People who dress as characters from anime, manga, or video games are known as cosplayers. The term “cosplay” is an abbreviation for “costume play.” They are referred to as “players” or “cosplayers,” respectively.¹⁾

Cosplayers fall into three categories: 1) people who dress up as fictional characters from anime, manga, or video games; 2) those who dress up as members of specific professions, such as nurses or soldiers; and 3) those who make their own costumes.²⁾

When cosplayers dress up and play characters of the opposite gender, this is known as gender-bending cosplay.³⁾

The slang term for “cosplayer” in Japanese is “layer”.⁴⁾

A cleaning service called “Layer Support” has been created especially for cosplay outfits.⁵⁾

After attending Worldcon in Los Angeles, Japanese journalist and manga publisher Takahashi Nobuyuki first used the term “cosplay”.⁶⁾

When Sailor Moon's final episode aired in 1997, a “gazillion cosplayers” donned Japanese schoolgirl miniskirts as part of their costumes.⁷⁾

The first cosplay cafe debuted in Akihabra, Tokyo, in 1999, and numerous others soon followed.⁸⁾

Launched in 2003, Dengeki Layers is a magazine aimed at the Japanese cosplay scene.⁹⁾