Cosplay and Accuracy

(((I want everyone to understand that I KNOW there are quality cosplayers out there. This is not directed at them.)))

In my travels around the ‘Net, I encounter many cosplayers who obsess and insist on perfect accuracy. Take a gander at the cesspool that is Cosfu to find users viciously bashing others who are even the slightest bit off on the official character designs.

I consider Cosplay to be in its infancy, relatively speaking. I feel that many cosplayers are not seeing the bigger picture, but instead see only that simply painted cell they are trying so hard to emulate.

Anime is simple.

It’s boring. Animators are barely paid enough, and episodes need to be cranked out to feed the family, so characters have simple designs and bright, basic colors. The only time a character might have more detail is in an art book, but not all series have such lavish books.

Cosplay is the art of bringing a character to life, yes? [Yes, it is also “costume play”, but if we are to take that literally, then I know a lot of L cosplayers who are owed an major apology. This is just play, after all.] Let us assume that there is to be more to cosplay than just playing around. We want to take 2D, flat characters and bring them into out world. We want to be photographed, to be known, to make friends, and have a damn good time. So let us treat cosplay as something to be taken seriously.

Look at movies that are adapted from graphic novels, and you’ll see the artistic choices that the costume designers make. They don’t strive for perfect accuracy. In fact, far from it - they take that design and -translate it- onto film. Take Wolverine - that aqua and banana getup would look silly in a film, so the designers for the X-Men films designed a darker, more serious outfit that kept his silhouette and but still felt like something a superhero would wear.



For costumes that don’t take such a drastic step away from the original design, look at Dark Knight. The Joker doesn’t have a grape-syrup coat and grass green hair, but instead much more muted tones. Some of the comic designs for Batman are quite plain, but in the films there is plenty to look at.



What works on the printed page or in anime does not always work in life.
Costumers and artists know this.
Cosplayers don’t.

I see a lot of cosplays with costumes taken directly from the anime - and it looks silly, awkward, and boring! Proportions of pieces, accessories, or props may not look right on an actual human being. Cosplayers are so focused on that “100% Accurate” label that they don’t even take a step back to realize that they look like a clown! I’ll say it again: What works on the printed page or in anime does not always work in life.

I hope that cosplay will start to take a turn for the better - that cosplayers will start to look at characters with a more critical eye and translate from screen to “stage”. The real art of cosplay is taking that character and making it so real, so life-like, so “in place”, that people stop and stare as if they have seen their favorite celebrity and are dying for an autograph. An Alucard in a big floppy hat and a firetruck-red coat will make me giggle, but an Alucard in distressed leather boots, a dark, deep red or maroon billowing coat, kidskin gloves, and fitted vest with Romanian silver buttons will make me melt…and perhaps even shiver in fear (or adoration). Who cares if you decide to add a few more straps, a few extra seams on the vest, silver buttons, spurs, a few more belts, some fancy holsters, and leave the godawful hat at home?! If it looks good, if it looks quality, and if it could pass in a blockbuster film, then it’s successful. It’s good, thought-out, artistic, educated cosplay.

Alucard: Laughable VS Serious and effective

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