Anime Expo 2023

Anime Expo 2023 Masquerade & World Cosplay Summit Finals Report

ANN's coverage of Anime Expo 2023 sponsored by Yen Press!

On the evening of Day 2, Anime Expo returned with another year of the World Cosplay Summit and the AX Masquerade. Usually falling on Day 3, the key event was pushed up to land on the traditional Sunday late-night slot. Unfortunately, that put the shared stage show up against two other highly anticipated events: AX Summer Fes at the Novo and the Hololive concert at the YouTube Theater. Still, that didn't stop attendees from filling the Main Hall far into the back. Audience members came from far and wide, including a cosplayer who came all the way from Saudi Arabia to be in the crowd. Starting in 2017, the World Cosplay Summit began partnering with SPJA to organize the dual event and, together, award the winner to represent the U.S. at the cosplay championship in Nagoya.

The two-stage cosplay show is split into several parts: the Anime Expo Masquerade, the World Cosplay Summit Finals, and a special musical guest performance during deliberation. The annual Masquerade splits itself into the Intermediate Skill Class and then the Master of Skills, composed of unique skits and dances submitted by every participant. These competitors perform for a chance at winning one of five cash prizes, starting from $1,000 to the grand prize of $5,000. The WCS USA Finals follows the Masquerade, which features even more detailed skits, intricate cosplays, and stage design.

Unfortunately, this year also didn't have a list of all participants in the programming guidebook, which is a shame because I'd like to be able to find all the cosplayers who spent endless hours creating their skits and making costumes from scratch. In addition, 2023 did not include a pre-show performance but jumped straight into the nearly two-and-a-half-hour event. This year's judges were Aicosu (composed of the married cosplay couple Darling and Sylar), Hok (an Emmy award-winning choreographer), and Reika (a Tokyo-based cosplayer from Japan). The three judges determined the five Masquerade winners and the U.S. representative for WCS 2024.

Among the sixteen Masquerade performances, I was particularly enticed by “Tragedy of a River Spirit,” presented by Aaron Bowman. The use of shadow puppets to reimagine the key scenes from Spirited Away acted as a dramatic backdrop to Haku's descent into Yubaba's curse. The pacing and dramatic tension came through in Bowman's acting, drawing me in like a stage play. Another standout performance was Cherimage Cosplay's “A Dream of Dread,” featuring an in-game-like cutscene with impressive full-body cosplays of Samus and Ridley from Metroid Dread. Entries featuring Vocaloid characters and music were the most popular choice, with three different cosplayers selecting iconic Vocaloid costumes featuring elaborate dance choreography.

Turning to the participants for the World Cosplay Summit portion, the five finalists put their all into devising detailed skits alongside intricate set designs. Following each performance was a “Miss America'' segment, where the MC would ask follow-up questions to each cosplayer. These included questions such as: how they discovered their passion for cosplay, why they decided to compete in the WCS, and what keeps them in the hobby year after year. The Lala Sisters' “No Matter the Reason, No Matter the Dream, Have Courage to Shine” took me by surprise as I was elated to see characters from The Idolm@ster SideM. My hidden IM@S producer pride swelled and left me screaming as I watched their Kirio Nekoyanagi and Shoma Hanamura skit. Bandai Namco Entertainment may have forgotten the SideM side of the franchise, but Lala Sisters showed the crowd a spectacular performance to jog their memory.

While the judges went behind the curtain to deliberate on the winners, Japanese heavy-metal band ASTERISM took to the stage to perform a halftime show. Last year's guest appearance featured a My Hero Academia-themed show by Core Dance Crew. ASTERISM focused on playing a rousing half-hour set list of instrumental rock covers of songs from famous series like Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, and My Hero Academia.

Once they were ready, the judges—Reika, Aicosu, and Hok—emerged from behind the veil and stood on stage beside the Masquerade's intermediate and master-level cosplayers. Handing each winner their prize and a trophy, they proudly presented this year's victor for the following categories:

Winners
Best Craftsmanship: Team Forest Watchers (Tighnari and Collei) for Avidya Forest 101 with Tighnari & Collei from Genshin Impact
Best Performance: The Shorttkage (Erza Scarlet) for The Queen of the Fairies from Fairy Tail
Best Intermediate: Beanandcheese.burrito (Miku Hatsune) for 2017 Symphony Hatsune Miku
Best Masters/Best in Class: Aaron Bowman (Haku) for Tragedy of a River Spirit from Spirited Away
Best in Show: Kymchi (Kotori) for Otonokizaka's Lovey Dovey Idol from Love Live! School Idol Project

And finally, the champions who will represent the U.S. at the World Cosplay Summit in 2024 were the pair from Kirari Cosplay for “The Price of Love” from Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion. The duo will be competing at next year's WCS in Nagoya, Japan, where they'll be participating alongside other cosplayers from countries all over the world. Their skit combined detailed props, background design, and a dynamic onstage costume transformation and leaned into the dramatic tension between Madoka and Homura in the original scene from the Rebellion movie. As the winners of last year's Best in Show, Kirari Cosplay was asked what made them decide to submit WCS. They answered, “We told ourselves that if we won Best in Show, we were ready to participate in WCS. And we ran out of excuses last year.”

A big congratulations to the winners and participants, who all spent countless hours honing their skills and braving the stage to show the world their talent. We wish Kirari Cosplay the best of luck for their entry into the WCS 2024 in Nagoya.

Check below for the full list of participants and their skit names!

Anime Expo Masquerade
Intermediate Skill Class

Dragons Explore AX (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid) by MokeCosplay
To Be Hokage (Naruto) by Will of D. LV
A Dream of Dread (Metroid Dread) by Cherimage Cosplay
Avidya Forest 101 with Tighnari & Collei (Genshin Impact) by Team Forest Watchers
Metabee (Metabots) by AuraPrime Kospure
World End Dance Hall with VioletUnversed & Skibbitkelsey (Vocaloid) by The Power of Thighs (and Friendship)
Allister from Pokémon Shield (Pokémon) by Gastly Galar Gym Leader
Miku's Symphony (Vocaloid) by Simrell
A Quest to Remember (The Legend of Zelda) by Loveable Spiral & Princess Power
The Queen of the Fairies (Fairy Tail) by The Shorttkage
2017 Symphony Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid) by Beanandcheese.Burrito
Make it Mirei! (PriPara) by Pike
Dream Recollection (Chainsaw Man) by Tigerlillyarts

Masters of Skills
Tragedy of a River Spirit (Spirited Away) by Aaron Bowman
Otonokizaka's Lovey Dovey Idol (Love Live! School Idol Project) by Kymchi
Battle Mage Aerith (FF7 Remake) by Poppy Lop Cosplay

WCS USA
Red Riding Hood and Pinnochio (SINoALICE) by Digital Heart
Crimson Obscura (Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly) by Something Extraordinary Cosplay
The Price of Love (Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion) by Kirari Cosplay
Totoro's Acorn Adventure (My Neighbor Totoro) by Mines of Moria Cosplay
No Matter the Reason, No Matter the Dream, Have Courage to Shine (The Idolm@ster SideM) by Lala Sisters