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, an event held yearly in Nagoya since 2003.)
At the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival on Oct. 26, a collaboration stage event was held with World Cosplay Summit (WCS), an event held yearly in Nagoya since 2003. On stage was a gathering of 44 cosplayers in total from 22 countries including France, Germany, Thailand, Denmark, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and each one charmed the crowd with their powerful performance. The MC was Ken Masui with the guest MC being Mel Kishida.
WCS began back in 2003, when there still was no general usage of the phrase “Cool Japan,” and it was planned and held by TV Aichi. Its size has expanded year after year since. In 2010, cosplaying as video game characters became allowed and attendance increased even more. This year, not only have participants gathered from 22 countries, a public viewing was also held. Because the event is popular worldwide, there were many participant hopefuls from other countries as well. This marks the first time Tokyo International Film Festival has collaborated with WCS.
The stage event began with cosplayers from each country taking the stage to show off their cosplay. An Angel from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley, and other Eva characters seemed highly popular. There were also cosplayers dressed as characters from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, FLCL, Sugar Sugar Rune, and Diebuster. During the talk segment, “Hideaki Anno’s favorite cosplayers” gathered and were asked questions like, “Why did you chose this series?”, and, “What scene is your favorite?”, and each one talked about their love of anime.
Team Russia, which received their first WCS championship win this year, put on an intense performance in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess cosplay that included a climactic sword fight between Princess Zelda and Link in a comical style. Other performances included Team Indonesia, Team England, and Team Finland. The stage event drew to a close with both the audience and cosplayers hungry for more.
Source: animeanime
Source Article written by Ayaka Kawamata
