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Most features of cosplay have spread first to the other parts of Asia, then around the globe, and finally fused with costuming at science fiction conventions in North America and Europe. It is also a common sight at anime conventions.
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sweatdrop Cosplayers at anime conventions in North America often find themselves on the receiving ends of glomps, a type of high-powered hug. sweatdrop

Cosplay in the United States and Europe differs from Japanese cosplay culture in some ways. Cosplay concerning Star Trek, Star Wars, other science fiction worlds, Renaissance-era characters, and historical re-enactments (e.g. Civil War battles), especially at science fiction conventions, are far more popular in the West than they are in Japan. Alternatively, some costumes that might be seen as in bad taste in America (such as Nazi uniforms from certain comics or games) may be seen at events in Japan.

Western cosplayers are stereotypically lampooned as being overweight or otherwise unsuited to the characters they attempt to portray. An issue with cosplaying anime and manga characters is that these characters generally do not have bodily proportions that can easily be mimicked by many typical cosplayers (e.g. incredibly long legs, huge muscles or giant breasts), and there is debate among fans about how important or not this element is when cosplaying.

In Mexico, cosplay is commonly seen inside conventions that can be video game, science fiction or anime themed. It is common that cosplayers will also organize their own reunions which can be themed or free for the sake of taking pictures together. Cosplay in Mexico is competitive in a healthy level, with well established representatives.

In Australia, the trend mirrors the American and European in that the subject costumes may be selected from sources other than manga or anime. Sources include western comics, computer games, science fiction/fantasy movies and TV shows, animation shorts or features, period drama, novels - any source that provides vivid and graphic inspiration of a character and their costume. Usually the term "cosplay" is not used to cover historical recreation as the focus is on representational accuracy, not historical accuracy. In general, Australian cosplay is most commonly seen in the larger population centres such as the capital cities and major regional centres, as these have the population base to support the diversity among fringe interests. The display of the costumes is not limited to conventions, although it is not unusual for dedicated cosplayers to travel extensively throughout Australia following the convention trail during the year. In addition to the social convening at conventions, many smaller social groupings exist, hosting their own local events.

Cosplay is rapidly entering the mainstream in the Philippines, where cosplay events are often held within an anime, manga, gaming, or sci-fi convention. More often than not, these conventions and events are sponsored, and debates have raged on whether or not judges' perspectives are influenced by the organizers of a cosplay event.

Cosplay is also common in Southeast Asian cities that are heavily influenced by Japanese culture, like Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Besides the comic festivals and events frequently organized in those cities, cosplayers also frequent districts popular with teenagers.

Cosplay in North America
Convention activity in the United States and Canada has become a much larger and much more popular trend in the 2000's. Larger conventions such as Anime Boston, Otakon and Sakuracon have become renowned internationally. With the added public attention coming from such popular animated cartoons imported from Japan (see anime) including Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, and now the popular BLEACH, cosplayers and the anime world have peeked their heads into the world of mainstream pop-culture, on at least a relatively underground scale. More and more convention goers cosplay as their favorite characters from their favorite anime, and thus, the cosplay and anime subcultures have been able to have enough influence to further the creation of anime conventions to accommodate for the increasing number of cosplayers. Many cosplayers jokingly refer to Halloween as "National Cosplay Day".

Conventions in America often include both cosplay and costume contests. The cosplay or "masque" (masquerade) is a skit contest done in cosplay costume. This can range from a single person quoting a character's famous line (e.g., Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop: "Bang" wink , to a 10-member costumed cast singing and dancing to the theme of Sailor Moon, to actual comedic or dramatic one-act plays. The costume contest is often a test of skill, design, and audience reaction. The contestants are judged either before hand or on stage and then walk across said stage while the audience cheers. Judging is divided by two categories, craftsmanship and presentation. Craftsmanship is how well the costume is made, effort, originality and scope of the costume comes into play. Presentation accounts of how well the costume is presented. Regardless of how the costume is made, presentation is more about how the costume is used. ie. a costume consisting of t-shirt and jeans can easily defeat a 2,000 dollar Victorian style dress, simply by being in a comedy routine. Winners of both contests often receive prizes such as gift cards, trophies, and anime DVDs. The increased popularity of convention costuming has lead to the addition of several relatively new cosplay-based events, adding to the traditional masquerade and hall costume contests. Such events include the Anime Dating Game, and Cosplay Human Chess, where participating cosplayers act out their characters' role in the game accordingly.

Competition has led to the development of many cosplay groups that plan for conventions months in advance.

Non-competitive cosplay can often be seen at opening nights for science-fiction and fantasy movies, especially those with an established following. Even in small towns, some cosplayers wait in line for hours before showings of movies in franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Even cult hits like Serenity have drawn opening night cosplay.