Cosplay from a Psychological Perspective

The cosplay concept has been spreading for the last two decades. The roots of this form of expression are Japanese manga and anime. Manga refers to graphic comics for all audiences and their plots are realistic. In turn, anime is basically the same but animated. The word “cosplay” is the fusion of two English words: “costume” and “play”. This concept arose in the 80s through the diehard followers of manga and anime (“otaku”). It consists of creating a costume, wearing it, and assuming the identity of a fantasy character. Those who do so create communities called fandom. “If I hadn’t…