Dress up the essences: experiences of cosplayers in Córdoba

Abstract

This paper analyses the experiences of young people that used to attend events aimed to Japanese
pop culture fans between 2009 and 2013 in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, doing cosplay, that is,
dressing up like characters from Japanese comics (manga) and Japanese animation (anime). Using
concepts from performance studies (Schechner, 2000a, 2000b, 2011) and works that approach the
passionate practices of fans and amateurs from different perspectives (Azuma, 2009; Benzecry, 2012;
Cavicchi, 1998; Lourenço, 2009; Winge, 2006), I describe the preparation process of the cosplays, the
senses embedded in the relations between the persons and the characters played, and the emotions
involved in body materialization through costume making.