Comic-Con International is once again about to transform downtown San Diego into an otherworldly celebration of pop culture. All around the city, aboard trolleys wrapped in colorful ads and outside the San Diego Convention Center, cosplayers will be converging.
Cosplay is defined as a performance art or hobby where people wear costumes and accessories to represent specific fictional characters. During Comic-Con, individuals are known to showcase months of hard work spent crafting a costume. Whether it’s handmade from a 3D-printer or assembled from everyday clothes, each costume reflects the passion of the person wearing it.
Creativity is encouraged, individuality is celebrated and enthusiasm is contagious.
With 130,000 attendees, Comic-Con is a massive event – but strangers bond over shared favorite characters, games and stories. Selfies are frequently requested and cosplayers are more than happy to stop and pose in character.
Walking down Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter dressed as a character can be intimidating, but affirming. “If anyone is thinking about doing cosplay, do it,” Cosplayer Nerissa Viray said. “It’s so fun, and the community is so supportive.”
Viray discovered cosplay during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Like many others spending more time online, she found herself scrolling through Anime TikTok, where cosplay creators inspired her to give the hobby a try.
“I thought it was a very creative outlet,” Viray said. “Especially when something as sad as COVID was happening.”
She began with “closet cosplay,” using clothes she already owned to recreate characters instead of purchasing an expensive costume. At first, she avoided wigs and contact lenses, editing her online photos to make it appear she was wearing colored contacts.
Almost six years later, Viray went public at Anime Expo in Los Angeles. She became Marin Kitagawa from My Dress-Up Darling. She purchased the costume, but preparing the wig was an unexpected challenge.
On the morning of the convention, she realized the bangs were too long. She scrambled to borrow scissors from her hotel’s lobby.
“The hotel room was full of synthetic hair at one point,” she said with a laugh. “It was stressful, but it was a good learning experience.”
Despite her initial nerves about public cosplay, Viray said the convention atmosphere put her at ease.
“I don’t think I ever had an experience where people were side-eyeing me,” she said. “Everyone is so supportive.”
That welcoming environment is one of the reasons she plans to continue cosplaying at Comic-Con this year. She’ll portray a female version of Jujutsu Kaisen character Gojo Satoru. Then she’ll switch to Lois Lane to cosplay alongside her boyfriend dressed as Clark Kent.
Beyond simply wearing the costume, Viray enjoys stepping into the character’s personality.
“It’s really fun acting and pretending to be your character,” she said. “You don’t just look like them—you kind of adopt their mannerisms.”
For Jorge Salcedo, cosplay became something very personal.
Inspired by the science-fiction video game Helldivers, Salcedo has spent nearly a year preparing to wear his first full cosplay. Before assembling the armor, however, he committed to losing weight.
“I lost around 40 pounds just for this cosplay,” Salcedo said. “I’m very proud of that.”
He said previous attempts to lose weight didn’t last, but having a specific goal gave him the motivation to stay disciplined.
Working with a friend who owns a 3D printer, Salcedo assembled custom armor piece by piece, gluing together the chest plate and printing components like shoulder armor. He modified work gloves from Home Depot to complete the outfit.
Seeing the finished armor after months of work was rewarding, he said.
“It took a lot of discipline,” Salcedo said. “But overall, I’m happy I did it because I noticed my confidence got better.”
Although these two cosplayers have different experiences, they share a similar view of what makes the hobby meaningful: the community.
Viray said conventions make it easy to meet people who share the same interests, whether they’re asking for photos, complimenting costumes or gathering at fandom meetups.
Salcedo believes newcomers shouldn’t worry about creating the “perfect” cosplay before attending their first convention.
“The whole point is that you’re just dressing up,” he said. “If it’s your first time, there’s no reason to worry about how good your cosplay is.”
At Comic-Con, the cosplay community will be prepared for fun, and rest assured many aim to dress to impress. SDSun
[Follow The Sun all week of Comic-Con for near-daily photo essays of cosplay on display.]
