[Hanaji Sensei's POV] Sexy Cosplay and Ero Cosplay ROM: It's Just 'Cosplay' ROM

Yo! Hanaji Sensei here!

I've been collecting Cosplay CD-ROMs for 5 years now and most of them are Sexy and Ero Cosplay ROMs. So what's the difference between a Sexy and an Ero Cosplay ROM?

My recent Cosplay ROM and Photo books purchases from last years Comiket

I define Sexy cosplays as cosplays which are, well... 'sexy', hot yet not very revealing, suggestive but not explicit. In a sexy Cosplay ROM, the cosplayer usually displays sexually attractive poses but doesn't expose any private parts. Although it is not limited to stripping clothes or exposing cleavages and panties. It also depends on the type of the characters they are cosplaying. Some characters are simply created with sexy outfits. Good examples of this genre are Itsuki Akira, Enako, Kei Shino, and Hiiragi Mayon.

While Ero cosplays which stands for 'Erotic Cosplay', as the name suggests, can range from being decently sexy to being extremely lewd. Sometimes it may even include sexual acts. Yes, with that said, Sexy cosplay can be considered as Ero cosplay as well but that depends if the cosplayer acknowledge it herself. But what makes an ero cosplay 'erotic' in my opinion is the presence of fetishes being displayed in every ROM and the act of exposing (or at least deliberately trying to expose) their private parts, sometimes nudity. It sounds kinda contradicting with my definition of sexy cosplay but you'll get it...www Well-known examples of ero cosplayers are Lenfried, Ushijima Iiniku, Yutori, Higurashi Rin and Ran, Hiyo Nishizuku, Ai Saotome, Eri Kitami (MEGANE FETISH!!!) and even some Japanese AV Stars like Kana Yume and Abeno Miku. They are usually attending the Cosholic event to sell their ROMs but they also participate in Comiket if they pass the selection.

Then, there are ROMs which are hard to tell which of the two genre it belongs. Unless the cosplayer tell you that it is an Ero Cosplay or Sexy Cosplay ROM. But in general, they never really call it 'Ero Cosplay ROM' or 'Sexy Cosplay ROM'. It is just a 'Cosplay ROM'. The problem is that most people always refer to sexy cosplays as ero cosplays and some cosplayers don't want to call their kind of cosplay ero that is why I have to distinguish the two genre.

Atsuki's ROMs are good examples of ROMs mixed between being Sexy and Ero Cosplay 

It mostly depends on the contents of the ROMs. We also have the ratings for it, R-15 and R-18 Ero cosplay ROM. It's hard to explain what my point really is... But at the end of the day, a Cosplay ROM is just a Cosplay ROM.

But it doesn't necessarily mean that sexy and ero-cosplays are 'bad' cosplays due to their lewd nature. I know that in some countries such cosplay is not acceptable. I feel really sorry about it. Still, I appreciate such genre for its artistic and unique approach in cosplay. To fully appreciate these kind of works, 'RESPECT' towards the cosplayers is important.

In the end, a Cosplay ROM is a Cosplay ROM.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article is simply my own and do not necessarily reflect the cosplay community in Japan and the official genre/category of each cosplayers mentioned in this article. I just made-up these categories to distinguish the level of lewdness/sexiness of the ROM. So, there is no official category such as sexy cosplay but Ero Cosplay is somewhat being recognized as a cosplay category in Japan. That is just how I define the two categories since some cosplayers do not want to associate their 'sexy' cosplays to 'ero' cosplays.