'How Heavy Is Your Cannon?'

On a windy Friday, an array of characters from the far-reaches of fandom gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Even as the gust and drizzle picked up -- threatening their wigs and weapons -- visitors to the annual Anime Revolution convention were eager to show off their costumes, which many laboured for months on.

For an outsider looking in, it's not unusual to have questions: How does one begin making a 20-pound rock cannon? Is becoming a video game nemesis expensive? What is "cosplay" anyway, and (a classic) what do their parents think?

As you might guess, cosplay is a portmanteau of costume and play. Dressing as admired characters gained popularity in Japan, and has exploded onto pop culture convention scenes around the world.

The characters can be from pretty much anywhere: Japanese manga or anime, comic books and cartoons, film, TV, video games or even Canadian history. (If you're scratching your head, just scroll a little further).

Summer is the prime season for Vancouver cosplayers. Aside from Anime Revolution, there's Fan Expo Vancouver -- the city's budding answer to Comic-Con -- and Anime Evolution, which sees hundreds of cosplayers take over the University of British Columbia campus.

But cosplaying is a lot more than simply throwing on a Halloween costume. Some attendees use leatherworking, welding and even metalsmithing techniques to achieve their convention look.

The Tyee snapped some photos and asked the tough questions at the event's entrance Friday afternoon. Photos by Christopher Cheung.

Matt Wong, Elissa Woo and Fiona Ng are characters from Aldnoah.Zero, a Japanese anime series with battling robots.

Ng's parents told her "it's a waste of money" when she first started cosplaying three years ago. But then she got a job.

"They've given up," said Ng. "They said now that you're earning your own money you can do whatever you want."

Unlike Ng's case, Tom and Erna Gallagher were approving parents. They've been cosplaying for about 12 years and like to do pairings together. This time around they're Stinky Pete and Bo Peep from Toy Story 2.

"Our girls got us into it," said Tom Gallagher. "Now they're not into it, and we're still doing it."

Brody Bellon, Brandon Bellon and Tom Harskamp are the Powerpuff Girls. "Gender-bending" or "crossplaying" is a popular and common part of cosplay.

Harskamp on why they decided to dress as the animated crime-fighting trio: "We had all the right complexities and hair colour. We got a redhead, a blonde and a brunette. It's kinda hilarious."

Jim Soo had the idea to cosplay as Thanatos from Japanese franchise Persona -- a personification of Death -- about three years ago.

When asked about the biggest challenge of getting the costume together, especially the ring of coffins around him, he said, "figuring out the physics."

Yuchi Yang's friends had to help her keep her feathers under control as she made her way through the door. But Yang said the most difficult part of her costume wasn't walking through doors or even going to the washroom; rather, "walking when the wind blows."

"It's not bad," said Neil Fraser modestly of his first time cosplaying. He was surrounded by fans wanting to take a photo with him dressed as a murderous character called Pyramid Head.

In a convention filled with characters from pop culture, Tom McNeil is Air Marshal "Billy" Bishop, a Canadian flying ace from the First World War.

"I've always been different," said McNeil.