Freshmen Trinity Boschert and Gracie Bauer and a group of friends tried cosplaying for the first time at Anime St. Louis in May. Boschert cosplayed as Tsukishima from the anime Haikyuu. Bauer went dressed as Yuri from Yuri on Ice.

Cosplay is a mix of the words costume and play. Most cosplayers dress up as characters from a movie, book or video game. Boschert got into cosplay through social media platforms, like Instagram.

“I kept on hearing about it,” Boschert said. “I eventually started watching videos of people cosplaying.”

Boschert and Bauer went with a group of friends, all cosplaying from different media. Other friends dressed up as characters from the video game Legend of Zelda and the Japanese movie Spirited Away. 

 “It was my first con and it was really overwhelming for me,” Bauer said. “My friend group found out about it really last minute and I had to figure out who I looked like that I liked.”

Bauer ended up going in a completed outfit: jacket, pants, glasses and ring. Boschert wore all black with a jacket for her cosplay. She ended up needing headphones to complete her cosplay.

“[Tsukishima] has white headphones and I literally just painted green headphones white,” Boschert said. “It kept on chipping.” 

When reflecting on the experience, Bauer wished she would have taken more pictures with other cosplayers.

“Maybe I would have tried to get out of my shell more,” Bauer said. “When you want to take a picture with a cosplayer, ask them. Once it’s gone, you’re going to miss it. People will be flattered.”

Boschert echoed similar sentiments when asked what she regrets about going to Anime St. Louis.

“I probably would have been less awkward,” Boschert said. “I feel like I could have gotten way more pictures with people.”