1) The author was once an avid anime fan and cosplayer who attended cosplay events regularly with friends from her anime club. 2) She eventually participated in cosplay contests, portraying anime characters of the opposite sex in a way that made her feel uncomfortable later. 3) Her spiritual leader advised her that cosplaying went against God by portraying unrealistic characters and potentially causing others to stumble, which led the author to pray and realize she had offended God. 4) She decided to abandon cosplaying altogether to avoid further offending God or letting it consume and corrupt her, instead making God her top priority.

1. A CosplayerWho Abandoned the Cosplay
By: Jenine Silos
Twitter: @ninesilos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenineSoo
Personal website: http://writeforacause.org/
Short Bio:
Jenine Silos is a Christian woman who loves Jesus more than anything else on this world. She
was once an anime freak, a cosplayer, and a fangirl who idolized anime characters, until she
encountered an accident with the LORD. It was a personal accident that has changed her entire
life, she abandoned cosplaying and decided to completely follow Christ. Now, she mostly writes
articles that tackle about anime and its effect to one’s spirituality.
******
Cosplay is the shortened term for "costume play." A cosplay event then is a
gathering where anime lovers, fanatics, and cosplayers engage together for fun
and activities. It's an event where colored wigs are worn everywhere. Youths
wear gigantic costumes and weapons, and each of them are portraying the
anime character of their choice. Some years ago, I was one of those youths. A
cosplayer.
I was an anime freak, err, fanatic. I think I can categorize myself as "otaku" way
back before. I really loved watching cosplays. Honestly, my friend and I used to
watch cosplay events every now and then. When I was a freshman in college, I
joined an anime club at my university. I used to attend our club meetings and
participate in our team buildings. And sometimes, when there was a cosplay
event happening in the mall, all of us in the anime club, organized by our Club
President, would go together in that cosplay event. I remember back then that
we rented a jeepney just to cater all of us.
Every time I went to a cosplay event, I used to wear clothes that would reflect
the event. My friends used to tell me, “Are you cosplaying, too?” That’s how
fanatic I was, to a point that I wanted to be like them—the animes or the
cosplayers. We would watch the event together, and we would sit together,
shouting and giggling every time we see a favorite cosplayer.
Then I came to a point in my life that I wasn’t just watching the event. I was
PART of the cosplay event! I cosplayed. My friend (I call her Tine) was very
supportive of me and she helped me from start to finish. To both of us, it was a
breakthrough that I would do the costume playing. In fact, I wasn’t just going to
walk around to flaunt my costume, but I actually joined the contest. I had my

2. own acting script and I went on stage—in front of many judges and people
whom I don’t know. I walked on stage with the demeanor of a man, with the
grace of a noble, and bearing with me the arrogant yet sophisticated act. I even
threw a red rose to the audience at the final scene and I heard everyone
shouting and giggling—but to the present me, I find it disturbing (insert sighing
here).
On that day I wasn’t myself, I was somebody else. I wasn’t a woman, I was a
man. I kept reminding myself that it wasn’t me, that I was portraying the
character which people loved, and therefore, I should satisfy their desire to
look at me as if I was really that anime character, and then completely abandon
my own.I thought it was alright, that it wouldn’t offend God. Why would God be
offended? I couldn’t understand why He would. Because as long as I didn’t hurt
anyone, I’m good. We’re good. But I was wrong.
When my spiritual leader knew about it, she told me to STOP. She told me,
“That’s very dangerous. You are trying to portray the character that’s not even
real. The enemy is deceitful, he will make a way to use it against your
relationship with God. You’re a woman and yet you’re portraying a man, what
makes you think that it doesn’t offend God?”
“But it was just a costume play!” I told her. I struggled so much with my
leader’s advice. It took me many weeks before I could finally understand what
she was trying to make me understand. But then, when I prayed to the Lord and
the Lord opened my heart, so that I can understand, I finally realized it all. That
I was wrong.I did offend God.
Why is God offended?
Portraying a male character, even though I’m a woman, is one way of the
enemy’s deception. There are no passages in the Bible that God said that doing
such a thing is alright. I was actually doing what the world was doing, contrary
to the Lord’s ways. When you cosplay, you tend to adapt his character traits
and personality, and then what? You are then temporarily disregarding yourself,
which is God’s unique creation. And for a moment you’re not YOU. You’re
somebody else that God didn’t design you to be, and you flaunt yourself in the
public that might actually make people stumble. Yes, I did all that. I was guilty
of it all. But the good thing is, I repented.
The worst of this portrayal is that the character isn’t even real. It’s the motive
of our hearts that the Lord is offended with. Why do you cosplay? A possible
chance would be that you’re a fan—you idolize that character. You like that

3. anime. What makes you think that idolizing, or fantasizing, an anime doesn’t
offend God? Even during Moses’ time, God was offended when His people made
images and idolizes them.
Exodus 32:7-8 ESV
7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up
out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside
quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves
a golden calf and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it and said, “These are
your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 9 And the
Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked
people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against
them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
What makes you think that God is not offended? God is offended as simple
as a lie, what more if you portray a character that will make you a different
person?
We are blinded by this culture that we don’t care whether the character we’re
cosplaying is an evil character or not. In fact, it doesn’t matter to a cosplayer, as
long as the character is cool to their eyes, and as long as they are having fun,
and doesn’t offend people. Let us know, however, that we don’t live here on
earth to please people or to offend people, we live to please God and not to
offend Him as much as we can.
For that reason, I ABANDONED cosplaying. Because I didn’t want to offend God
by it. I’m not saying that if you cosplay you’ll go to hell. I’m not saying that if
you cosplay God will not look at you anymore. If you think that way, you’re
wrong. God only wants you to make Him your first priority. But you see,
cosplaying can lead you to SIN and more sins if you let it consume and corrupt
you. And for these reasons also, I decided to abandon the costume playing that
I once loved and played.