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Cosplay is a word that was coined from costume and play. It is an art just like music; dance and acting, where artists called cosplayers perform before an audience on a stage. The concept of their performance is a popular fiction or animation series and these cosplayers dress up like the lead actors of this series. This beautiful art originated in Japan and eventually popularized all over the world. The inspiration for Cosplay is drawn from ancient anime and manga series, Taiwanese puppet characters, fictional and graphic comics, novels and movies, Hentai and also mythological series. Cosplay culture is prevalent in different parts of the world in different formats. Competitions and conventions happen throughout the year in various regions.

Outside Japan, Australia is another country which broadcasts the Cosplay culture widely. Annual competitions and fests happen in all major cities of Australia in different levels. Qualifying rounds start before months of the finals and happen in different phases. The whole country prepares with great enthusiasm to witness the extravaganza. Budding artists and Cosplay veterans flock the continent from all corners of the world just to display their talent and enjoy the performances of their peers. Fans also eagerly await all their favorite performances from world class cosplayers. Cosplay competitions are judged by both expert judges and the audience. Fans are allowed to vote for their favorite choice of Cosplay artist and these winners become world famous celebrities overnight. They become popular enough to perform in many countries and eventually judge such Cosplay contests.

The place where Cosplay is performed is decided by various factors. A country’s culture and tradition plays an important role in deciding the practice of the Cosplay culture. Sometimes Cosplay characters are derived from the country’s ancient mythology and epics. This is well received in enjoyed everywhere are the performances educate youngsters about the beliefs and traditions of their ancestors. Children enjoy cosplayers who portray roles from popular animation and comic series. This instantly attracts them and the whole hall is packed with kids. Some organization protest the display of the hentai Cosplay culture citing reasons that it portrays objectionable matter. But these controversies have not wiped out this cult and youngsters still enjoy hentai Cosplay performances.

Cosplay is an excellent portrayal of popular animation, fiction and mythological series in a format we all can understand and relate to. It has evolved greatly and will evolve even more within years.

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Cosplay is short for ‘costume play’. As the name signifies it is a costume based performance art where actors play the role of a particular character by wearing the signature costume and accessories. This culture originated in Japan but has gained immense popularity all over the world nowadays. The ideas of characters are mainly derived from animation, fictional novels and movies, manga, tokusatsu, comic books, hentai and video games. The talent of a Cosplay artist lies in his perfection of adapting the character’s mannerisms and in trying to imitate it to the tee by wearing the exact same clothes.

The advancement of technology is one of the main reasons for the wide spread popularity of Cosplay. People can easily access and know about the new anime and cartoon characters and the place they can buy Cosplay goods. The Cosplay artists commonly called cosplayers have numerous forums to discuss and organize events and have created a culture and league of their own. One such destination which has an active Cosplay culture is Australia. Annual competitions, events and meetings have Cosplay fans pouring in from all corners.

Supanova is the annual culture extravaganza which happens every year in different cities of Australia and is scheduled for June 18-20, 2010 in Sydney. It has a dedicated team and a fan base for Cosplay. The Madman Cosplay competition has numerous amateurs and also Cosplay veterans hitting the stage with comedy skits and signature performances. It is open for both individual artists and groups. Prizes for this contest are very valuable coupons and vouchers for buying goods at the Madman online store. This store is one of the largest Cosplay costume and accessories selling places in the world. You are required to do an advance booking both for participation and also enjoying the show as audience. This will ensure the availability of seats and you will not miss even a single act.

The Madman National Cosplay Competition is a separate entity of its own. Qualifying and final rounds are conducted in different places of Australia. The finals will be conducted in a special location and winners will get a fabulous trip to the birth place of Cosplay, Japan as their prize. Cosplay is an excellent performance art and it inspires thousands of potential cosplayers and artists from all over the world. Australia is the hot spot of the Cosplay art and culture and the annual conventions should not be missed.

The term ‘Cosplay’ has metamorphosed into Cosplay competition where participants act out a particular character usually taken from some popular Japanese fiction. These participants actually wear costumes and various accessories associated with or worm by the characters. Some of the fictions from which these characters are drawn include anime, manga, video games, hentai, tokusatsu as well as comic books. The term ‘cosplay’ is credited to Nobuyuki Takahashi who got the inspiration while he was attending the 1984Los Angeles Science Fiction, WorldCon.

Inasmuch as the term cosplay is a Japanese creation, the practice itself is quite steeped in American culture. Cosplay is an extension of the comparative long standing practice of costuming in America and Europe. The characterization is drawn in this case from famous movies such as Dr. Who, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek and The Lord of the Rings. The popularity of the Japanese animes have also had an effect on the American cosplay practice such that it is now common to see characterization of Japanese fiction on American cosplay competition. Conversely, in Asia, there has been a gradual infusion of western characterization in the cosplay events. This is no doubt a direct result of the success and popularity of fantasy and science fiction movies like The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter and Star Wars. It is therefore becoming quite common to see characters from these movies in Asian cosplay competition.

Cosplay competition has certain rules although some may be peculiar to specific competitions. One of the rules that cut across the board is that regarding the use of other people’s photos. Of course, one of the biggest attractions of any cosplay competition is taking pictures but then third party rights also apply although nothing prevents anyone from using personal recordings.

Some of the laws that may apply in a cosplay event include the following:

1. Time Limit on Performances: Considering the fact that there are a number of acts, there has to be time caps on performances. Individual, two or three person acts could attract time limits of three and four minutes respectively.
2. Cosplayers have to provide the organizers of the competition with a storyboard of their act for assessment of its ability to captivate the audience. This of course is to ensure that all boring acts are weeded out early enough and those that make it to the final stage are very exciting.
3. Visitors are permitted to take pictures if the cosplay competition. The one exception to this permission is the use of flash photography.

Outside the competitions, the cosplayers have also gotten the opportunity to bond with each other and share ideas online via forums and social networks. Sharing tips and other resources has also helped spread the culture. In Hong Kong, there are quite a number of activities dedicated to this culture such as:

-          Rainbow Gala

-          Comic World HK

-          Asian Game Show

-          Photography oriented events organized privately in locations like the popular Tai Po Waterfront and Kowloon Park.