20100608 The Art of Cosplay (1)

The Art of Cosplay

Fantasy meets reality with cosplay

If you visit Tokyo's famous Harajuku district, you'll notice a distinct part of Japanese culture coming to life on its streets. That's because anime and manga fans literally bring their favorite characters to life through cosplay. Combining the words costume and play. cosplay is becoming an increasingly popular form of performance art.

What exactly is cosplay? First, it involves cosplayers - people who participate in the art. Cosplayers buy or make an elaborate costume of their favorite animated or fantasy character and then dress up in it.

But the fun doesn't stop there. In addition to looking like a character, cosplayers must also learn to imitate a character's personality, facial expressions and behaviors. This accounts for the "play" in cosplay. Once cosplayers have perfected their character, they take their talents to the streets. On weekends in Japan, cosplayers can be found outdoors posing for pictures and checking out others' costumes. The goal is to win the approval of fellow cosplayers. If approval is won, a cosplayer may consider entering a costume contest.

distinct adj. 明顯的/清晰的/清楚的

eg: The distinct smell of the flower repels insects.

=> 這種花獨特的氣味能驅趕蚊蟲。

eg: There's a distinct parking area reserved for the VIP customers.

=> 有一塊特別的停車場是專門保留給VIP顧客的。

distinct adj. 不同的

=> obviously different

eg: The two writers' styles are quite distinct from each other.

=> 這二位作家寫作的風格截然不同。

imitate v. 模仿

=> behave in the same way one do

eg: Patrick loves to imitate his big brother Frank. He talks and acts just like Frank does.

=> Patrick 很喜歡模仿他的哥哥Frank。他說話和舉動都和Frank一模一樣。

eg: The actress perfectly imitated a French accent in the movie.

=> 這位女演員在電影中完美地模仿了法國口音。

check out 看看/了解一下/試試看

=> examine closely

eg: Did you check out my new bike?

=> 您看過我的新自行車了嗎？

eg: I heard the new restaurant is great. Do you want to check it out with me tonight?

=> 我聽說這家新的餐館很棒。要不要今晚和我去試試看?

Harajuku district

distinct adj. 與其他不同的/有區別的

manga n. 日本連環漫畫冊

anime n. 動漫畫

=> animate films

increasingly adv. 漸增地/越來越多地

=> become more and more ...

This accounts for the "play" in cosplay.

=> This help explain the "play" in cosplay.

//== Chat room ==//

dress up 精心打扮/化妝

dress up in costumes 化妝成不同的人物

dress up 穿上聖裝/穿著正式的服裝

dress down 穿上休閒裝

//== Grammar on the Go ==//

If you visit Tokyo's famous Harajuku district, you'll notice a distinct part of Japanese culture coming to life on its streets.

coming to life

=> how something that is not alive or not moving and seems suddenly to become alive and started to move around

come to life

=> how something that isn't real seems to be alive

eg: A great sculptor can make his artwork look like they're coming to life.

eg: Computer generated special effects have made extinct animals come to life on movie screens.

come to life

=> how someone is waking up

eg: Henry doesn't come to life until he has had two cups of coffee.

eg: After sleeping for ten hours. Sarah is finally coming to life.