The boy's name is Uzumaki Naruto and in January he visited Jakarta's Cilandak Town Square along with his two teammates: Haruno Sakuraa, a pink-haired girl with monstrous powers and Uchiha Sasuke, a child prodigy in the ninja world who possesses the ability to copy and predict his opponent's movements using his three-pupil red eye.

Welcome to the world of costume playing, where ninjas are everywhere to be seen, pocket monsters come to life and Darth Vader chats enthusiastically with Sailor Moon.

On Jan. 27, a small costume playing competition was held in Cilandak Town Square to promote the popular Japanese animation Naruto. Children and grownups alike turned out for the event dressed as their favorite characters.

Costume playing or cosplay is a hobby born out of the Japanese youth subculture on the streets outside of Harajuku station and around the district of Akihabara, a neighborhood in Tokyo where the teenagers wear wild and outrageous clothing. Sometimes they depict fictional characters and sometimes they wear over-the-top clothing just to express themselves.

This then became a tradition for devoted fans of Japanese animation, video games, and sci-fi and fantasy movies to dress up as their favorite fictional characters. They call themselves cosplayers, short for costume players.

Costume playing has become more than just dressing up. In anime and sci-fi conventions around the world, the cosplay competition is the most awaited event.

Cosplayers come in character and are given two to 10 minutes on stage to perform a skit or cabaret for the judges and the audience. The winner will receive some sort of a prize, usually money and a selection of goodies

In Indonesia, the quality of the competition has dramatically improved in the past few years as more events are held and more fans are passionately devoting their time and money to bringing their favorite characters to life.

University student, 18-year-old Nimas, spent six months finishing her latest costume, a black-and-white mini dress with red ribbons strapped around her limbs completed with a huge pair of black wings.

"I'm cosplaying as Reinforce from the anime Magical Girls Lyrical Nanoha A's. It's my most complicated costume so far!"

Another Indonesian cosplayer, Haryo Wisanggeni, 22, can devote two or three weeks to make a costume.

"I am a slave to cosplay," he joked.

"For me, it's not only about the costume. It's more about the characterization, the action of putting your heart and soul into playing the character," Haryo said.

Nothing is more satisfying for Haryo than seeing his costumes materialize.

"Cosplaying is a manifestation of parts of my personality that I can't express in real life. I want to be a little narcissistic and a little bit of a flirt. When I'm cosplaying, I can do that without any negative repercussions. I can just say that I'm playing a character."

The shy Haryo once cosplayed as the smart and flirty Midoriba Itsuki from the game "Shuffle". On the stage, he grabbed the microphone from the host and shouted, "Jakarta girls are very beautiful!" He then proceeded to give a rose to the host.

Both Nimas and Haryo believe that costume playing is a form of art. "I really don't like it when other people pollute this form of art by taking it lightly. It's not Halloween, nor it is your high school prom where you just dress up and stand there. Acting is very important!" Nimas exclaimed.

A more seasoned Indonesian cosplayer, Nur Wijayanti, has cosplayed 20 times since 2005. She too believes that characterization and role playing are very important in engaging in cosplay.

"I always try my best to portray the character and not be me on stage. Getting away from the pressures of study is a good feeling."

However, not all fans of Japanese animation think that costume playing is the best hobby and outlet for them.

Twenty-one-year-old medical student Annora Thoeng can't get enough of anime and manga (Japanese comic books).

She lists Nana and Naruto as her favorite series. Annora, however, is not a big fan of costume playing.

"I have read so many mangas and watch a lot of anime. I am a big fan of both of them, but costume playing? It's like creating an alter-ego. That's just ... geeky. Social suicide, I tell you."

Law student Bambang Dhanisworo, who reads and watches both the manga and anime of Bleach and One Piece religiously, agrees. "I don't do cosplay because I think it's geeky! I do like the anime culture but I don't like it when it's overdone. Cosplay is just too much for me," he said.

Nur said Annora's and Bambang's reactions were fairly typical. "It's just the view of people who have never been in our shoes. They don't know anything about this hobby and frankly, I think they just haven't been to this part of the world, yet!" she laughed.

Franky, 30, is new to the cosplay world.

Shamelessly standing in the middle of the busy Cilandak Town Square as the cool yet perverted copy ninja Kakashi from the anime Naruto he also think that cosplay is not reserved specially for the geeks.

"I think it's the opposite! When going to these conventions, I get to meet new people and socialize. There is nothing geeky about that!"

Moreover, Haryo insisted that this is just a harmless hobby.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what other people say. As long as I do my job properly and be a nice person, who cares if my hobby is a little bit new and different?" he shrugged.

Nevertheless, most cosplayers agree their hobby is getting more competitive.

"There are professional cosplay groups that create beautiful costumes, and there will always be new cosplayers with better outfits and performances," Haryo said.

And all of them are looking forward to battling it out in the upcoming awaited event held by the animation magazine Animonster-Animonster Sound Aishiteru 2008.

"You definitely have to go. I can't wait!" Nimas said.

Samurai X

The legendary and history-inspired manga turned anime is set in the early days of the Meiji period in Japan. It tells the story of Himura Kenshin, a wanderer who comes across as an innocent and peace-loving samurai when in fact he used to be known as Hitokiri Battousai, the number one assassin hired by the government. The series follows Kenshin as he faces the ghosts of his past.

Naruto

A coming of age manga turned anime series revolving around a young orphan ninja called Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto is struggling to achieve his lifelong dream of being the most powerful ninja, while trying to rescue his power-hungry best friend, Uchiha Sasuke, from evil and being targeted by the organization, Akatsuki.

One Piece

The series follows a group of extraordinary pirates, led by Monkey D. Luffy, whose life goal is to obtain the ultimate pirate treasure, the One Piece. Luffy whose ability to stretch his body puts the plastic man to shame will meet various characters along his journey and face his challenges.

Bleach

The story is about the adventure of a high school student, Kurosaki Ichigo who accidentally receives the power of a shinigami -- a god of death -- from an injured shinigami, Kuchiki Rukia. Ichigo must first take her place as the town's shinigami by defeating evil spirit called hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife.

Inuyasha

This feudal fairy tale is steeped in Japanese culture. It follows the journey of a half-dog demon and half human, Inuyasha and a high school human girl, Kagome, who is a reincarnation of the world's strongest priestess in their journey to collect the million shards of the shattered Shikon no Tama, the jewel of four souls.

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