Cosplay upside down for the 17th Impact
Japan Expo feels like paradise for cosplayers, and for their fans! Beginners and experts all have a place and their moment of glory at Japan Expo: this year’s best cosplay times are featured below!
Our cosplay photo album
European Cosplay Gathering
Season 6: the finals
With 2 new countries who had just joined the competition, Finland and Romania, the European Cosplay Gathering Season 6 brought together 13 countries. On Saturday, the finals, sponsored by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, featured 44 cosplayers on stage, solo and groups, in front of 15,000 bedazzled attendees. Astounding costumes and brilliant performances had the contest end in a blaze of glory with the victory of France, followed by Spain in the solo category and Finland in the group category. Congrats to the winners and to all the entrants who offered an amazing show!
Discover the results announced on Saturday night, after the meeting of the jury which included the cosplayers LucioleS, Lupin, Taeyeon Minemes, Volpin PROPS, and Yuegene Fay:
- In the solo category:
- 1st: France with Koni as Wrathion in World of Warcraft
- 2nd: Spain with Limnauth as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean
- 3rd: UK with Clockwork Dandy Noodles as Vampire in Warhammer
- In the group category:
- 1st: France with Shibeez and Milou as Tiger Lily and Blackbeard in Pan
- 2nd: Finland with Elina and Majo as Mad Moxxi and Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2
- 3rd: Romania with Keiko-Z and T-T-F as Triss and Yennefer in The Witcher III
- Special prizes:
- Best makeup by Make Up For Ever Academy: Spain with Limnauth as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean
- Best wig by Arda Wigs: Denmark with Samie as Ursula in The Little Mermaid
Season 7: the French selections
As Season 6 had just come to an end the day before, the European Cosplay Gathering was already launching Season 7 on Sunday. On stage, 61 French cosplayers were competing to represent France next July at Japan Expo. Discover the ECG Season 7 - sponsored by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment - French representatives, and their dauphins:
- In the group category:
- French representatives: Tora and Koe as Kili and Fili in The Hobbit
- Dauphins: Kuma, Maverick, and Libs as Pharah, Genji, and Reinhardt in Overwatch
Cosplay guests
Japan Expo was glad to welcome as guests 4 world-renowned cosplayers, come from all over the planet to be part of the festival. Lupin, Taeyeon Minemes, Volpin PROPS et Yuegene Fay shared their knowledge of cosplay to choose the ECG winners as part of the finals jury, but also with the festival attendees who wished to improve at making their own cosplay during the cosplay workshops.
Lupin revealed a few of her secrets about how to make a great performance; Taeyeon talked about the differences between cosplay in France and in Asia; Volpin shared his techniques to use electronics in costumes; and Yuegene Fay unveiled the methods of a perfect anime makeup!
Taeyeon, Volpin, and Yuegene Fay invited you to come meet them on their booths, to have a chat and take a few pics!
Cosplay Shows
Japan Expo offers all cosplayers a chance to perform on stage, on Thursday and Friday: the Ichigô stage welcomed 253 of those passionate artists who showed their talent and the results of several months of work as they made your favorite characters come to life. And here is the winners’ list:
Thursday’s Cosplay Show:
- Solo costume prizes:
1st: Dragon Age Inquisition; placed equal 2nd: The Great Mouse Detective and Black Butler - Solo performance prizes:
1st: Terra Battle; 2nd: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; 3rd: Elfen Lied - Group costume prizes:
1st: Shiitake Gensodo; 2nd: Berry Dynamite; 3rd: It's a Small World - Group performance prizes:
1st: Naruto / Dragon Ball; 2nd: Burlesque; 3rd: Aladin; 4th: Tinkerbell, Secret of the Wings - Special prizes:
Best forge prize: Hearthstone; Best hope prize: Raiponce; Coup de cœur prize: Card Captor Sakura
Friday’s Cosplay Show
- Solo costume prizes:
1st: Show by rock!; 2nd: Terra Battle; 3rd: Doctor Who - Solo performance prizes:
1st: Touken Ranbu; 2nd: Catwoman; 3rd: Dragon Quest IV - Group costume prizes:
1st : Mortal Kombat; 2nd: Donkeyskin; 3rd: Final Fantasy X-2 - Group performance prizes:
1st: Black Butler; 2nd: Overwatch; 3rd: Pokémon - Special prizes:
Best forge prize: Padme from Star Wars; Best hope prize: Metroid; Coup de cœur prize: Dragon Ball
Cosplay all around and for all
Around the Kitsuné stage, a real Cosplay Village had settled this year, full of cosplayers roaming from booth to booth, meeting experts, discovering new products to make their costumes or attending workshops to learn how to use new tools or sewing machines. It was a perfect opportunity to learn about new techniques, new equipment, and new materials for your next cosplay!
Associations were part of the village too: League of Replica and Armures fantastiques exhibited their most beautiful pieces, while Kaokig took you to the most surprising world of animegao kigurumi and its anime masks. Shudan Pictures had opened their photo studio to make the best pics of your costumes.
The Cosplay Workshops were launched this year and invited experienced cosplayers to share their know-how with you. Many of them gave workshops during the 3 days and you were many to attend them. Working with leather, worbla, or materials, creating metal effects, improving your stage performances…: there were many subject to tackle to please everyone! A conference organized by par Make Up For Ever Academy talked about special effect makeup, with a demo by Harold LEVY who created the character of Rem from Death Note live.
Last but not least, the Kitsuné stage offered everyone a chance to parade on stage or take part in various cosplay activities! The alleyways were also full of the colors of your favorite characters while photographers had a tremendous time amidst a crowd of merry cosplayers!
ECG and other cosplay shows, as well as the Kitsuné stage program, are organized by EPIC