Cosplay isn't just a group of adults enjoying a costume party. No no, it's way more complicated than that. Ever since we were kiddos, we all liked to play pretend. As kids, we're not that original, so we'd take our favorite characters from games, anime, movies, shows, and comics and cosplay using their personality, hoping that one day we could grow up to be just as cool as our cartoon heroes. As adults, we have the luxury of diving into our own fantasies. If you're craft enough, you can literally create, build, or craft your way into having the perfect costume to play-pretend as your favorite characters, effectively bringing them to life in the real world. Finally, your fave heroes, feared villains, and dopple-ganger fictions are brought to the physical plane.
Do you want to take selfies with the OG polygon Laura Croft? Don't mind if I do. Do you want to have lunch with Mikasa from Attack on Titan? Heck yes. Because of cosplay, now it's possible to sit across from Princess Mononoke on the bus… just as you're close enough to the convention that's in town.