By Dave Paone
Campus News
William Shakespeare once wrote, “The play’s the thing.” But for many participants at the Anime NYC convention in Manhattan last month, it’s cosplay that’s the thing.
Shakespeare also once wrote, “All the world’s a stage.” For this year’s con, the stage for the cosplay world was the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the city’s Westside.
There were demons with horns and angels with wings. There were Japanese schoolgirls and elves from Middle-earth. There were long cloaks and short skirts. There were swords, staffs, spears, and even a few Grim Reaper sickles.
For three days cosplayers were doing their thing in their world.
Near and Far, Young and Old
Campus News covered the Anime NYC con in 2019. As expected at the time, many of the participants were college-age, usually late teens or early 20s. Also as expected, many were from the tri-state area, with the most-distant participant we met from the University of Massachusetts.
This year was different. Many cosplayers Campus News spoke to have been out of college for several years – already in the working world – and had traveled long distances to attend.
One such participant was 28-year-old Debi Payumo, a graduate of the University of Toronto, who flew in from Canada to cosplay as Beidou of Genshin Impact.
Debi, who’s been to several cons since she was 18, doesn’t feel she’s too old to be dressing up as anime characters. “You’re never too old to do anything, honestly,” she said. “It’s all perspective. It’s all mindset.”
Thirty-two-year-old Emily Pohlmann made the trip from Nebraska just to cosplay as Riko of Made in Abyss. In total, the trip cost her nearly $1,000.
Kaito Galperin and Isabella Perillo are both native New Yorkers, but met at Bennington College in Vermont. The sophomores made a special trip home to attend this year’s con.
Iri De Jesus is 31 and an assistant manager of a research facility. Michael Barnes is 32 and a technician in a hospital. They’re married. And they cosplay.
Iri said she knows “at least six” other married couples on Instagram who also cosplay.
Stephanie Nonaillada has a doctorate from St. John’s University and is a working pharmacist. Cosplay and pharmaceutics are two entirely different worlds but Stephanie finds making her own costumes allows her to flex her creative muscles.
“Going to a convention you get to showcase what you made,” she said.
Shakespeare also once wrote, “Youth is hot and bold, age is weak and cold; Youth is wild, and age is tame.” There were plenty of middle-aged attendees – in costume – who might not agree with that sentiment.
Jahmell Hamilton is 46 years old and his wife is 42. They attended because their 12-year-old son was too young to come by himself. “We’re the best parents, ever!” said Diana, who was dressed as Mitsuri of Demon Slayer.
Rutgers University graduates Kara Dizon and Wilson Cheung are a couple and not only did they attend together, they brought along her parents. Jun is 65 and his wife, Gambel, is 62.
It didn’t take Kara much effort to persuade them to come. She told them, “People will take our picture if our costume is good,” and once that happened, “they were hooked,” she said.
It appears there will be a wedding in Wilson and Kara’s future and cosplay will be a part of it. There “will definitely be elements of that in the wedding, for sure. There has to be,” Kara said.
Making the Costumes Is Half the Fun
Stephanie attended with her gal pal, Karyl Balatbat, and both made their costumes from scratch. “Except the gloves, the socks, and the shoes,” Karyl said.
It took over six months to make and it was the first time she used a sewing machine.
Annie Manning cosplayed as Fearne Calloway of Critical Role in a very elaborate, homemade costume.
“I enjoy doing projects that have a lot of detail and even making it even more detailed than the original art,” the 30-year-old said. The staff alone was made from 17 separate, 3-D-printed pieces.
Abigail Loos, and her mother Teresa Loos, were featured in a recent Campus News story because they make most of Abigail’s costumes from scratch, or close to it.
The Looses attended all three days at Anime NYC, with Abigail cosplaying as Transformer Elita One on the second day. The elaborate costume was assembled from 17 separate parts, plus a harness, and made from wood, EVA foam, Worbla, a Spandex bodysuit, and a modified chrome mask with battery-operated lights. It took months to build.
Character Development
Another surprise to Campus News is that characters in video games actually have stories and personalities. In the 1980s, Ms. Packman didn’t have much more to her other than she was a girl.
That’s all changed. Characters in video games today have wants and needs, just as characters in movies. Many participants chose their cosplay characters from those in video games, based on their stories.
Recent Parsons School of Design graduate Yasmin Salih dressed as Zelda of Breath of the Wild. Yasmin feels she has a connection with Zelda.
“This character is a princess in her world,” the 23-year-old said. “I think I related a lot to her struggles, and I was like, ′I’m princess material!′”
It’s No Longer a Secret
Several years ago, those who cosplayed often kept it a secret.
Keeley Dehart began cosplaying when she was 13. “Back then it was much more shunned and secretive,” she said. “You’d be afraid of getting bullied for it, because it wasn’t as popular as it is now,” said the 22-year-old.
Those days are over.
For Michael’s coworkers at the hospital, there’s no surprise this is what he does. “They know I’m a nerd,” he said.
Emily works at the Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, and her love of cosplaying is no surprise to her colleagues, either. “My coworkers know I’m into the geek culture,” she said.
Jahmell, who was dressed as Tengen Uzui of Demon Slayer, said he’s ready to show photos of himself and his family from the weekend at his computer engineering job on Monday. “There’s no way I can keep this to myself,” he said.
“I love anime conventions. The community here, the vibe. Everything,” said Debi.
Sho Asuka cosplayed as a pair with Debi, as Itto, also of Genshin Impact. Sho is 25 and a 2019 graduate of New York University, but this is his first cosplaying experience.
“I never had the confidence to do this, but now I have my friends with me and I’m more confident with it,” he said.
Sho attended last year’s con but not in costume and “got a confidence boost” which made him “determined to cosplay this year.”
Not only did he make good on his promise to himself, but cosplaying is going to be a regular thing for him.
And after all, cosplay’s the thing.
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