Fandoms Unite

Misa On Wheels once said, ~Cosplay is not a contest of who can be the "best" of a certain character. Cosplay is a collaboration of those who have the most fun celebrating that character.~ Without a doubt, experiencing for yourself the crazy and not to mention awe inspiring spectacle of countless individuals at a convention or often referred to as a con dressed as their favorite characters from either tv, movies, music sports, manga, or whatever the case may be is truly an experience in itself. Yet, it's one thing to go and just merely witness the extravaganza to where one engages with a cosplayer for a picture; but to actually take part in it by dressing up is a level of commitment and creative preparation that most definitely shows how consistently dedicated a guy/girl is for only a couple days of tremendous fun.

Let me ask you this question to those who dressed up in cosplay for the very first time at a convention/con, do you remember the fictional or nonfictional character you went as? Thinking about it further, everybody remembers their first time regarding who he/she cosplayed as and depending on the level of detail and effort put in it gives a cosplayer an added boost of confidence, especially when any sort of reaction from one's fellow geeks, as well as nerds is given/directed his/her/their way. For there's certainly a sense of accomplished relief indeed when all the frustration, stress, set-backs, anxiety, anger, worrying, disappointments, etc. all go away once it all comes together to the point where you've been happily and excitedly recognized as the character itself by either a fellow cosplayer or by someone just attending who is not in costume.

As I said before, it's one thing to go and just merely witness the extravaganza to where one engages with a cosplayer for a picture; but to actually take part in it by dressing up is a level of commitment and creative preparation that most definitely shows how consistently dedicated a guy/girl is for only a couple days of tremendous fun. True, you as a person are totally unrecognizable since nobody really knows who you are unless you've attended so many times that a following has been established via social media. In other words, you have absolute anonymity to act how you want in character within reason of course. Essentially, each one of us are given the opportunity to step outside of our normal and oftentimes hectic lives for a few days to be someone other than ourselves with complete strangers who are doing the same thing so much so, you may possibly end up becoming friends.

If you think about it, it's not just the awesome costumes that make a con such an incredible experience. That's just the tip of the iceberg as there are also other events that involve cosplayers to participate in, the music headliners, all the merchandise to potentially purchase, and most of all the celebrity appearances that many cosplayers look forward to year round. In addition to the celebrity appearances in which you get to interact personally at their table there's also the Q&A(question and answer) panels at designated locations around the con area where he/she/they speak at providing information/funny stories known or unknown to we the fans that patiently wait in line to be seated for it. Let me tell you something, you never really know how a celebrity meeting that you've anxiously waited for will turn out and once it happens to you personally I hope it turns out absolutely memorable in more ways than one.

In retrospect, cosplaying as your favorite character can be absolutely rewarding and whether you go to the same con every year or different ones around the United States your overall experience with each one you go to will be different. Granted,it does physically take its toll as it drains the energy from you near the end of it but you would gladly do it all over again even with the body pain. However, a few things as it pertains to cosplay we would gladly not want to ever deal with are phantom wig heads, costume tears, broken props, foul odors related to people, long lines to wait in, handsy people who don't understand personal space, etc. Ultimately, when you go to a con dressed in cosplay you're proudly displaying your geek/nerd card without any judgment whatsoever. In the end, it's when fandoms unite for a common purpose of having fun instead of bashing each other online then the atmosphere itself becomes much more enjoyable.