World Cosplay Summit 2014 Championship Round-up

Team Russia won the Championship of the World Cosplay Summit (WCS) 2014, and it’s their first time to win.

The WCS continues to grow with this year seeing the invasion of the Concert Hall at the Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater to hold the Championship Event with live streaming by Nico Nico to the big screen in Oasis 21 and the rest of the world. There simply isn't room enough in Oasis 21 to hold everyone.

The Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater is directly beside Oasis 21 is a state-of-the art facility with indoor seating for over 1800.  The seating is tiered to make it easier to see the stage and the double extra-large video screens.  The sound quality is well controlled and the shelter from the weather is a welcome addition.

This year was the first time to move the venue from nearby Oasis 21 to accommodate more people. Previously the people were able to view the Championship for free. But this time, you had to purchase a ticket to watch it live.

Audience members with tickets to the venue receive an original merchandise pack consisting of various items including a commemorative towel (Tenugui てぬぐい), program, a fan, posters, stickers and a WCS badge.

For those who don’t have the tickets, they were still able to enjoy the pubic viewing at Oasis 21 via the Nico Nico live stream.

22 teams from all over the world joined together to compete for the title of WCS Champion.

The Championship Rules

For the detail, check out the WCS 2014 Participation Regulation For Cosplayers and WCS Championship Craftsmanship Judging Regulations.

The Costume and Performance Theme

The costume and performance must be based on Japanese manga, anime or video games.

The Performance Points

Each team was given 2 min 30 seconds. The seven (7) judges gave the scores of each performance. Each judge was given 30 points: 10 points for performance, 15 points for costume, and 5 points for how they respect the original story. 

The Costume Points

Costume Points are given as follows: 40 points for detail, 40 points for quality, 20 points for the technique. The Costumes were judged by the organizer of each representative countries. But she or he won't be able to judge her/his own country's representative. Then, they average the costume points.

"Detail" points are judged based on how much the costumes resemble the original costumes.

"Quality" points are judged based on how they are combined well, fit to the performers. and how they were pinned and sewed.

"Technique" points are judged based on how they used difficult techniques to make the costumes.

Therefore, detail and quality points are more respected than technique. Only the championship costume and props are judged (not the stage props).

Calculation

[Average Costume Points] / 10 x [The number of Judges] + [Total Performance Points]

Audience Participation

In addition, Nico Nico Video was doing online popular votes for its awards. Online live stream viewers were able to participate to determine which team was the best. NTT Docomo developed the smart phone app to judge the performance. There were two audience awards in this championship.

The Result

The Winner: Russia

2nd place: Italy

3rd place: Indonesia

Special Jury Awards

• Cyperius Award (Best Wig)
  Spain
• Docomo Award (Audience Votes)
  Korea 
• Joysound Award (Best Sound Effects)
  Indonesia
• Brother Award (Best costume)
  Denmark
• Niconico Awards (Live Cast Audience Votes)
  Mexico
• Livedam Awards (Best Performance)
  Italy

Niconico Awards (Live Cast Audience Votes) Ranking

• 1st - Mexico - 23.2%
• 2nd - Singapore - 14.9%
• 3rd - Russia - 13.4%
• 4th - Australia - 12.6%
• 5th - Korea - 10/2%
• 6th - Indonesia - 9.5%
• 7th - Italy - 8.4%
• 8th - Spain - 7.8%

World Cosplay Summit 2014 Coverage

• World Cosplay Summit 2014 Red Carpet
• World Cosplay Summit 2014 Championship Round-up
• World Cosplay Summit 2014 Championship Photo Gallery