Kids in Cosplay?

A week and a half ago, I attended (or rather, had Ash attend - moreover by necessity) a special event on a special day that of course featured cosplay by me and others. What was interesting was that the people who were involved were of a broad range of ages, specifically some people who are younger in stature - that is, kids. That has prompted me to discuss their involvement in cosplay, especially given my specialty of Pokémon cosplay and what that entails for that involvement.

An obvious question definitely comes up in this case: when should kids try to become involved in cosplay? A friend of mine suggested that once kids are able to grasp the concept of a "character" or else "characterization", then they should be able to take part in cosplay; it means that they should be able to comprehend the things that make characters who they are (for example, Brock has frequent infatuations). I went one step further and suggested that when they have learned about drama and roleplay, they can then partake in cosplay; it is obvious that it is what the "play" represents. And it is very much a part of cosplay, particularly when it comes down to creating and executing stage plays or performances, even if the dialogue is premade as in the case of my Pokémon performances.

Next, there is the subject of what kids should cosplay. As with consumption of any other form of media, kids should cosplay something that is appropriate for their age. If someone else requests them - or they themselves request - to cosplay something beyond what they should consume, then parental approval is certainly necessary, aside from their possession of the above understandings. Of course, within the context of this blog, Pokémon should be perfectly fine for kids to cosplay, as it is designed to be consumable by all ages; the fact that it has specifically designated entertainment for them (including at PFJ) makes that rather evident, and cosplay naturally follows as a result. 

I had the opportunity to talk with the parents of one of the children at the event above who cosplayed a certain character that seemed to be a radical choice for kids in both content and costume. They told me that it was the child's own desire to cosplay, and the child chose that very character; I was not privy to the details of the costume creation, but it can be assumed that it was made possible with adult assistance given its complexity. And so this case may be considered to be perfectly fine, and even a Pokémon cosplay for the child might have even entailed going through much of the same hoops.

It has to be considered that cosplay for kids is perfectly fine, in particular if they understand what they need to do for it and they have the interest in doing so for whatever fandom their interests lie in. That said, if a little Pokémon spirit becomes involved somehow, that ought to bode well for them and the fans of the franchise like me, and it is thus perfectly applicable as cosplay in general is for them with some notes.

One year ago: Indomaret Promotional TCG Cards

Two years ago: (Re)Structuring Competitions

Three years ago: Jelly-Filled Doughnuts

Four years ago: Cosplay: Bunkasai XXI

Five years ago: The Music of Go

Six years ago: Alt+0233 and Its Kin