Cosplay Isn't Just About The Outfits After All, It's Had A Hugely...

From posting on social media to hosting contests, cosplay has opened up many opportunities.

For many, cosplay is one of the only opportunities someone gets to really express themselves. Not only is it a creative outlet to do so, but it can also be incredibly beneficial to the health and wellbeing of the creator, which is a sentiment I've heard a number of content creators express over the years. But to get more of a sense of the impact cosplaying for social media and events has on a person, I spoke to Kaho Shibuya, author, contest host, and avid cosplayer with over 1.2 million followers on Instagram alone, to understand how she started her cosplay journey, what it's like to be so involved in the community, and any impact it's made over the years.

"I became Kaho Shibuya back in November 2014," Shibuya tells me. "Initially, I was still not sure about social media, but I think I started with blogging. I don't have a blog anymore, but I moved to Twitter—X—now, and then Instagram, where it's more about photos and selfies. I kind of got tired of having the same look.

Welcome to Character Select, a weekly column where PC Gamer takes a look at the art and cosplay created by you. Each week, I'll highlight a few of my favourite pieces, spotlight and interview creators and artists, or generally just chew your ear off about the talents of the gaming community.

"I tend to do the same makeup and see just me, same old me, in the mirror all of the time. So I really like the fact that I look super different, and then you get to be like somebody else with acting too. You get to be in character, and you also get to talk about the character you like, you know, talk about the show, game, anime you like. It could be a good conversational starter because you're like, 'Okay, I like this. I want to start doing this.'"

It's safe to say that the descent into cosplay snowballed from there. But, having now cosplayed as hundreds of different characters from a huge variety of series over the last few years, there's one community in particular that has a special spot in Shibuya's heart: "Recently, I have been getting into the FGC, fighting game community, which is more tight and everyone knows every character."

When it comes to fighting game characters, you probably won't be able to cosplay out of what you've got in your wardrobe, which means buying in pieces, if not entire outfits. "I tend to get a custom outfit, which tends to be more expensive, so I don't want to just wear it li

Source: PC Gamer