Cosplay: Where innovation meets imagination
Cosplay, once a niche hobby, has now become a global phenomenon, thanks in large part to the digital revolution.

In the age of social media and digital platforms, cosplayers have found themselves at the forefront of a vibrant online community where creativity knows no bounds and boundaries blur between fantasy and reality.

Social media platforms have transformed the cosplay landscape, providing them with a virtual stage to showcase their creations to the world.

From Instagram to TikTok, these platforms have become invaluable tools for connecting with fellow enthusiasts, sharing tips and tutorials, and finding inspiration for new projects.

Cosplayer Yuriko Minami, 26, says: “Social media has certainly helped me share my cosplay journey. Platforms like Instagram allow me to connect with fellow cosplayers from around the world and showcase my work to a wider audience.

Yuriko, in her Miyazano attire from the romantic drama manga series Your Lie In April, says that every April, fans would revisit the series, bringing the characters back into the spotlight. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star

“I find that my Instagram followers are the real deal, they really care about my work, faithfully follow me, and share photos, reels and stories with others. TikTok, on the other hand, is just full of people who scroll and don’t really make any personal connection with you. Nonetheless, it is great for making things go viral!”

Yuriko, who began cosplaying when she was 14, has over 7,000 followers on Instagram and over 29,2000 followers on TikTok. One of the fascinating aspects of Yuriko is her role as an ice skater; in fact, her primary occupation is ice skating coach!

So instead of merely cosplaying or just skating, Yuriko had a revelation one day: why not merge both passions into one endeavour? This has become a unique feature of Yuriko, which she often explores during Cosplay On Ice events.

“In 2022, a video of me went viral, and suddenly I had two million likes on TikTok,” Yuriko reflects on the power of social media to generate publicity effortlessly. “People from Indonesia and Japan began sharing the video on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.”

Cosplayer Luna Lorrain agrees with Yuriko, saying that social media has been instrumental in her cosplay journey, serving as both a showcase for her work and a bridge to the cosplay and Animation, Comics and Games (ACG) communities.

“Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) have transformed how I create, share and engage with fans, fostering deep connections over our shared passions. More than just a platform for display, social media has enabled fans to guide my choices – meaning they are now able to suggest characters, point out trends and offer feedback.

“This collaborative dynamic enriches my experience and keeps me in tune with the ACG community’s pulse, making social media a crucial space for mutual inspiration and engagement.”

For Luna, social media platforms are not just for showcasing, as they have enabled her fans to guide her choices, including suggesting characters and pointing out trends. — LUNA LORRAIN

Luna, 29, began her cosplay journey in 2009, when a friend noticed her love for anime and video games and suggested she try cosplaying. She’s never looked back.

“Bringing a character to life and seeing how happy it makes not just me but others too, is an amazing feeling. It’s more than just dressing up; it’s about connecting with people who love the same things I do and creating something special together. This journey has been all about creativity, making new friends and sharing our love for these characters.”

Potato Queen (Tato for short), 33, who has been cosplaying for almost two decades now, remembers a time when cosplayers only had Facebook.

“After an event, there would definitely be an onslaught of photos online, and from those photos, people would start to get to know each other. Then Instagram came into the picture, and people started being influenced by Chinese platforms such as Douyin, which led the way to TikTok today. TikTok gives you such a boost and helps you get the correct reach, whether you’re in cosplay or in the performance scene,” says Tato, a full-time novel editor who dabbles in cosplay as well as singing.

“But figuring out how those algorithms work can be tricky. You can post something today, and then suddenly, a month or two later, people see it! Nevertheless, it really does boost your presence on the scene.”

Tato was introduced to anime and manga by her older brothers and from the age of 13, she began reading comics like Sailor Moon, Doraemon and Dr Slump.

Tato highlights social media algorithms' unpredictability, saying that posts may gain traction unexpectedly, sometimes months later, yet they remain powerful tools for boosting visibility. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star

“Anime and manga were still very niche back when I was in school. People would call you a geek or nerd if you were into that sort of thing. My parents weren’t too thrilled about cosplaying then, either. I had a bit more freedom to do what I wanted in college, and that’s when someone suggested I try cosplay. In 2009, I went to my first cosplaying event, Comic Fiesta (one of South-East Asia’s largest and longest-running ACG events).”

Tato says she has stuck with cosplay through the years because she really enjoys being part of the community. She attends at least four events a year, and this entails at least a month’s worth of preparing merchandise, designing the costume and doing research on the character’s background.

“I have met people from all walks of life – doctors, musicians, students – all of them coming together because of their love for anime, songs or comics.”

Why does she cosplay? “Cosplaying makes me happy. I do it when I love a character’s aesthetic or I actually play the game or watch the anime and I like the character and want to embody that character. Oftentimes, I want to take a break from my actual self for a while and live in Lalaland for a while,” she says, sharing that some of her favourites include Genshin Impact’s Raiden Shogun, a loner, and Hongkai: Star Rail’s Serval, a musician who’s super outgoing and confident.

Online and onwards

The accessibility of online tutorials and resources has revolutionised the way cosplayers hone their craft.

People take a selfie wearing costumes of characters from the video game 'Honkai: Star Rail', during the Toguchi cosplay festival in Moscow, Russia. — Reuters

Whether it’s mastering the art of wig styling or perfecting intricate armour builds, aspiring cosplayers can find a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips, thanks to the abundance of online resources.

According to the cosplayers, online tutorials have been a game-changer. There’s a wealth of resources available at one’s fingertips. These tutorials not only empower cosplayers to experiment with new techniques but also serve as a catalyst for pushing the boundaries of creativity.

Luna says: “The accessibility of online tutorials and resources has significantly democratised the art of cosplay. Platforms like YouTube and Instagram, although somewhat limited, have been instrumental for self-taught skills and community support. The cosplay landscape has evolved, with an abundance of resources for both premade costumes and DIY materials. Internationally sourced materials, particularly from websites like TaoBao, have become my go-to, despite local limitations.”

Twenty-something fashion student Bee (aka @sobbingbee on Instagram and ko-fi.com) has only been cosplaying for a couple of years now and is still a relative greenhorn. She agrees that you can learn all you need from online tutorials and the right people.

Bee, who had no prior knowledge of wig styling, makeup or fashion, learned everything online and is now enrolled in a fashion design course, largely inspired by her interest in cosplay. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star

“I style a lot of my wigs myself these days,” she says. “When I entered the cosplay community, I basically had no knowledge of wig styling or how to do makeup or where to buy the outfits or even how to put them on! I would talk to people, and they would point me in the right direction, which usually meant going online for wig styling or makeup and pretty soon I just fell down a rabbit hole of online tutorials, both foreign and local. As long as you talk to the right people, they can essentially help open up a whole new world to you.”

Bee remembers her first experience going to a cosplay/anime event at Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya some years ago: “That was the time Hakken showed up! (Hakken is a Malaysian cosplayer who has become a global phenomenon by bringing iconic anime characters to life.) It seemed like a lot of fun, everyone was taking photos and having a good time. I couldn’t believe the number of people there!”

Bee says that during the pandemic, she had become a bit of a loner. “I was cut off from all my school friendships, and cosplaying was a chance for me to make a whole new social network of friends online. I began following the Instagram accounts of other cosplayers, who would oftentimes create events, and I made a lot of friends this way. I still have great friendships with a handful of them and it has been a lot of fun.

She says that even before cosplaying, she enjoyed anime and was very into the open-world action RPG (role-playing game) Genshin Impact, directing attention to the character she has chosen to assume for this interview – Lumine, the female traveller protagonist from Genshin Impact.

Bee has recently enrolled in a fashion design course, a decision she says was largely based on her interest in cosplay.

Aris, pictured here with (from clockwise) Tato, Bee and Yuriko, shares that photographing cosplayers is primarily a hobby, but he welcomes commissioned work whenever the chance presents itself. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star

“When I graduated from high school, I came out kind of hating all the subjects I had taken in school, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. That’s when I got into cosplay and realised how much I enjoyed studying the details of each outfit I wore – how the stitching affects the integrity of the outfit and things like that. I realised that this was something I wanted to study a little more in depth,” she says, adding that some day she hopes to make her own cosplay outfits and not just purchase them off a rack.

Bee is active on Instagram and keeps abreast of news by following the Comic Fiesta Facebook page.

“That FB page is also huge on reselling outfits – people sell second-hand outfits at really good prices, and sometimes you can get a really good deal – like finding a golden egg! They also make a lot of updates on what the upcoming events are, how to get there, etc.”

Collaboration and the community

One of the fascinating aspects of cosplaying in the digital age is the emergence of viral trends that sweep across social media platforms. From popular anime characters and video game figures to recreating iconic movie scenes, these trends tend to showcase the creativity of cosplayers.

A person in cosplay poses for a picture during a cosplay night party for the video game 'Genshin Impact', at Live Stars club in central Moscow, Russia. — Reuters

Yuriko, who has close to 100 cosplay outfits, just as many wigs, and 30 pairs of shoes, illustrates how trends come about. In this interview last month, Yuriko dressed as Kaori Miyazono, the violinist from Naoshi Arakawa’s Japanese romantic drama manga series Your Lie In April, stating, “Every April, fans will watch the series again, and you’ll see characters like this reappearing on the scene.”

Digital platforms have also democratised collaboration within the cosplay community, allowing cosplayers to connect and collaborate with peers from all corners of the globe.

Luna, who has over 28,800 followers on Insta (@2ruuna_070), says her career in cosplay has opened doors to incredible connections with skilled creators, from tailors to prop makers and wig stylists, all dedicated to bringing 2D characters into our 3D world. “Social media has not only inspired me but has also enabled collaborations and exchanges within the global cosplay community.”

Aris is a bit of a cosplay aficionado and says it's exciting to see his favourite anime and manga characters 'come to life'. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star

Aris Zaril, a freelance photographer in his late 30s, frequently teams up with local cosplayers for photoshoots, showcasing his work on Facebook (raptorgraphy) and Instagram (@raptor.graphy).

“While it’s essentially a hobby for me, I also do get some commission work, as in cosplayers commission me to take their photos for their own personal use or to make merchandise such as online photosets, prints, posters, postcards, and photobooks, which they then sell at events,” Aris says, adding that photoshoots are usually set in interesting sites that suit a particular character and often involve cosplayers reenacting certain scenes.

“It’s been a constant learning process for me because you have to familiarise yourself with the right lighting techniques to get the right skin tones. I have learned new stuff on social media too. Collaborating on Instagram is a great way to increase engagement. It’s such a neat feature,” Aris says, explaining how one can use Instagram Collabs to co-author posts with other accounts.

Aris himself is a bit of a cosplay aficionado and says it’s exciting to see his favourite anime and manga characters “come to life”.

“As a photographer, I just want to capture that – it’s what drives me. Also being able to see the creativity – it’s really interesting how some of the cosplayers craft their costumes. They can build something from scratch, complete with all the matching accessories. It can be really exciting.”

Navigating challenges

While the digital age has brought about incredible opportunities for cosplayers, it has also presented its fair share of challenges. From online harassment to comparison culture, cosplayers must navigate a virtual landscape fraught with pitfalls.

“Navigating the world of cosplay in the digital realm comes with its own unique set of challenges and undeniable benefits. Over the span of my 15-year cosplay journey, I’ve faced various forms of negativity, from mild criticism to direct online harassment. It can be hard not to let the negative comments and the pressure to compare yourself with others get to you,” Luna says.

“To deal with this, I’ve learned to focus on the positive feedback and support from my community. They remind me why I love cosplaying. I try not to pay too much attention to the negative stuff and just keep doing what I enjoy.”

Bee adds that while most cosplayers are very supportive of each other, there are occasionally some really bad eggs! “Often, you’ll find that others will leave warnings for you to avoid these people!”

To help with engagement on social media platforms, Tato has installed the NGL app, which was built to work with Instagram and lets users receive anonymous messages through a link that’s meant to be shared in a user’s Stories or bio.

“I do this monthly, and it has become a sort of series for me. My NGL never runs out of questions. Every month, people will ask me things about cosplay, events, performances, etc – this really helps with engagement. Many people are just too shy to ask you directly, so this anonymity helps them. On the other hand, that also means I get my fair share of inappropriate questions, but the solution for me is simple: I can just filter them out quite easily.”

*Only cosplay names have been used in this article.
Social media
Exploring the intersection of cosplay and technology, LevelUp delves into how social media platforms empower enthusiasts to overcome challenges, showcase their creativity and connect globally.