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World Cosplay Championship Report -
August 3rd (Sun)7:00 a.m. at Oasis 21, the championship venue.
This time it had been decided to give out the reserved seat tickets from 10am, but when the staff arrived at the venue there were already about 50 people lining up! Some people had been there since 4:30 in the morning!! Among the people waiting, there was someone there who I remembered! It was the representative for Spain, Nicolas. He was thinking of the championships, getting nervous and so unable to sleep, and so was walking around….this was the beginning of a long day for the representative cosplayers.10 a.m. as distribution of the reserved seat tickets began, the number of people lining up had increased to over 500! Before we knew it, within 30 minutes all the tickets had been given out! This was a kind of staggering premonition. Unfortunately, for those without seat reservations, they had to wait for the evening performance, while staking out a place in the surrounding area.
3:30 p.m. the changing rooms for the regular cosplayers opened. From hereon in, the number of cosplayers arriving at the venue really stood out, and many photos were being taken here and there.
5:00 p.m. As evening came, it became really difficult to move just a small distance in Oasis 21’s Galaxy Plaza as there were just so many people. At the same time, the representative cosplayers were backstage preparing. The area was crowded with clothing and props. In the scorching heat of over 30 degrees, it was possible to escape the heat and feel the a/c here and there, and use hand-held fans………but the “special product” that was most popular backstage was the shaved ice!! Everybody looked as if they were deliciously eating it in order to cool off at that moment. Just a little more to go before the start…….
6:00 p.m. Mr. S’s (a member of staff) powerful opening video began and the curtain was finally raised on the championships! Then that customary voice……
“Let’s begin the World Cosplay Summi-------t!!
Appearances were made by:Guest commentators: Furuya Toru (voice actor) and Kato Natsuki (actress and model).
Guest judges: Igarashi Yumiko (manga artist), Matsumoto Rika (voice actor and singer),
Nakagawa Ben (from the Foreign Ministry), and Yoshida Hirotaka, who is the President of Toranoana.
MCs: Ochiai Kentaro and Aizawa Nobuo (TV Aichi announcer).
Report: Arai Chisato (TV Aichi announcer).Judging Method
The judges consisted of the 4 guest judges above plus 10 judges from the general public recruited through the official WCS homepage.
Costumes (maximum 10 points), performance (maximum 10 points), faithfulness to the original work (maximum 5 points) for a maximum total of 25 points.
Totals were calculated after all performances had finished.Awards
Championship prize: a trophy; return air tickets to Japan (in the event that a Japanese teams wins, return air tickets to one of the countries taking part in the championships; cosplayers choose); the Minister for Foreign Affairs Prize.Runners-up: 100,000yen worth of anime and manga goods.
Brother prize (Judges’ Special Prize): Brother inkjet multifunction printer, scanner, and fax (MFC870CDN).Program for each country:
(Salviani Laura and Auclair Cecile)
France
Performed as Oruha and Suu from Clover.
Amid a feeling of tension as they were the first up, they gave an intense performance that completely changed the atmosphere in the venue.
(Seung-Yong Kong and Kyeuong-Min Kong)
Korea
They performed as Van Fanel and Folken Fanel from The Vision of Escaflowne.
This year too the Korean team performed a kind of “armed struggle!” Their movements mirrored the original exactly.
(Yui and Mino)
Japan(Osaka)
They performed as Lelouch Lamperouge and Suzaku Kururugi from Code Geass:Lelouch of the Rebellion.
This was a really true-to-life dance performance. In the scene where the two of them became entwined, the audience started shrieking!
(Liuwina Haeklund and Lisa Hvidberg)
Denmark
They performed as Sakura and Syaoran from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.
They performed in Japanese, and their singing was also really good.
(Julaluk Lohanawakul and Jittraporn Distaprom)
Thailand
They performed as Seto Kaiba & Dark Magician Girl from Yu-Gi-Oh!
Their full-of-humor-performance made the audience laugh.。
(Tersa Garcia Hernandez and Ingrid Alin Nava)
Mexico
They performed as Lady Devimon & Angewomon from Digital Monster.
After their performance, everybody was surprised to hear that Teresa is a high-school teacher.
(Maria Pérez Tomás and Nicolás Cabrerizo García)
Spain
Performed from Revolutionary Girl Utena in Japanese and with quick costume changes.
[Intermission: Matsumoto Rika live]
(Zhao Chin and Zhang Li)
China
They performed as Nouhime and Kasuga from Sengoku Basara.
The whole venue was wrapped up in “oohs and ahhs” because of their sexy dance performance.
(Sonnya Paz and Renee Gloger)
USA
They performed as Jorin Kujo and Giorno Giovanna from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Their performance was full of humor and sophisticated dancing.
(Annie Fischinger and Katharina Wehrmann)
Germany
They performed as Utena Tenjo and Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena.
From lightness to darkness, the composition of their performance was done ingeniously.
(Goh I Hwa and Gerald Tham)
Singapore
They performed as Romeo and Juliet from Romeo x Juliet.
They expressed that world by giving a very convincing performance.
(Jessica Moreira Rocha Campos and Gabriel Niemietz Braz)
Brazil
They performed as Jango & Jo from Burst Angel.
There was a deafening roar from the audience when they saw the 2-meter-high Jango!
(Nadia Baiardi and Martina Arnaldi)
Italy
They performed as Lia de Beaumont & Anna from Le Chevalier D’Eon.
There was dancing and quick costume changes, and their props were also great.
(Naoki Shigure and Kikiwan)Japan(Tokyo)
They performed as Ohmu and Oh-Baba from Nausicaa Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
The audiences were surprised at the elaborate Ohmu from which Oh-Baba came out of.Every time this event is held, the quality of the performances from each country improves. One of the judges, Ms. Yumiko Igarashi, was moved to tears by the first team, France. The audience was also cheering the performances.
Another fun part of the championship was the intermission. There was Rika Matsumoto’s live performance in between the first and last half of the performance. The whole venue was buzzing with the “Mezase Pokemon Master” song and 3 other songs.
Onstage, while the judges were adding up the points, Furuya Toru had a “talk corner.” He had a cold and so his throat was not so good, but even so he performed one of his old favorites as requested by the audience.
Then to the announcement of the results.
Brother prize: Japan’s (Osaka) Yui & Mino
Runners-up: China’s Zhao Chin and Zhang Li
Champions: Brazil’s Jessica Moreira Rocha Campos and Gabriel Niemietz Braz
Jessica and Gabriel were bursting with joy and jumping around when it was announced they were the winners. Gabriel took his costume off and raised the Brazilian flag. Brazil‘s victory was the second following the 2006 victory. At the end, representing all the judges, Yumiko Igarashi made her comments:
“I am taking part in the Cosplay summit for the first time. I didn’t think it would be as impressive as this. People of the world love anime and manga and do Cosplay from the manga that we manga artists draw; they then become anime, and that then spreads worldwide. I am really happy to be a manga artist. Three cheers for the Cosplay Summit!! I hope that it develops more and more next year. The participants were all brilliant. It was very difficult to judge as I had to mark points through my tears. [Speaking to the audience] Did all of you here today enjoy it all??! Let’s promote Japanese culture, manga and anime!”
Finally, there was an emotional finale. To close the World Cosplay Summit 2008, the cosplayers all got together on a long, narrow extension of the stage that was set in the middle of the audience seats. The interplay of lights and bubbles created a magical atmosphere, closing the curtain on the WCS 2008.
For those abroad and for those who couldn’t come to the event, we have put the video of the championship plus extras up on the official site. Every year the performances in the Championship get better and better. What kind of drama is waiting for us in the 2009 Championship?? Thank you very much to those who did cosplay performances and to the people who came to the venue during the brutally hot weather.
Osu Cosplay Parade