SINGAPORE — Mention Japan, and there’s no way you could avoid one of their most famous exports ever: Anime.

With their inhumanely big eyes, quirky hair colours and over-the-top fashion, this genre has captured hearts and minds around the world. In Singapore, the love for anime is stronger than ever, and it can be seen by the number of cosplay events on the calender for fans here.

For example, just this month, two cosplay related events hit our shores — Cosfest XV: Reborn on July 2 and C3 CharaExpo that took place last weekend.

Another event, Anime Festival Asia, is set to return in five months, while Cosfest Sea — the first cosplay cruise to set foot in Asia — is having its second instalment next February.

The cruise is a partnership between Royal Caribbean International and the Singapore Cosplay Club which, at its 16th year, is the longest running club for cosplay. Activities will include a cosplay parade, a cosplay-anime party and cosplay photoshoots.

“There was a great amount of anticipation for the first cruise,” noted Stephanie Loh, the founder of Singapore Cosplay Club, which organised both Cosfest XV: Reborn and Cosfest Sea. Because the first one did so well, the club decided to organise a second round, and Loh says she is “expecting a lot more cosplayers, friends and families to come”.

Asked why cosplay is such a hit here, marketing manager Geraldine Ee Jia Yi from media company Sozo, which founded Anime Festival Asia, pointed out that cosplaying helps relive people’s “childhood fantasies”.

“Many people in their younger days may have dreamt of being a knight or princess, or imagined themselves to be the hero from their favourite cartoon series,” she said, adding that as they mature and grow older, cosplaying helps fulfil that “fantasy”, where they can dress up as their favourite character.

“Cosplay provides them with the opportunity to gather, talk about their favourite characters and have fun. It is about building a community for like-minded people,” said Takaaki Kidani, president and chief executive officer of Bushiroad Inc, which organised C3 CharaExpo.

C3 CharaExpo is a Japanese manga, anime, games and cosplay event where fans can meet the producers of Japanese content and watch Japanese performances. A cosplay competition called CosStage was also held, where cosplayers submitted entries of their best cosplay photographs for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to the Tokyo Game Show 2016 in September.

“This year, we received a significant number of really strong entries for CosStage, more than last year,” noted Kidani.

Another reason could be that new animes are continuously hitting our screens, which means more new characters for fans to cosplay as. “Every season, more new and interesting animation series are released from Japan, so there is continuous renewed interest from anime fans,” said Ee.

The cosplay scene is also becoming more mainstream. “More people are open to it,” Ee said, pointing out that a recent local movie called Young & Fabulous, has a theme focusing on cosplay and cosplayers.

“Once, I explained what cosplaying is to a cab driver and he said, ‘At least the kids can learn new skills (like making costumes) rather than engage in dangerous or illegal activities’.

“These are sentiments I can agree with, and this is perhaps why some parents are more open to their children cosplaying,” she added.

Ee pointed out that at last year’s Anime Festival Asia, “about 20 per cent of our visitors were cosplayers”, adding that she is expecting to see that number rise by another 10 per cent in this year’s edition.

Is there a possibility of this huge fad ever dying down though? “Unlikely,” said Kidani, adding that cosplaying “has a massive community of supporters who are really passionate about their hobby”.

Loh, who is a cosplayer, revealed that “cosplaying has become a way of life” for many of the hobbyists. “It makes me feel really happy when I can finally become the character I love,” she explained, adding that the rush of exuberance was why she got into cosplay.

Loh’s favourite character is the character Sailor Moon from the anime series, Sailor Moon. “I find it fascinating that a young girl like that can save the world through her own strength,” she said.