Not being an anime fan, I was wondering if this cosplay is a sexual thing or is it just dressing up for fun? Or a little bit of both? (I have heard tell of all the BDSM parties at sci-fi conventions.)

There were even some hands on workshops, including one where we learned how to make cat ears.

I'm picturing a bunch of geeky people sitting around with construction paper and scissors. Am I close?

Pup, felt and fur.
≡ Click to see image ≡

Well, at least I got the geeky part right!

Not being an anime fan, I was wondering if this cosplay is a sexual thing or is it just dressing up for fun? Or a little bit of both? (I have heard tell of all the BDSM parties at sci-fi conventions.)

Mats, I really don't think so, at least not for the vast majority of us fans. Of course, I'd defer to Trishalynn for the final word on all matters of anime fandom.

I think the bulk of the appeal lies in two things:
1) dressing up is fun
2) it's exciting to see something that should not exist in the physical world come to life.

One of the things that makes me love anime is the fact that great care is put into illustrating the most mundane of objects in the character's environments. For instance, I reacall a shot in one series where the character is sitting at her desk. You can see that her computer is a charcoal Mac G4, running OSX Jaguar, and there is a haphazard stack of upside down burned cds sitting next to her mouse. In western television, animated and live action, these little details, which make the environments regognizable and personal are cleaned up and idealized. Seeing the process work in reverse is a real thrill.

As an urban planner, I've been really enjoying watching anime shows with an eye for urban infrastructure. Pedestrian amenities such as planter boxes, paving details and bollards are replicated with remarkable accuracy. Also, large retaining walls make an apperance in nearly every anime I've ever seen.

I consider this an embrace and celebration of all the little details and everyday wonders of urban life, a subject that doesn't get the respect it deserves.

Those cat ears are great, pie!

Not being an anime fan, I was wondering if this cosplay is a sexual thing or is it just dressing up for fun? Or a little bit of both? (I have heard tell of all the BDSM parties at sci-fi conventions.) - matildaben

In the U.S., it started out as a dressing up for fun thing. People like these characters so much that they want to wear the cool clothing they do, so they started to put costumes together like you would on Halloween, except this was for conventions. (BTW, the first convention that could be considered exclusive to anime was Anime East in 1991.)

Any guy who could put together a decent costume got a lot of accolades. However, any girl who could put together a decent costume was not only getting accolades, she was also mobbed by the pathetically single guys who thought they could score with her and impress her with the amplitude of his geekiness. There are tons of places where it's very dangerous to be a girl geek, and the anime conventions of the early 1990s is one such place.

So the girls who wore the best costumes also sometimes wore the skimpiest costumes, and got loads of attention. As anime fandom changed, the kinds of girls who got into it changed also. Now, you've got high school and early college aged girls who think nothing of slapping together Goth Topic gear for the raves so they can get hot and sweaty while dancing with other guys as well as those same girls who try and cosplay the skimpiest and most revealing costumes possible so they can get all the attention from the boys and lord it over the other less thin and pretty girls.

I'm not sure how it is for guys because their costumes are not as sexualized as the female costumes are. However, I will say that some guys are just as guilty as pandering to slavering female requests and it's not always about the love of costuming. (Yeah, it's time to break out the Man-Faye. Hot stuff.)

However, you do have some people who cosplay for the love of the work in costuming. One gal I know recently auditioned to be a costumes person for Cirque Du Soleil and I think she's one of the final applicants, and another is a costume mistress for the Venetian casino in Las Vegas.

Um... does that make sense?

Trish, I was really amazed at the explosion in popularity of yaoi among high school girls. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (I thought Toya and Yukito were cute)

BTW, where would you place Sailor Bubba on the continuum?

For eveyone else who hasn't heard of yaoi...

Oddly I respect Sailor Bubba more than I do Man Faye because SB actually made other costumes. He's not a one-trick ass pony the way MF is.

Oh, and not to self-link, but check the Anime Con personality list for 2003. ^_^

Self linking is sort of encouraged here.

I should encourage LF's anime penchant into cosplay...

I found a photoset from the con by a real photographer, so if you really want to see the best of the best, check it out!