World Cosplay Summit
The World Cosplay Summit (abbreviated WCS ) is an international cosplay competition in which teams from different countries compete in a competition consisting of costume and performance. The teams must have previously qualified for the WCS through a national qualification. The World Cosplay Summit is the only international cosplay competition. The number of participants currently includes 22 countries, including: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, USA.
In cosplay, the participant represents his favorite character from an anime , manga or video game as faithfully as possible through costume and behavior.
history
Until 2012, the organizer of the WCS was the Japanese television broadcaster TV Aichi, which is known for its anime series. In 2013, the independent company WCS Inc. was founded, which has been organizing the World Cosplay Summit ever since. The World Cosplay Summit first took place in autumn 2003. At that time there was no competition at the WCS, it was just a gathering of cosplayers from different countries.
- In 2004 the World Cosplay Summit took place a second time. This time, the eight participating cosplayers from Italy, Germany, France and the USA caught the attention of the media.
- In 2005 there was a stage performance for the first time, which acted as a competition. Seven countries took part in the competition, which was held in the Expo Dome at the World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture. The 3000 seats of the Expro Dome were completely filled and more than 30 different TV channels and media from all over the world were present.
- In 2006, 3 countries were added for the WCS competition: Singapore, Thailand and Brazil. In addition, the number of participants within each country's teams was limited to two people. For the first time there was also the Cosplay Parade (Osu Kannon Parade) through Nagoya this year. At the associated press conference in Akihabara, Tokyo, media interest was even greater than in previous years.
- In 2007 the World Cosplay Summit was even included as part of the "Visit Japan" campaign. 12 countries took part in the competition. 200 cosplayers from the area took part in the Osu Cosplay Parade and about 10,000 visitors came to watch the competition.
- In 2009 the Red Carpet Walk in front of the Nagoya International Hotel was added.
- 2011 New countries: Malaysia and the Netherlands were added.
- 2012 New countries: England, Indonesia and Russia participate. Hong Kong and Taiwan take part with their own teams.
- 2013 New countries: Vietnam and the Philippines take part from now on.
- In 2014 Portugal will take part for the first time.
- In 2015 Canada and Sweden will take part.
Previous winners
| year | team |
|---|---|
| 2005 |
Italy:
|
| 2006 |
Brazil:
|
| 2007 |
France:
|
| 2008 |
Brazil:
|
| 2009 |
Japan:
|
| 2010 |
Italy:
|
| 2011 |
Brazil:
|
| 2012 |
Japan:
|
| 2013 |
Italy:
|
Process of the World Cosplay Summit
The World Cosplay Summit consists of different events (which change from year to year). The Red Carpet Walk, the Cosplay Parade (which takes place during the Osu Kannon Festival) and the World Cosplay Championship (the actual competition) are now fixed components of the WCS.
Extract from the rules
- Each country is represented by a team consisting of two cosplayers.
- The costumes must be chosen from Japanese anime, manga or video games. Until 2009, only anime and manga costumes were allowed.
- The costumes must be sewn / built by yourself. Purchased costumes are not allowed.
- A team's costumes must be from the same anime / manga series.
- Participants must be at least 18 years old.
The entire set of rules is listed on the World Cosplay Summit website.
rating
- Performance (10 points)
Quality, originality, creativity and entertainment.
- Costumes (10 points)
Quality and similarity to the original.
- Performance compared to the original story (5 points)
Alignment of the performance with the plot and characters of the series.
Germany at the WCS
In Germany, the preliminary round for "Team Germany" takes place annually at the Connichi in Kassel, a convention for Japanese anime and manga. Here, too, the participants compete in teams of two in front of a jury with costume and performance. The team that qualifies represents Germany and competes against the teams from other countries in the World Cosplay Summit.
Preliminary
In principle, every cosplayer has the opportunity to qualify for the World Cosplay Summit in the preliminary round. The applicable (national) rules will be announced shortly after the WCS.
development
The selection process to determine "Team Germany" tightened from year to year. The trend shows that the quality of presentation and performance is becoming increasingly important in Germany.
Selection process:
- 2006 : Photo shoot of all teams. Selection of participants for the 5 best teams. Subsequent voting on the Animexx website to determine the best team.
- 2007 : Presentation of all teams in front of a jury with subsequent selection of the 10 best teams, which then had to present their performance on the stage of the Kongresspalais. A jury selected the best team.
- 2008 : All teams had to present their performance in front of the jury, photos and video recordings were also made. The best team was determined in camera and then had to present the performance again on the stage in the Kongresspalais in front of the visitors to the convention .
- 2009 : All teams had to present their performance in the ballroom at Connichi 2008 in front of an audience and a jury. The jury determined the winning team based on the audience's reactions.
- 2010 : All teams had to present their performance in the ballroom at Connichi 2009 in front of an audience and a jury. The jury determined the winning team based on the audience's reactions.
- 2011 : All teams had to present their performance in the ballroom at Connichi 2010 in front of an audience and a jury. The jury determined the winning team based on the audience's reactions.
- 2012 : Due to the great interest, all participants had to present themselves to a jury in a qualifying round at Connichi 2011 (maximum 60 starting places). The 20 best teams were allowed to present their performance in the ballroom at the Connichi in front of an audience and a jury.
- 2013 : Taking into account the feedback on the qualification round, this was replaced by an application phase. Teams that wanted to take part in the preliminary round sent an application as a PDF file and a. with costume photos and a short interview. From these applications, 20 teams were selected who were allowed to present their performance in the ballroom at Connichi 2012 in front of an audience and a jury. In addition, the most impressive application was awarded a special prize.
- 2014 : Thanks to consistently positive feedback on the application phase, this was used again to select the 20 teams. From the applications, 20 teams were selected, which were allowed to present their performance in the ballroom at Connichi 2013 in front of an audience and a jury. In addition, the most impressive application was once again awarded a special prize.
German WCS teams
| year | Attendees |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Cindy S. and Anja B. |
| 2004 | Anne B. and Paula R. |
| 2005 | Anja B., Anne-Catherine R., Stephanie K. and Young-Ji K. |
| 2006 | Daniela G. and Tanja R. |
| 2007 | Katharina O. and Anna D. |
| 2008 | Ann-Katharine F. and Katharina W. |
| 2009 | Annabell H. and Iris H. |
| 2010 | Désirée R. and Brigitte B. |
| 2011 | Annabell H. and Iris H. |
| 2012 | Claudia H. and René M. |
| 2013 | Daniela B. and Beate K. |
| 2014 | Anna S. and Eva L. |
| 2015 | Melina D. and Heike W. |
| 2016 | Christina M. and Cindy T. |
| 2017 | |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | Maria D. and Sharina K. |
See also
- German Cosplay Championship (annual Cosplay Championship in Frankfurt , Germany )
