What would you give to become a superhero, goddess, or the most fanciful figment of your dreams? For cosplayers, it takes heavy doses of passion and time and an undying capacity for fantasy and imagination to transform themselves into  a warrior princess, a geisha,  Iron Man, Megatron, Masked Rider, and, yes, even a gargantuan Poring Emperor (from Ragnarok). It also takes rolls of fabric, a sewing machine, duct tape, rubber foam, and lots of glue. But at the heart of every character is the portrayal: from the walk to the talk.

Cosplay comes from the words costume and (role)play.   No one can really pinpoint when and where it actually started. But it was Nobuyuki Takahashi who first coined the term in the article, "My Anime," after attending the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention and seeing a bunch of Trekkies (Star Trek fans) strutting their stuff.   From there, it has evolved into a subculture among enthusiasts of anime, manga, comics, movies, TV series, video games, and basically everything fun and fictional under the sun.

Cosplay   allows fans to step into the shoes of the characters that have inspired them.   In turn, they also inspire others through their character portrayal.   Most cosplayers were actually very shy and awkward people until they learned to be confident with who they are through the ever-growing cosplay community.   Escapism?   Not at all.   Who among us hasn't played make-believe with friends even once in our childhood (come on, you played bahay-bahayan with the cute boy/girl next door) and eventually became better people from the experience?   Besides, it's simply fun to walk around in costumes and be someone extraordinary for a day.

What does it take to cosplay? Iconic cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao explained it  in a one-on-one chat with SPOT.ph when she talked about how to deal with suddenly getting a Fans' Day and finding yourself featured twice on Yahoo! on the same day.

We hooked up with 10 cosplayers and asked them to share some of their cosplay secrets.

Jin, age is your guess, cosplayer since 2005

Real life: Who says cosplay can't change the world?   For Jin, it's not all about the costumes, competitions, and awards (though they're pretty cool, too).   It's about the positive attitude and camaraderie each cosplayer contributes to the experience.   "As silly as it may sound, a number of these fictional people somehow inspired me to be a better person," Jin says.   So, it's no surprise if Tuxedo Team (Jin's close group of cosplay friends) is out to make everyone smile one costume at a time. Jin already has 30.   (No, Cho Aniki, please.)

Go, go, Jin!: "When Quentin Tarantino visited Manila, and I [met] him while wearing my Gogo Yubari costume.   I wouldn't usually cosplay schoolgirls but I really enjoyed Kill Bill, and Gogo was one of my favorite characters there.   It was amazingly surreal, meeting the person who created the character your cosplay is based on.   He wouldn't have his photo taken with other people, but he had me stand beside him and had some people get pictures of us.   He told me I was a terrific Gogo."

Cosplay investments: "It's difficult to compute for an average cost because each costume is different—“and math is not my forte (laughs)—“and sometimes we hardly have to spend anything because we can recycle other pieces like wigs or use clothes we already have.   I guess I'm also a little hesitant to give a figure because some of the cosplayers reading this might think that if our expenses don't match, they might be doing something wrong."

Cosplay boo-boos: "I tripped at an event where I was cosplaying Kenshin.   My knees bled under my white hakamas.   Thankfully a classmate came to the rescue with bandages and my friend patched me up before my blood stained the white pants.     There goes the pathetic story of my cosplay battle wounds."

Superman-Clark Kent moment: "Surprisingly, some people do recognize me out of costume!   I get pretty embarrassed when it happens on one of those days that I didn't bother to fix myself up."

What the critics say: "There are people who think that cosplay is a complete waste of time.   I guess it's understandable how it's a hobby that can be easily misunderstood.   Negative comments don't bother me, though.   I know there are a lot of people out there who just aren't well-versed in the social conventions of common courtesy.   Sometimes my inner idealist makes me try to have a decent conversation with them to persuade them to be less judgmental.   But most of the time I just let them be. As long as my friends and I are having a good time, a few rude strangers don't really matter."

Of cosplay rivalries: "I suppose they just want to cosplay well, so they aim to be considered the best.   I just wish they wouldn't put other people down in order to feel better about themselves.   The cosplay community (and the rest of the world) would be a much nicer place without the pointless negativity."

Website: deviantART