About one week ago, we at RocketNews24 gave you an inside look at how things happen behind the scenes at the annual World Cosplay Summit (WCS). Now, it’s time for a follow-up!
On Saturday, July 3, in Nagoya, Japan, the WCS held its highly anticipated championship finals, wherein 20 teams of cosplayers from countries around the world competed for prizes and the prestige of being named World Cosplay Champions. This year, for the first time, the championships were streamed live on Niconico Douga, Japan’s YouTube, for the whole globe to see. But, just in case you missed it, here’s a photo album introducing all of the teams and announcing to you the winners of this years WCS.
Warning: The cosplay featured in these photos will take your breath away.
▼ The morning of the finals, teams took part in a red carpet parade. Here we have Team Australia.
▼ And that night they all changed for their championship performances.
▼ Two-time champions: Team Brazil.
▼ Team Denmark with their skit, a comedic crossover between Slayers and Mortal Combat.
▼ Team Finland looking very fine!
▼ Team France
▼ Team Germany
▼ Team Indonesia
▼ Team Malaysia
▼ Team Mexico
▼ The team from the Netherlands get silly for poses
▼ Team Russia likes to make remote control wings!
▼ Team Singapore
▼ They were one of five groups to cosplay from a Final Fantasy game this year. The game series’s complex outfits are a favorite of competitive cosplayers.
▼ Team Spain’s outfits make me so nostalgic.
▼ The girls representing the United Kingdom
▼ This year four teams came to Nagoya as guests, not yet competing, but performing exhibition skits. This is the team from the Philippines. The others were Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Now to announce this year’s prize winners!!
▼ First up, Team Japan!
▼ Japan was the winner of the Cyprus Award for having the best wigs. I wonder if the fake beard counts as a chin wig…
▼ Next we have Team China.
▼ The winners of the Joysound Award, sponsored by Joysound Karaoke.
▼ And here’s team Korea.
▼ They were the recipients of the AniSuta Award for their complex fight choreography and synchronized back-flips.
▼ Now, in third place we have…
▼ …Team Thailand, with their tight choreography and clever use of stage props.
▼ In second place…
▼ Team USA! They were also the recipients of the Brother Award for having the best costume construction. This was the first time that the US ever ranked in the top three.
▼ And the 2013 WCS grand champions are…
▼ Team Italy! The Niconico Award also went to Italy according to a vote from fans watching the live streaming. Not surprising. These giant robots towered over all and were equipped with real laser beams!
It was a long week of cosplay and cultural events, but the WCS 2013 has now come to an end. Congratulations to all of the teams for making it all the way to the finals and for putting on such awesome performances. We hope to see you back sometime! Keep up the awesome cosplay!
Photos: RocketNews24
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