Went to an anime convention last month and the cosplay judging felt off

I hit up Anime Expo in LA last month and I gotta say, the way they judged cosplay kinda bugged me. They seemed to favor those huge armored builds with LEDs and moving parts over simpler but accurate character outfits. This one girl did a perfect Yuki from Fruits Basket, no crazy props, just spot on sewing and colors. She didn't even get a nod while some dude with a robot chest piece that barely worked took third place. I feel like the community focuses too much on spectacle and forgets the actual craft of looking like the character. Am I alone in thinking accuracy should count more than flashy tech stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher9431mo ago

Haha yeah that's the problem with con judging these days, it's like they're grading a tech demo not a cosplay. I swear half the winners look like they raided a hardware store and called it a day while the actual craft gets overlooked. Next year someone should just show up as a cardboard box with an LED strip and take home the grand prize.

ray_campbell461mo agoMost Upvoted

Man, @christopher943 hit the nail on the head. Saw a winner last year that was basically a plastic armor kit glued together with a cheap light-up sword and the judges lost their minds. Meanwhile the dude who hand-stitched every scale on a dragon tail got nothing. Cardboard box with an LED strip might actually be a step up at this point, no joke.