Team Japan gets first overall victory in 12 years, but it’s a safe bet that no one will ever forget this Totoro.

The word “cosplay” is a mashup of “costume” and “play,” but what exactly does the “costume” part refer to? Oftentimes it’s indicating that the cosplayer is dressing in a real-world recreation of the clothing (i.e. costume) worn by an anime character, but when the character is a non-human who doesn’t wear any clothes, the cosplayer’s costume has to be a recreation of the character themselves.

That’s arguably an even bigger challenge than reproducing anime apparel or armor, but it’s a challenge that Team Sweden was up for at this year’s World Cosplay Championship, where one member of the pair showed up dressed as none other than Studio Ghibli’s Totoro.

The competition took place last week in Nagoya, as part of the annual World Cosplay Summit that the city hosts. A total of 36 nations took part, showing off not just their costing skills but also their stage performance chops, as each two-person team performed a short skit, complete with audio and digital background effects. In the case of Team Sweden, they chose to reenact the rainy night when Satsuki encountered Totoro at the bus stop, as well as the magical camphor tree-growing scene, with a little extra frolicking added in.

▼ Team Sweden’s stage performance. The Totoro costume really is an impressive piece of work, with moving mouth, blinking eyes, and wiggling ears.

Now, at the risk of crushing anyone’s dreams that that’s an actual Totoro on stage, we should remind everyone that since this is the World Cosplay Championship, there’s a human cosplayer inside that Totoro suit, Henrik Pilerud, who partnered with Victoria Christensen as Satsuki.

▼　A photo from Pilerud’s Facebook page shows the costumes look even better actually out in a natural environment.

When the judges votes were tallied, Team Sweden finished in second place, with Team Japan (cosplayers Mioshi and Mamemayo as Naruto’s Sasuke and Naruto) taking hop top honors, the first win for Japan at the World Cosplay Championship since 2012.

▼ Team Japan’s performance

Still, second place is an achievement to be proud of, especially since it means that Team Sweden effectively took home the award for best Totoro cosplay in the world.

Source: World Cosplay Summit via IT Media
Top image: Studio Ghibli
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