the pop-culture phenomenon comes back to Kathmandu · Global Voices

This article by Shristi Karki was first published in Nepali Times. An edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.

On September 17, 2022, over 9000 people — mainly from Nepal, India, and Bangladesh attended Otaku Jatra Fall 2022, a Nepali anime and cosplay festival held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Suki Manandhar grew up in Nepal watching anime and cartoons and reading manga whenever she could get her hands on them. Pokemon, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, and Haibane Renmei brought her joy and comfort.

Back then, Manandhar wished she could dress like the characters she saw on screen. She would sometimes engage in ‘closet cosplay’ (using one’s own items to recreate outfits), making costumes and dressing like anime characters and sharing those with fellow anime fans in online forums.

“I had no idea what they meant when I was a child, but I appreciate them more when I watch them now,” says Manandhar.

A cosplay artist at the pop-culture convention Otaku Jatra Fall 2022 in Kathmandu. Photo by Sumit Nepali. Used with permission.

Cosplay (formed by combining the words costume and play) is an art form in which artists dress and accessorise as characters from across pop culture — anime, cartoons, comic books, video games, and other sources from TV and movies.

Although masquerade balls, carnivals and pageants where people dressed up in costumes have been commonplace since the 15th century, cosplay in mainstream media and art emerged out of fan culture through science fiction conventions in the 20th century.

The San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) began in the USA in 1970. Five years later, Japan inaugurated its own convention, Comiket. But the subculture would not make its way into Nepal until decades later.

Cosplay artists at the Otaku Jatra Fall 2022. Photo by Suman Nepali. Used with permission.

Rohit Shrestha started watching anime when he was in 8th grade, began cosplaying in 2014, and is among the earliest cosplayers in Nepal. He is now one of the organisers of Otaku Jatra, Nepal’s largest pop culture convention.

Suki Manandhar cosplaying Celty Sturluson from Durara. Photo by Suki Manandhar/Nepali Times. Used with permission.

Realising that there was a growing community of pop culture fans in Nepal, their collective Otaku Club joined hands with another collective, Otaku Next — which used to publish its Nepali manga magazine— to host small-scale pop culture events which became smaller pop-up events, fanart and cosplay competitions, and exhibitions.

In 2014, when she heard about the Otaku event, Suki Manandhar made her own costume, often sewing it out of sight of her teachers even as she attended her college lectures. The day before the convention, with her outfit still not done, Manandhar was up the whole night completing it.

Manandhar went to her first cosplay event as Taiga from the anime Toadora. She has been to many conventions since but recalls dressing up as Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan as one of her most memorable cosplays. Depending on the characters, Manandhar spends as much as five months creating intricate costumes.

The 26-year-old communications officer, who has also illustrated and written a four-chapter manga, The Birdsonghad been preparing for a year for the Otaku Jatra Fall 2022 held on September 17, 2022, in Kathmandu, working on her costume whenever she had time.

Kriti Chamling Rai began cosplaying in 2016 after she and her friends visited the Otaku Store, where they met organisers who informed them of an upcoming convention.

“We were so surprised that there was even a store that sold manga and anime paraphernalia, let alone conduct conventions,” recalls Rai, who grew up watching anime and cartoons with her aunt. “We didn’t have internet; we would go to the DVD store and get CDs.”

For the convention, Rai started with characters that did not require complex props or detailed costumes, deciding to go as Tenten from Naruto.

Suki Manandhar as Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan. Photo: by Prithibi Rai. Used with permission.

“I saw so many people dressed like characters I had grown up watching on screen and loved — it was amazing to see them walking around in real life,” she muses. “I have been to so many conventions since then, but that first one will always be special.”

Rai’s cosplay as Saber from the Japanese visual novel Fate/stay night, which she worked on for three months, would win her the 2nd prize at Comic Con Nepal 2017 and take her to New Delhi to represent the country.

Back in Nepal, Otaku Jatra finally hosted a large-scale convention — a Jatra — in 2017. By 2020, they had expanded enough to be a special event within Visit Nepal 2020, but those plans were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My hobby turned into passion and passion turned into a business,” says Rohit Shrestha about Otaku Jatra speaking with Nepali Times ahead of their convention that will include cosplay, animation, K-pop contests, e-sports competitions, arcade gaming, and much more.

Shrestha recalls a man in his sixties attending a convention with a cowboy hat and a prop gun. He was happy to finally find a space in Nepal where he could express his childhood wish of being a cowboy. We also get plenty of expatriates, little children dressed as Naruto or Dragon Ball Z characters with their parents in tow, adds Shrestha.

Photo by Suman Nepali. Used with permission.

Otaku Jatra has branched out to India and approached content creators across South Asia to participate in events in Nepal with the plan to turn the country into a mecca for pop culture fans in the Subcontinent.

“We have mountaineering and adventure tourism. Why not pop-culture tourism?” says Shrestha. “It’s going to take a long time to get there, but it’s a hustle.”

The collective is also looking into ways to expand its digital platform in order to help artists and content creators make their hobbies profitable. Conventions like Otaku Jatra have also provided them with a space to showcase their work — be it cosplay itself, animation, or other forms of art.

“These conventions are also networking opportunities for artists and corporations,” Shrestha adds. “We hope content creators can expand their work beyond hobbies into something that is more sustainable.”

Additionally, the collective hopes to expand Nepali pop culture itself. One of its most recent undertakings is the Jatraverse, a digital universe through which they plan to introduce and incorporate characters from Nepali folklore and mythology — like the Yeti, Pisach, and Kichkandi — into their artform.

Photo by Suman Nepali. Used with permission.

The cosplay community across the world has had to confront racism, misogyny, harassment, and homophobia. In Nepal, cosplayers say they have faced sexism and body shaming, as well as some degree of ignorance and active pushback when artists have tried to speak out. In fact, body shaming and online bullying have held many people back from being part of the community.

For their part, organisers say they will ensure that the event is a safe space for artists to express themselves. “Cosplay is not consent,” says Shrestha.

Says Suki Manandhar: “This is a community where you can be anything regardless of who you are. I have met a lot of people who have chosen to be kind, understand consent, and stand up for each other.”