I have a confession to make. I… am a nerd. I read all the comics, manga, and books I can get my hands on, play at least two to three hours of video games a week, and watch animated entertainment much more often than live-action ones. But with that being said… I love it. The ideas and themes behind a lot of my favorite things, from BIONICLE to TRON, have had a big part in shaping who I am as a person and continue to do so as I grow older.

And looking back on my track record, of course it would follow that I’m into cosplay as well.For those who are unaware, “cosplay” is a conjunction of the words “costume” and “play” and entails people dressing up in costumes as characters from their favorite mediums and playing out the role in character. The term and hobby as we know them today began to take form in Japan in the early 1980s when college students started to dress up as characters from manga and anime to conventions, something that’s in abundance in the Land of the Rising Sun. It wasn’t long until the term made its way to the

West a mere decade later in the 1990s where science-fiction conventions and the like were seeing a steady rise in popularity.

Nowadays cosplay is just another facet of geek culture, complete with its own celebrities and avid fans, meaning that it’s no longer just a Japanese past-time. Now it’s a worldwide hobby. Just look at the biggest geek convention in the world, San Diego Comic-Con, and you’ll see what I mean. People come from all over the world to attend, and there’s hardly anyone (save the staff and security guards) who isn’t in costume. Look around long enough and you’ll see everyone from the Joker (above) to Hatsune Miku and friends (below) represented to some degree. And it’s not just at the big conventions either! Smaller gatherings have their share of surprises as well. You’ll see everything from people in store-bought costumes to others who have put more than one-hundred hours of their lives into their creations. Movie panels, celebrity interviews, artist signings, cosplay exhibitions…. It’s nerd heaven to be in a place like this.

But what is it about cosplay that makes people spend their precious time putting together a costume they might only wear once in front of complete strangers? What’s the appeal of dressing up like someone (or something) that doesn’t exist? The answer? It’s the community.

Speaking from personal experience, I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, and the “friends” I did have weren’t really right for me. I was a lonely, sensitive, and really introverted kid, not really going along with the popular trends of the time and yet unsure of what I really liked. And the things I did like seemed like I was the only person I knew who liked them at all. It wasn’t really until high school that I began to find my people and define myself, as well as rekindle my interest in geek culture. I don’t remember how I first heard of it, but I really wanted to give cosplay a try. I had always looked forward to Halloween (and still do), so pretending to be someone else while simultaneously express my love for said character was intoxicating to me. And I’m not the only one.

Over the time that I continued to cosplay and make new friends, I realized that a lot of people were the same way. Many of these people had been in similar predicaments, but just as many had been social butterflies growing up. The point was that we were all coming together through a mutual interest, despite what differences we may have. I hadn’t expected that level of understanding and enthusiasm from people who I thought just dressed up for the hell of it at my first convention. I learned these were people like me who not only liked a lot of the same stuff, but were also on my own wavelength, people I could just as easily have a beer with late on a Saturday night as work alongside on an elaborate suit of armor for the next convention. That’s how friendships are born, and that’s why I love it.

So aside from a bit of trivia knowledge on cosplay history, what’s the take-away here? One is that cosplay is a fascinating facet of popular culture for those willing to invest some time. Another is that, like anything, it’s a community of like-minded people coming together to show off what we’ve done. (The spotlight is nice, but that’s not why we do this). The last thing is that cosplay is so much more than just dressing up; it’s embodying ideals that mean something to you, the dedication and work put in to make that costume as accurate as possible, and the fun to be had with others who love to do the same. By expressing what we love, we express ourselves, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Now if you’ll excuse me, Heroes & Horror III is right around the corner and I still have props to make!