Abu Dhabi: If cosplay is an art, meet the artists

Picture this: All your favourite characters from the world of entertainment - anime, movies, video games, series, and comics - in one place. That's one way of summarising the recently held Middle East Film & Comic Con (MEFCC) in Abu Dhabi.

More than the celebrities like James and Oliver Phelps, the Weasley twins from the world of Harry Potter, Oscar Isaac, and several others, the real heroes at MEFCC were the horde of cosplayers parading the event. Decked up in costumes that took them hours of preparation, some cosplayers even arrived from across the world to showcase their art, the art of cosplaying.

Kim So Hui, nicknamed Ing, travelled from South Korea specially for the convention. The professional cosplayer, who has been in this space for 11 years, dressed up as Neuvillette, a playable character from the popular game Genshin Impact. "It took me three hours to complete my look," Ing tells City Times at MEFCC. "But cosplaying is my means of living, and I enjoy meeting many lovely people when I dress up as these popular characters."

Genshin Impact has caused quite the rave in the entertainment community. As of January 2024, the game has over 64 million players. Its popularity is evident as we witnessed several cosplayers dressed up as characters from the game. Maya, another cosplayer who arrived from overseas, put on the Keqing "Opulent Splendor" costume from the video game. Explaining her costume, she said, "I cosplayed Keqing's skin from Lantern Rite, since it would be fitting for Chinese New Year." The Philippine student took two hours to get ready, and she enjoys cosplaying, she said, as it helps her "gain self-confidence."

"For me, cosplaying is a way of expressing myself through art. I also enjoy the process, from putting on makeup to styling wigs," added Maya, who just got into cosplaying last year.

Veteran cosplayer, popularly known as Greenii (refrains from using her real name), also jumped on the Genshin Impact bandwagon. She has been cosplaying since late 2008. Dressing up as the Aether 'Traveller' took her three to four hours, that includes putting on makeup and the costume. "I love dressing up because it shows my creative side," said Greenii, who also arrived from overseas. "It is my favourite hobby. I also love meeting new people with similar interests. Cosplaying has made me more social, so it means a lot to me and it makes me happy."

That's about it from the Genshin Impact cosplayers.

Next, we've got Flashpoint Batman, the caped crusader from an alternate universe where Bruce Wayne isn't behind the mask, his father Thomas is. Batman fan Vaibhav Mall is the person behind the mask. "I dress up to express my admiration for the characters and show the world what I love," said the UAE resident who has been cosplaying for almost two years. He often cosplays as characters from video games, shows and comics.

Ibrahim Al Nemer, a Sharjah resident, portrayed Black Rabbit Brotherhood, a villain from the game Lies of P. The hand-made costume took Ibrahim about three weeks of preparation, he said, with six hours of work per day. "Cosplaying is my passion," added Ibrahim, who has been cosplaying since 2016. "I get to be my favourite characters and seeing fans of such characters appreciate my work puts a smile on my face."

Video game enthusiast Al Bronzy Sami went to MEFCC dressed as Hades, the main antagonist of Disney's 1997 animated feature film Hercules. The character appears to have flaming blue hair and to perfect that look, Bronzy had his wig delivered from Riyadh, and then adjusted it with a piece of cloth. "Cosplaying has been my hobby for the last 10 years," he said. "I get very happy when people take pictures with me."

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