CF 101: Cosplay
UPDATED!
Full rules and details regarding the cosplay competitions are now available here.
What in the world is cosplay?!
In a nutshell, cosplay (a portmanteau of costume play) is a fascinating subculture where passionate fans dress up and act as their favourite character from an animated series, film, game, or literary work. Some take it seriously, others take it as a hobby.
But everyone does it out of passion.
In Comic Fiesta, we give cosplayers the chance to bring in their A-game with cosplay competitions, in both solo and group categories. In general, cosplay competitions will test the dedication of a cosplayer; how detailed and varied their costumes are, and how true they behave to the character they’re attempting to portray. These qualities come into play in all of CF’s cosplay competitions.
Of course, this being Comic Fiesta we decided to add in our own flavour to the mix.
Solo Cosplay Competition
A tradition in all iterations of CF, this competition pits cosplayers against each other as they endeavour to fully bring out the qualities of the characters they are potraying. The cosplayers will be judged on several criteria, which will only be announced on the event day itself.
Upon registration, contestants will be required to go through two rounds. For the preliminary round, each contestant will be called up onstage to perform either a 30-second in-character intro and a character pose, OR three (3) action poses.
10 contestants will be chosen for the finals where they will be given a theme at random and a choice of props. They will then need to make a 5-minute skit based on these choices. During the preliminary round performance, additional characters are not allowed to participate in the skit. Contestants are however allowed two (2) helpers for the final round.
Group Cosplay Competition
Also another Comic Fiesta tradition! Cosplayers will form a group, usually potraying characters from a specific series, or characters with similar qualities from across many different series. There will be a unifying factor that will define this particular group.
Competing groups are required to theme themselves to this year’s theme of “Memories”, to be interpreted in their performance, costumes, characters, etc. Because of the number of cosplayers per group (up to 5) and the number of helpers permitted (up to 10), it can get very complex very fast. Therefore, registration for this year’s competition is only limited to the first six (6) groups.
OTP: One True Pairing
This is a new competition that makes its debut at CF 2011. It’s a unique take on the group cosplay competition, and it gives an opportunity for cosplayers to just go nuts.
As the title suggests, a pair of cosplayers will present their concept of a “One True Pairing” between different characters; best friends, soulmates, brothers, mortal enemies, etc. (Think Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series with Date Masamune from the Sengoku Basara series, and you’ll get an idea of the craziness here.)
How exactly the cosplayers will get these concepts across is entirely up to them. It could be in the form of a comedy sketch, choreographed fight sequence, a song-and-dance routine, poetry… you get the idea.
For general rules and regulations regarding the cosplay competitions (as well as cosplaying in CF in general), please head on over here to our Cosplay Rules & Regulations section.