based on ‘Pop-Culture’, which also includes cosplay events. Basement Empire confirmed that they would be hosting several entertaining events related to Cosplay and Pop-Culture very soon. There are many cosplay enthusiasts in Nagaland and these events provide a great platform for them.
Hopefully this sub culture will be met with positivity and when it fully blooms, will be a colourful addition to our great cultural bouquet.
The writer is currently an intern at The Morung Express.
