I don't understand why people love cosplaying, mostly in public. Looks to me that they don't have enough confidence about their own personalities, plus that they look ridiculous, and a turn off whenever I see someone cosplaying as one of my fave anime character. Let me hear your thoughts, anons?

Theres a Cosplay Tread, search it and find it...

I don't mind unless it's something impossible you're trying to cosplay, like, say, Bowser from Mario or a Gundam, and it ends up looking like something off of a comedy show.

No offense to people who do try to cosplay those things of course.

>>2 This isn't sharing cosplays, it's discussing why people love it.

People dress up as characters they like for fun mostly. It's not about lack of confidence, I don't see why it would be about that. It's a hobby like any other, just more on the nerdy side. You can get into gardening, or build model airplanes or dress up as fictional characters, why not.

Of course there are good and bad cosplays, and a good one can feel almost like the character walked right out of the screen. I like that, it's like playing with the idea of a live-action version of the show (or video game or whatever).

And well, there are always the really awkward ones, but like with anything that's free to everyone, you don't have to actually be good at it to do it, so of course you get all kinds results.

But what do you mean by 'mostly in public'? Like in everyday life, without any reason? Because that would be a bit weird yeah.

I enjoy cosplay for many reasons.
1.) I'm an artist, so I strive for detail. The closer I can get the character to look, the more accomplished I feel. And it's artwork I can show off, rather than a picture that can only be seen online or something.
Even though my only cosplay was Maka (and I don't really like how it turned out, skin color and no wig kinda ruined it) the Scythe turned out spot on, and I'm rather proud of it, I plan on cosplaying more in the future.
2.) I've ALWAYS loved dressing up on Halloween. Cosplay is like Halloween. Crazy fun. And you get to meet others with similar interest without creating as awkward a situation (usually stemming from lack of things to talk about; because well, you're both wearing costumes :I)
3.) If they're done well, I don't see how they look ridiculous. Even if they specifically don't fit the character, if the outfit and weapon can make up for that, then it can still be a success.

I'm fairly terrible at being social (for like, the last year I've been cooped up in the house being a hermit and drawing/sculpting/etc) but because of how confident those that wear these costumes are, I feel right at home at conventions.
It's not because they don't have confidence; but because they do. They have the confidence in their abilities to make the costume, and if it looks terrible, they have the confidence to actually wear it.

Also, since cosplay really just means costume play; then anyone who likes Halloween or are in the theater, are cosplayers too. Renaissance Festivals and costume parties are full of em too.