"I get e-mails all the time from Brazil and the United States," said Tatsumi Inui, a staffer at Japan's largest kosupure ("cosplay" or "costume play") Web site, Cure.
"The only problem is I don't speak English, so I use translation software, and I can get by that way."
According to Inui, 40, the international community has played a role in cosplay right from the outset.