CONVENTIONS
The concept of bringing everyone who shares a common love for cosplay together is expressed through various conventions that are held throughout the year. These conventions have been going on for a long time and there is even “evidence that the trend of dressing up for conventions started not in Japan, but in the United States, when twenty- two-year-old Forrest J. Ackerman and a friend attended the 1939 Science Fiction Worldcon dressed in futuristic costumes.1 In the 1980s, masquerading and cosplay made a big splash in Japan, garnering much science-fiction media attention”(Conway 14). There are many local conventions as well as international conventions to give cosplayers many chances to show off their current character. Some of the largest and most attended conventions in the United States include Anime Expo, Otakon, Anime Central, and A-Kon. Anime Expo, AX for short, is an annual convention that is held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. “Historically Anime Expo has been held on July 4th weekend as a 4-day event” (Chelsea 4). Currently Anime Expo is the largest anime and manga convention in the United States and is packed with cosplayers and fans of cosplay. The masquerade events are performed here, in which serious cosplayers perform for prizes to display their talent and hard work. Most people who perform here are in character the whole convention even before arriving while still at the hotel! Cosplayers ask that new attendees whether spectators or new members of the community are “friendly and polite to the general public” (Cosplay Magazine). Photography is a big role of cosplay conventions. There are designated photographers who walk around the convention floor and capture all the excitement of the event. In addition to the professional photographers many attendees love to take pictures of one another. When cosplayers pose for photographs they are almost always positioned in a way their character would pose. The pictures taken at the event are usually uploaded to fan-sites such as “cosplay.com”. The websites allow for every member of the cosplay community to get a look at that certain convention if they were unable to attend.