Cosplay has appeared in Hong Kong for several years. Different people have different views on cosplayers, some think that they are funny while the others think that they are somewhat "abnormal", but seldom do people pay attention to their reasons behind cosplay, activities and daily life.
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Written by Chloe So
You can be any Japanese manga (comic) characters or fictional characters in the real world as long as you "love" them. You can be Gundam, Sailormoon, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Nana…you name it.
Teenagers in Hong Kong are familiar with, if not fond of things come from Japan, like singers, J-pop and fashion brands. More popular still are the comic books and animations.
Some like them so much that they dedicate their time, money and effort to "cosplay", a portmanteau of English words "costume" and "play", is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu and video games.
It is not something very new, at least in Hong Kong. You can easily see cosplayers hanging around when you are taking a rest in a park, shopping in Mongkok, traveling by MTR and or at any public functions like the Comic World.
Different people would have different feelings and reactions when they see cosplayers. Some may stare at them and think that they are somewhat psychologically abnormal, while some others may simply want to take photos with them of dressed up and acting exactly the same with the characters they know as well.
But rarely do people think about their reasons behind cosplay and how serious they are.
Bleach (named after Japanese manga), is a cosplay event held at Tin Shui Wai on 11 November. The person-in-charge started by posting the details on a forum online.
Ah K answered the call, and participated in the event as the character Ichigo Kurosaki. Ah K has been a cosplayer for almost one year, have started because his friends encouraged him and he really liked it."I love Ichigo because I feel that we are alike. I want not only to dress up and act like the character, but to go deeply into his inner world," said Ah K, who learnt Kendo and temporarily dyed his hair with orange spray to play the character.
He said that there are good and bad cosplayers.
"Good ones are those who really love the characters and understand them well, while the bad ones are those who don't love or even don't understand the characters but just put on the costumes," he explained, criticizing the latter as "clothes racks".
He said he viewed cosplay as a hobby but it was very important to his life and made him happier. He said that he "didn't mix up reality and the fantasy world", though.
Cosplay is not confined by genders. You can be a "crossplayer", which means a cosplayer playing a character of the opposite sex, but you mustlove the character.
Cherry, a Form 7 student participating in the Cosplay Party 2008 held at the University of Hong Kong on 18 November, cosplayed Hayato, a male character in a Japanese comic called Reborn.
When asked how she integrated herself into the character, she said she had bandaged her breasts and got "psychologically prepared to act like a male".
"No matter whether the character is a female or male, as long as you love it, it is not difficult to tune the emotions and devote yourself to the character," she said. "Being loyal to the original story and character is the most important."
"I don't feel uncomfortable because I am contented to put effort to the character. I enjoy the process of preparation and I feel very happy when I am totally dressed up as Hayato,” she said, adding that having photos taken was a way to record the love she had given to the character.
Cherry, who has been a cosplayer for one year and cosplayed about fifteen characters so far, said she didn't cosplay male characters only and her favourite character was Zhen Ji, a female warrior in Dynasty Warriors (Shin SangokumusÅ). She even made the cloths and weapon, which is a flute, for the character.
"I view cosplay as a hobby and part of my life, relieving the pressure studying for the A-level examinations. I think I have already made a good balance [between study and cosplay]. "
Mr Sammy Ho Sai-kin, a psychologist and tutor of psychology at Hong Kong Baptist University, said he cosplay was indeed just hobby.
His view is that cross-dressing cosplayers "are not psychologically abnormal as long as it would not disturb their life" and "they were just finding something they could do well and exciting in ordinary life".
"Teenagers are always asking themselves 'who am I?'. They seek self-affirmation through cosplay. Some of them know consciously that they are seeking their own identity while some do not," he said.
"To them, the stares of others are a kind of reinforcement for self-affirmation, particularly the admiring ones."
Surprisingly, the Japanese view cosplay very differently, if not negatively, though the subculture originated from their own country.
"In Japan, most people think that cosplay is something abnormal. People are not discriminating against them, but they look down on them. For me, I would distance myself from them when I see them, as if I am looking at animals behind a wall in a zoo," said Mr Masato Kajimoto, a Japanese lecturer teaching journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University.
"There are many incidents reported by the media relating to cosplayers, like sexual harassment, kidnapping, murders and rapes. It seems that it is a bad thing in a society."
He compared the cosplayers in Japan with those in Hong Kong. "The Japanese cosplayers treat cosplay as a statement of lifestyle and part of their identity, while those in Hong Kong treat it as a hobby, and the environment is healthy."
"I have got used to the gazes of the others and I don't care about them because I am confident enough. I understand some people may have stereotypes of cosplayers, but it is not what we can control. What I do is to behave myself well and respect my identity when I am cosplaying." Cherry said.
Suki, who has been a cosplayer for a year and attended nine cosplay events so far, dressed up as the character Princess Maleen at the HKU Cosplay Party.
She also runs a cosplay costume-making business on the Internet. She said that playing cosplay and making costumes for customers gives her better time management and financial management skills.
"I am very satisfied because I treat cosplay seriously and I have learnt a lot from it. I have made many friends and I have become more mature by running the business," she said.
"I don't care about other people's gazes because different people have different values. Sometimes, I try to explain the nature of cosplay to my friends, who misunderstand or look down on cosplay and cosplayers. Actually, we cosplayers are just like all of you having hobbies, which can be badminton, stamp-collecting, cooking andso on."When asked how long the cosplayers will continue cosplay, they all said they didn't know and as long as they had the characters they like, they would continue to do so.
Dr Lo Wai-lik, a culture expert, commented that "cosplay was just a hobby and it wouldn't become universal because there were still many hobbies teenagers can choose from," adding that Hong Kong has its own culture.
No matter how the trend of cosplay will go, perhaps next time when we see cosplayers, we would ask ourselves how much do we "love" and devote to our hobbies.
(End)
More photos:
Participants were dressing up and acting as the characters in "Bleach", which was the cosplay event organized by themselves in Tin Shui Wai.
Cosplay is not only the interest of teenagers, partcipants in HKU Cosplay Party are in different walks of life. Henry (right) , the 30-year-old man, started making props and acting characters since he was studying at university.
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