At Tokyo Game Show, Cosplay Is Serious and Secretive

TOKYO — Cosplayers, the fans who dress up in costumes inspired by their favorite videogame characters, spend long hours creating their intricately detailed outfits. When they strut their stuff at the Tokyo Game Show, cosplayers don’t just wander the halls — they stand in practiced poses in a designated cosplay area. Many of them assume […]
A cosplayer known as quotEnfieldquot right portrays zombieshooting police officer Leon Kennedy from the Capcom...
A cosplayer known as "Enfield," right, portrays zombie-shooting police officer Leon Kennedy from the Capcom survival-horror series Resident Evil. "Chappiy" plays Ada Wong from the same series.Jon Snyder/Wired.com

TOKYO — Cosplayers, the fans who dress up in costumes inspired by their favorite videogame characters, spend long hours creating their intricately detailed outfits.

See also: Scenes From the Peripatetic Tokyo Game Show
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When they strut their stuff at the Tokyo Game Show, cosplayers don't just wander the halls — they stand in practiced poses in a designated cosplay area. Many of them assume their carefully chosen stances all day, getting their pictures taken by hundreds of other fans.

They carry meishi, or business cards, with their pictures, personal info and URLs of personal websites offering even more photos. But things don't get too personal: The cosplayers go by pseudonyms, to avoid having their real identities found out by fans.

Here are some of the more fantastic cosplayers at this year's Tokyo Game Show.