At the Cos-Day in the Northwest Center, comic fantasy becomes colorful reality
A shopping center in which Star Wars warriors, extraterrestrials, unicorns, fairies and bizarre mythical creatures scurry between weekend strollers makes you think of carnival. But in the middle of summer it must be something else. At first glance, it looks like an invasion of dangerous and cute aliens who want to take over, but cops remain relaxed and grin slightly at the sight of gigantic swords and flashing laser weapons on display.
Cos-Days is the name of the two days that have been attracting thousands to the shop gallery since 2013 to admire the strange characters who peacefully bring fantasy worlds a bit into reality. Originally limited to Japanese manga, anime, comics and films, figures from all over the world have long been jumping, stumbling, walking and robotic through corridors and shops.
“How do you breathe?” a woman asks the fat mouse Gunnar in a gray suit with black furry paws and feet and big green eyes in a huge mouse mask face. A soft voice laughingly replies: “I have a fan under the mask.” He has been a fan of cos-plays since 2003, made the entire costume himself and invested more than 2000 euros in his outfit.
Huacheng and Xielian from Mannheim have emerged from a Chinese drama and are overjoyed that after a three-year break, there is finally a cos-day again to dress up and look exactly like the characters of their role model. They’ve been around since 2010 and 2012 and got into it through reading manga. Huacheng, when she attended anime events and thought they were “just amazing” and Xielian, because her mother wanted “me to find friends and a hobby”. she giggles. “Now my mom knows where I am and the cos-play scene is pretty non-alcoholic too.”
In the Titus center it literally spills over with the wildest figures. In between, stands with hundreds of manga stuffed animals, swords, masks, wigs and everything a cos-play heart desires. From chopsticks to a backpack that smiles with flashing cat faces and spits rainbows. A café offers not only donuts and cakes, but also maids from the Maido no Kisetsu Maidcafé. Dressed in cheeky waitress costumes, in which the girls had just been dancing to Japanese songs on stage, they now entertain cats, fighters and other like-minded people at the table in a very Japanese way.
Photos, cake and lots of ice tea
Lin is happy. “It’s traditional table talk on all topics and people love it. You talk, play together and take photos over cake and ice-cold iced tea. Everything she organized is voluntary “and super nice”. The guests are allowed more than 30 minutes don’t stay because so many are waiting who also want to enjoy the table ladies.
As playful as cos-play is, which came from the English portmanteau word costume and play, the hype on everything that can be purchased on the subject is just as great. Make-up, costumes, mini-figures, costumes and props are endless. Michael fromfigurenshop24 shows Star Wars helmets and a huge weapon in a classy cardboard box. It costs 150 euros. “The demand is really high,” he says. “Corona has made another character’s lust for life even greater.” A lot of tinsel things were sold before, but now more value is placed on really good quality. Whether Batman, Transformer or Anime – everything is more in demand than ever. The visitors, who are without a cos-play background to shop in the Northwest Center, admire the costumed people. Selfies with manga princesses, aliens, stormtroopers and Pokémon trainers are a hit.
Whether children, parents or grandparents, everyone pulls out their cell phone at some point or wants to “touch it”. The fabulously dressed people are happy about it. No matter how hot it is under the thick wigs, armor or fur heads, they don’t want to be without them for a moment. Lini knows that “it’s nice to dream and even nicer to transform your own self into a completely different being for a while”.
SABINE SCHRAMEK
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