This year’s event will feature at cosplayers from at least 13 countries. There have been seven preliminary rounds held so far which select each country’s representatives.

September 8, 2007

The German preliminary round was held as part of Connichi 2007 at the Kongress Palais Kassel in Kassel, Germany. There were three judges: one member of the WCS 2007 German team, one Connichi organizer, and one member of the cosplay community “Cosplay Heaven“. The winning team performed as characters from Sailor Moon.

• Annie Fischinger (left) as Sailor Moon
• Katharina Wehrmann (right) as Sailor Chibi Moon

Use the following links to view more information about the preliminary and the team members.

September 23, 2007

The Thai preliminary round was held as one of the final events of Japan Week at Central World in Bangkok. There was a large panel of judges, mostly Japanese, including the Public Relations & Culture Division Chief of the Japanese Embassy, TV Aichi’s Division Chief of the Executive Office, the Deputy Manager of the JETRO Bangkok Center, the Head of the JNTO Bangkok Center, the Head of the ANA branch in Bangkok, and the Head of the Japan National Tourist Organization’s Sightseeing and PR Office. The lone non-Japanese judge was the organizer for Korea’s WCS preliminary. The person who wrote the report about this preliminary round mentioned that:

“The Japanese judges were older guys lined up on stage; it felt as if they were in the wrong place! Basically, it didn’t feel like it had an otaku atmosphere.“

However, the reporter also had a favorable reaction to their choice of the team who would represent Thailand. This team performed as characters from Xenosaga.

• Julaluk Lohanawakul (left) as T-ELOS
• Jittraporn Distaprom (right) as KOS-MOS

Use the following links to view more information about the preliminary and the team members.

October 4, 2007

The Italian preliminary round was held at the Romics 2007 comics and animation festival. The event took place at the Camera di Commercio di Roma in Rome. Like the Thai preliminary round, there were many judges, though, this set of judges seemed to be a better fit (less business oriented).

According to the person who reported about the Italian preliminary round: “The Jury was made up of a number of personalities from the world of TV and entertainment so as to have different points of view in the final decision: a TV producer, Cosplay experts, publishers, the Italian representatives of previous editions of the WCS, a voice actor for anime.” This reporter also seemed to like the judges’ decision. The winning team performed as characters from Five Star Stories.

• Nadia Baiardi (left) as Lachesis
• Martina Arnaldi (right) as Amaterasu

Use the following links to view more information about the preliminary and the team members.

November 3, 2007

There were two countries which had preliminary rounds on this date. The Danish preliminary round was held at J-Popcon 2007 at the Valby Kulturhus in Copenhagen. There were four judges…two were from Gainax (a director and a character designer), one was a member of Germany’s WCS 2007 team, and one was a WCS 2008 staff member from TV Aichi. They selected a team who performed as characters from Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.

• Liuwina Haeklund (left) as Sakura
• Lisa Hvidberg (right) as Shaoran

Use the following links to view more information about the preliminary and the team members.

The Spanish preliminary round was held at the 13th Salón del Manga (which is said to be the oldest manga and anime festival in Europe) at the Poliesportiu Centre in Barcelona. The were six judges including the Envoy from the Japanese Embassy in Madrid, the Event Coordinator of the Salón del Manga, 2 editors from comics publishing firms (Planeta DeAgostini Comics & Norma Comics), a TV producer (from Televisión de Catalunya), and a gothic fashion designer. Coincidentally, they also chose a team whose performance featured characters from Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.

• Maria Pérez Tomás (left) as Sakura
• Nicolás Cabrerizo García (right) as Shaoran

Use the following links to view more information about the preliminary and the team members.

December 7, 2007

The US preliminary round was held at the innaugural New York Anime Festival. The competition was at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. This marked the return of the US to the WCS after a two year hiatus. There were five judges- a photographer, a cosplayer, and three people representing the sponsors of the WCS. They chose the team who performed as characters from Magic Knight Rayearth.

• Renee Gloger (left) as Umi
• Sonnya Paz (right) as Hikaru

Use the following links to view more information about the preliminary and the team members.

February 4, 2008

The Mexican preliminary round was held as part of the 14th Expo Manga Comic TNT GT2 event. The venue was the Mexico City World Trade Center large event hall. There were four judges: one was a member of the 2005 WCS Italian team, one was a coordinator for TNT, and there were two others. They chose a team of veteran cosplayers (9 and 6 years of experience) who performed as characters from Digimon.

• Teresa Garcia Hernandez (left) as Lady Devimon
• Ingrid Alin Naba (right) as Angemon

Use the following links to view more information about the preliminary and the team members.

More preliminaries are scheduled to round out the final list of competitors. This year, Japan will have two teams (an East team from the Tokyo preliminary and a West team from the Osaka preliminary). Other countries which will be sending teams include Korea, Brazil, China, France, and Singapore. Here is a projected itinerary for their preliminary rounds:

May 18, 2008

Japan Team 1 preliminary round

• Tokyo Dome City Cosplay Festa Tokyo Dome City, Tokyo

June 1, 2008

Korean preliminary round

• Everland Cosplay Party 2008 Everland, Yongin

July 13, 2008

Japan Team 2 preliminary round

• Cosplayers Jam@World Cosplay Summit 2008 – West Japan Grand Prix Kyocera Dome, Osaka

July 21, 2008

Brazilian preliminary round

• Event name TBA in São Paulo Dates and Locations TBA

Preliminary rounds for China, France, and Singapore

Once all the teams have been chosen, they will participate in the World Cosplay Summit 2008 in the late summer. The venue will be in Nagoya (Aichi Prefecture), Japan.

One note- early reports had indicated that Australia would be holding preliminary rounds for the 2008 WCS. However, according to the Animania Festival website, these preliminaries are for the 2009 WCS.

Images and reports of preliminary winners: WCS website (more photos from the preliminary rounds may be accessed here as well)

ANN Stories:
World Cosplay Summit 2008’s Italian Finalists Chosen
Tsubasa Team Wins Danish World Cosplay Summit Round
Spanish World Cosplay Summit Finalists Chosen
World Cosplay Summit Announces American Finalists
Mexico’s World Cosplay Summit Competitors Selected
Cosplay Event Adds Brazil, China, France, Singapore, Korea

Hmmm, lets’ approach this with my personal pros of cosplaying first:

• I’d get to dress up in an awesome costume and have adoring fans want their picture taken with me.
• I’d meet new people.
• The ol’ creative muscle will get flexed.
• I’d get to sew a challenging costume.

Let’s look at the cons of cosplaying:

• Fans wouldn’t want their picture with me, they’d want their picture with the character.
• I’d meet new people.
• To do a costume justice would potentially cost hundreds of dollars and hundreds of hours.
• The ol’ creative muscle might get torn.
• I might get glomped, which might lead to a ripped costume, which would then lead to me behind bars for beating someone to death with a cosplay prop.

The number one reason I don’t cosplay, however is:

• I look nothing like my favorite characters.

What gets me, is some people dress up as cool looking characters they have zero connection with. They’ve never even watched the anime their cosplay’s in. It’s like wearing a band shirt and you don’t own any of the band’s albums or listen to their music. Posers. If I were to dress up as a character, it’d be a proper homage to one I like.

I like good cosplay, don’t get me wrong, but one of the reasons some cosplays just don’t work out is because the person wearing it doesn’t go the extra mile. If you’re not ripped and you’re playing a ripped character, maybe choose a costume the character wears which hides your unripped-ness. Finagle with the hair or buy a really good wig. Dressing like the character is only a part of the cosplay. Frankly, I just don’t look good in costumes, which, ahem, hug curves.

Those are my reasons I don’t cosplay. I like cosplay, though. It’s fun and something which fans of it bond over. That’s gotta be a good thing. If you don’t cosplay, what’s keeping you? Do you think it’s stupid and a waste of time and energy? Do you just like to gawk at the lovely and scantily clad ladies? Are you wanting to cosplay but can’t sew? Is shyness your issue? C’mon, dish: What’s keeping you from cosplaying?

Please share your reasons, in the comments below, for not dressing up as your fave character! (Even the “lame” ones.)