Hi Everyone,

This is Ed, one of the translators for the WCS event.  Some may have noticed that a blog has been started on the Japanese version of the WCS web page a few days ago. Well, I am happy to announce that there is going to be a blog on the English site here as well!

I will be honest with you, I have never been a big fan of blogs. I have always thought that if you want to write down something personal, write it in a diary.  Blogs can often be used as propaganda, for ulterior motives, to mislead.   However, for the WCS website there are some definite advantages to having a blog and through it I will strive to do the following:

1) Provide the most recent information about the World Cosplay Summit event

1) List information and links to great pictures and video that is only available on the Japanese web site.

2) Keep in touch with WCS participants from the past.

I hope that through the blog people can get the most recent information and I am looking forward to any comments or suggestions, particularly from those who took part in previous years!

Ed

Hello All,

As I mentioned in the last entry, there are a number of pictures and videos that I wanted to provide links to so that everyone can enjoy. Unfortunately the movies seem to be unlinkable directly so I will start you off with a page that has a whole bunch of pictures and videos HERE!

You may not be able to make out the Japanese but you should be able to see the pictures OK. Scroll down the page and keep an eye out for this symbol:

There are four of them on the page and they are links to some great video clips. 
As the entries are in blog form the order of the clips is kind of backwards but I will start from the top.

The first clip from the top is the lovable Nakamura Clan (Group Representatives for Central Japan for WCS 2005) and their preparation for WCS 2005, their stage performance and winning of the Brother Award. The kids are the epitome of "Kawaiiiii".

The second clip down shows Dounia's (French Individual Representative for WCS 2005) trip from winning the individual preliminary event in France to her final stage performance at the Aichi Expo Dome. Just watching the video brings back memories of her powerful voice.

The third clip shows a sneak peek at Georgia's (Italian Individual Representative for WCS 2005) bedroom, figure collection and wardrobe. It goes on to show her winning the Individual Event at WCS 2005. The severed head of Devilman was a great touch.

The final clip is a kind of historical overview of the WCS event. It starts with some scenes from 2003, the number of cameramen was shocking. It moves on to show some of the 2004 event and finishes with the stage event on the Expo Dome stage in 2005.

These clips are actually shown weekly on TV. It is too bad they are so short and can be so easily missed. I hope everyone can see the videos OK. If you cannot, leave a comment and I will see what can be done about it.

Ed

Hi everyone,

WCS 2006 is coming up pretty soon and the decision for the Web Based Representatives for Japan is coming up. Technically this vote is meant for those who can access the site in Japanese but in this blog entry I will show you how to view the candidates videos and direct you through the voting process.  In fact the voting period goes until 12 midnight of July 23rd leaving little time to cast your vote. However, the video footage for the 5 candidate groups it awsome and should not be missed even if you are not able to get your vote in by the cut off time. I just hope that the video footage stays online...

Click here to see the page with the candidate video clips!

If you scroll down the page you will see 5 "play" symbols that look like this:

Click on them and you can see the candidates performances. "Barbara" is a group that has been doing cosplay for almost 10 years and their aura of confident experience is expressed even through the video clip. The "Pink Panther" duo's hair is stunning and the "Mamio Family" pair is simply cute, cute, cute! Check them out, they are all great at their art and I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of the vote.

How to Vote

There is not much time left but if you would like to cast a vote click on this symbol at the bottom of the page:

You will then go to the voting screen where you can select the group that you liked best! The voting screen looks like this:

You must select one group, fill in an e-mail address and click "send" at the bottom to sucessfuly cast your vote.

Enjoy the video and happy voting!

Ed

Hello again,

Ah well, the voting is over now and the videos of most of the contestants for the selection of the Web Based Group have been removed from the home page. The votes have been tabulated and the winners are "Barbara"!

You can check them out here!

On the right hand side of the page look for the same "Play"
symbol and you can see their video. In the video they talk about their special talent to "Change quickly". This special skill is not just in changing clothes but is also according to them "Japanese culture" . Each of the first 4 points, are all written the same "Change quickly" but somehow have completely different meanings according to the quick changing duo. I am still not completely sold on how different each of the 4 points are but it is undeniable that the pair do indeed change quickly. Looking forward to meeting them and maybe others can learn a thing or two about changing quickly from this very experienced cosplay team.

In this blog I will provide a link to more videos that were shown on TV over the year about the World Cosplay Summit. You can see them here!

Again look for the symbol for playing the videos, they look like this:
I will go through them and again start at the bottom of the page.

1.) The first clip from the bottom is of the group team from Spain last year: Jorge, David and Gizella. It shows them demonstrating their performance while they were still in Spain. Then it shows their stunning stage performance at the Expo Dome during the Championship event in the summer of 2005. What was also unforgettable was the packed audience, many  of whom were dressed up in their own cosplay costumes. Finally there is a short interview with Gizella still overwhelmed by the rush just after stepping off stage.

2.) Next we have the group representatives from Italy. The first scenes are of Emilia, Elena and Francesca working on their moves and we can see their great collection of figures. (I think it is the sisters Emilia and Elena's collection, someone correct me if I am wrong) Finally we can see their well choreographed stage performance from the final Championship event.

3.) The third clip is of the preliminary competition to decide the representatives from Spain. It was held at the Salon del Manga event in Barcalona on October 30th, 2005 and you can see how massive the crowds were! You can see the stage performances of the finalists and then the audience voting for their favorite group. Finally there is an interview with the winners Pedro Lopez Rodriquez and Raquel Almazan Roldan. Congratulations!

4.) Finally the clip at the top is of the preliminary competition to select the group from Italy. The event was held thanks to the support of Romics and was held on December 11th 2005. The first few shots are of some of the spectacular costumes worn by some of the guests to the event and moves on to the stage performance. Again, in front of a packed auditorium the candidates perform some very well thought out stage shows. At the end you see the winners Alessandro Leuti and Alessia de Magistris accepting the award for winning and then there is a little interview. Looking forward to seeing you in Nagoya!

Enjoy the videos,

Ed

Hi all,

We will get to the next installment of tidbits but first I would like to introduce you to the location of the final event this year. Last year as some may remember the event was held on the Expo Dome stage at the 2005 Aichi Expo Site. This year too the championship will be held at one of the best locations in Nagoya. Right in the middle of Sakae in Oasis 21! For those who are not familiar with the site I have supplied a photo below:

(Credits:Xylocopal)

The event location will be directly under the Floating Lake near the TV Tower. (I don't think it is really called the Floating Lake, that is a name that I arbitrarily gave to it. It is a floating lake though!) It will be a great place to have it and will allow lots of people, cosplayers and non-cosplayers alike to enjoy the event.

Now, on to the Tidbits!

Since the clips were the part of a blog I will start with the first one at the bottom. Remember to click on the video play symbols that look like this:

Click on the link here to start viewing!

1.) The first one from the bottom is of the 2nd Annual Chinese International Anime Fair round in China. The clip starts by showing scenery around Hangzou (near Shanghai) where the fair was held from April 28th to May 3rd. There are scenes from inside the fair and then things moved on to the preliminary competition. There was music, dancing and some well choreographed sword fighting.! It looked like the crowd enjoyed the performances.

2.) This video is pretty unique. On the 30th there was a special stage event held with cosplayers from Japan, Korea and China. The first images are of the team from Japan, then Korea then there was a special performance by a female cosplayer from Japan who is gaining popularity in China. Last but not least was the China team. As you can see the crowd was taking a lot of pictures; everyone had their cameras out! After that there was a mixer event for all of the cosplayers. Just goes to show how cosplay can bring people together!

3.)  The next clip is of the preliminary selection round which took place on the 1st and 2nd of May. You can see scenes of people getting ready and then the groups took to the stage. 51 teams in total, all selected from 4 regional sub-preliminary competitions. You could imagine how tough a job the judges must have had in selecting the winners. The final announcement was saved for the next day to be held at a Hangzou TV station studio.

4.) and 5.) (There seems to have been a mistake with the video clips this will be fixed by next week, sorry!) This is the final performances and announcement of the winners. It looks like there was a lot of energy put into it with special dancers, lights, smoke and confetti. Each team had their supporters cheering them on and the winners were announced: Yu Shihao and Ni Jyatin. Congratulations!

That's it for this installment, I will have one more set of tidbits for you before the big event starts next week!

Ed