“Cosplay is the art of dressing up as a character from anything,” said junior Sabrina Scarborough. “It’s fun and [you] get to make a lot of friends.”

Cosplay is a combination of the words “costume” and “play.” According to Stacey Lee Feldmann, the term was first used in 1984 by Nobuyuki Takahashi in a magazine article about the WorldCon in L.A. Feldmann writes that “[Takahashi] first coined the word ‘cosplay’ to describe what he saw going on at WorldCon — people wearing costumes in the hall, and a stage masquerade featuring the biggest and brightest of the costumes of the weekend.”

Probably the most popular convention to go to is Comic-Con International: San Diego (CCI). CCI started small, only lasting one day and having about 100 attendees, but now over 100,000 people visit San Diego for the four-day convention, including the satellite locations at local parks and hotels.

Also a four-day event, Anime Expo (AX) takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center. According to their website, AX is currently the “largest anime and manga convention in North America.”

Sophomore Nicole Svare has been to AX. Last year she went as John Egbert, a character from a webcomic called Homestuck. She was there with a group of friends who were also from the same comic. Even though Homestuck is not a manga or anime, there was a gathering at the convention.

“I was able to see and meet a lot of people who I connected with,” Svare said. “It was really great knowing that other people recognized me for my cosplay and that they shared the same interests as me.”

On the second day of AX, Svare participated in a Homestuck panel where she represented John. There were many cosplayers, each representing one character from the series. People from the audience asked questions.

“In the beginning, I was really nervous,” Svare said. “However, towards the end, I warmed up and was able to have fun with the rest of my friends there.”

Svare said that the best thing about AX is the exhibit hall which has an array of vendors selling posters, DVDs, artwork and outfits. During her visit, she stayed in the hall for an entire day. “The environment is really different and gives off a unique, vibrant feeling that can only be experienced in conventions,” she said. “The four days spend [there] take up a lot of energy but the memories — and merchandise — are completely worth it.”

Cosplaying since the summer before freshman year, Scarborough has been to her fair share of gatherings and conventions. She tries to go to a gathering every other week and a con every other month. She has seven different cosplays completed and is currently working on a Gijinka Charizard, or a human version of Charizard.

So far, she only has the pants and is going to make the tail and wings from scratch, which will take about a month. “The wings and tail will most likely be made out of felt,” Scarborough said. “The wings will have a harness built into the jacket out of metal wiring and the inside of the wings will most likely have mesh or something similar to keep their shape.”

Despite the amount of work being put into her Charizard cosplay, Scarborough’s favorite would be Italy from the anime Hetalia because he’s “cutsie” and “fun.”

Junior Ainsley Dye also cosplays and goes to gatherings, but not as frequently as Scarborough. Dye said that she cosplays as a way to “show your love for something” and because “it’s a creative outlet.”

Her favorite cosplay is Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim vs the World. A lot of hard work was put into making the cosplay. She bought the bag online, dyed the dress, cut and styled the wig, and made the mallet, the head being made out of styrofoam, paper mache, which she then painted gray. Then a long wooden rod was attached to make the handle. She started in late September and finished it by Halloween.

“There’s a really great sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a cosplay and being able to put it on and marvel at all the hard work you put in to it,” Dye said. “It’s very rewarding.”

When out in full cosplay, Scarborough said she sometimes gets strange looks from people passing by, “most of them in confusion and curiosity.” Dye had a similar experience when in a human Wheatley cosplay with a group. “Someone had asked me if I was in a play,” she said.

“I would recommend cosplay to people who want to be different,” Scarborough said.