From One Piece to Nana and many other anime classics, this local cosplayer has a thousand faces — and even more social media followers
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From the black fishnet stockings, tattered plaid miniskirt, cropped latex biker jacket and spiked wristbands, Nana Osaki is iconically punk. The lead singer for Japanese punk band Black Stones, a.k.a. Blast, is a favourite with fans.
But Osaki isn’t real.
That’s why Vancouver-based Fear Fiction is channelling Osaki from head to toe at a photo shoot. It’s a role she has played before.
Blending costume and play, cosplay is more than merely dressing up.
The performance art sees participants compete for prize money and more at fan events, as well as through social media sites and channels. Many top-rated cosplayers travel the world and have huge followings.
“I was already doing anime costume videos on Tik Tok and decided that if I hit 50K, I would do a full cosplay one,” said Fear Fiction. “The first ever was Roronoa Zorro from One Piece and it hit a million, as did the next two. I realized I might be good at this.”
Cosplayers will be on hand for everything from photo ops to the Craftsmanship Cup and red carpet events in Vancouver. Along with featured guests, there are also legions of “closet cosplayers” expected to attend. Consider them different classes of the same school.
“People who make cosplays out of clothing that they already have are called closet cosplayers, and that’s where I always tell people to start,” she said. “You see people decked out in really complex armour and really detailed clothing, and you can get intimidated. But you can cosplay right now without that stuff, doing things like characters with the same colour or style of hair as you and so on.”
As you get more into the scene, the closet space required becomes far greater. Taking on roles such as Feitan Portor from the Hunter x Hunter adventure series has led to Fear Fiction having a wall of swords, among many other wardrobe accessories.
While celebrities including cast members from Doctor Who and Supernatural, and acclaimed motion-capture master Andy Serkis (who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and Caesar in Planet of the Apes) get top-billing at FXV, cosplayers are significant drivers in the whole experience.
It’s a competitive world, says Andrew Moyes, who is the VP of Fan Expo HQ, which produces 16 fan events across North America. One of the most highly attended events is the Masters of Cosplay Grand Prix performance.
The winner of the various regional qualifiers is flown down to MEGCON Orlando. Billed as “the mecca for all things geeky and great,” the event takes place in March 2026.
“People submit their applications, which are then curated by a panel of cosplay experts, and certain people are extended an invitation to take part in the Masters of Cosplay competition,” said Moyes. “That includes an in-person, five-minute presentation in front of the judges, producing a portfolio that outlines their cosplay philosophy, as well as proof that their costume has been made 70-per cent by them. From there, they perform in costume in front of all of their fandom community for awards ranging from novice to best in show.”
FXV cosplay winners are not qualified for MEGACON Orlando. Calgary and Toronto are the Canadian qualifiers.
Local winners will compete for prize money ranging from $500 for best in show to $100 for best novice. Participants in the 2025 MEGACON Orlando Masters of Cosplay Grand Finale compete for US$10,000 in winnings. Moyes says that this level of prize money reflects the growth of the cosplay community, from beginning as a passion pursuit to today’s global brand influencer status.
It’s a seismic shift in what drives attendance at fan events today.
“It used to be comics, sci-fi, anime, gaming and horror as the main pillars,” he said. “But the cosplay genre is now emerging as another pillar fuelled entirely by the fans, who love doing it. We also have several daily Cosplay Red Carpets, with no barriers for anyone at all different levels, to come and get introduced by an MC and have an opportunity to try it out.”
Fear Fiction says building a brand takes time and finding the characters that suit you the most is an equation weighted equal parts emotion and execution. How much you are a fan of a show or title is the usual launch pad. Getting started is the subject of many of her most popular TikToks and YouTube tutorials.
“You can cosplay anyone you want, whether they seem suited to you or not, because that is the creativity of it,” she said. “I cosplay a lot of characters that don’t suit me because I love to do them. But for a convention, I like to try to be as close as I can to a character that really suits me, which begins with aiming for short characters since I’m only 5’1”.
She says there is both fun and skill involved in “putting on” another character’s skin and seeing what it’s like. She admits that the long lineups at fan meet-and-greets can get exhausting for someone who isn’t naturally extroverted.
But the fact that those lines are there bodes well for the future following of Fear Fiction.