The Cosplay Showdown Begins!

Saturday arrived in a warmer-than-usual fashion, the sun rising early and bright.

Lafon headed out early to avoid the public crowds and make her way to set up for the show. Of course, we all woke up earlier than usual to send her off and wish her good luck.

Watson, Sato, and I headed to get breakfast first, with the VIP tickets in our possession. Normally, admission tickets are not very expensive, around 2500 yen, but due to the high attendance rate, stage events like the cosplay showcase are only accessible through a lottery system.

For cosplayers like Lafon to receive a limited number of all-access passes must be a great perk. Now that I think about it, whether her online popularity may have had an influence on this beats me. But hey, free all-access tickets, never complaining about it.

This time around, the convention center is the largest one in Tokyo, with attendance last year close to 200,000 people. Luckily, they finished rebuilding and renovating the place in time.

In preparation for today, I whipped up a quick timetable of the day’s events; obviously, we were going to the cosplay showcase at 1 pm. There’s also a photo op afterwards, so we’ll get to see Lafon as Eris-sama there as well.

“Live concert!” Sato pointed at the 5 pm show.

“Ooh…a movie premiere– with English subtitles–” Watson emphasized the 11 am time slot.

After that conversation, it looks like the day's plans were all settled. Gates open at 9 am, and with these tickets we’ll be one of the first ones in. That gives us a few hours to explore the place, then the movie, then the cosplay competition.

Lafon said she would be able to change out of her outfit and join us for the concert at the end.

A solid plan.

We made it to the venue, and as we approached the entrance, the size of the line had already grown exponentially.

“So many people,” Watson commented, a tinge of concern in her voice.

“Yeah, gotta make sure we stick together like glue inside!” Sato excitedly pumped her fist up. That’s the spirit, I suppose.

With that, we entered the VIP line and were allowed to enter the towering convention center. The exhibition hall was the size of an enclosed soccer stadium, yet the stalls had transformed it into a bustling village, similar to a festival during the holiday season.

I looked at the two of them, gauging their reactions with a hint of trepidation. While I was used to going to conventions and was generally interested in this display of ‘otaku culture’, Watson and Sato were not as well-versed and probably not as interested. If not for Lafon, they might not have come here of their own volition. But here we were, and their first impression–

“It’s so cool!!!” Watson chirped.

“This place is huge!? And so many places to see! Iwasaki-kun, what’s that?! And that?” Sato was already in an adventurous mood.

Guess I was worrying too much about it.

One of the first stalls was a display of figurines, including several of the popular fantasy and shonen anime series.

“These guys are so well-detailed,” Sato examined, as we looked around. Wait, this one here!”

She pointed excitedly at the figurine on the top row, a familiar outfit. It was Azure, dressed and with her metallic arm on full display. “That’s the one! La–” she paused, “I mean, Eris will dress as her!” Good save…

We agreed before we left to address Lafon as her stage name today, just to be safe.

“Yep!” Looking at the figurine, I noticed how the arm Sato built really looked authentic, as compared to the figurine, it was pretty spot on.

I lowered my voice a tad as I spoke to Sato, “You did a good job, looks just like it!”

“Right?” she cheered in satisfaction. She turned around and triumphantly walked away– hold on, you’re leaving us behind here!

“Let’s catch up to her, don’t want to lose her in this crowd–” I gestured to Watson, and we made our way back to Sato. Watson caught up to her first and talked with her, couldn’t hear exactly what they were talking about— and Watson started laughing…

Wonder what they’re talking about…

“Iwasaki-kun, come on, let's check that out!” Watson waved back at me, and I picked up the pace.

***

It was nearly time for the contest. The movie was a fun one, a comedy isekai with pretty solid action sequences.

The three of us made it to the main stage, as more and more attendees followed into the audience section. There must be thousands of seats here, this is usually reserved for live performances from singers and bands, but for a cosplay contest as well?

“This is a huge contest!!” Sato cheered. “Iwasaki-kun, what were the rules again?”

“For this competition, out of twelve contestants, the top three would advance to the championship in August. The twenty here qualified from their local contests, and the three finalists will join the winners from the rest of the world in a final contest.”

“Three out of twelve? That’s not bad…”

Seems so, though the Japanese circuit has been known to be much more competitive than the other regions. If Lafon had entered the French circuit, she could have made it to the finals without lifting a finger.

But she wasn’t one to not take the challenge head-on.

“So do they just walk on stage and are judged by their outfits?”

“That’s one part. There’s also a performance component to it….for Eris, it’s likely a fight scene I would think…”

“Fighting!? On stage??”

“Yep.” Honestly, I haven’t seen Lafon in any choreographed performances, but she did mention she would practice a routine for the show.

The audience was getting louder and louder as the seated sections filled to the brim. They were mostly behind us, as we were able to grab seats near the front by the stage. I heard

“This contest is going to be insane! I think Nanami takes the top! She’s qualified for the past two years as the top seed–”

“You're kidding me! Aoi won Worlds last year! She’s the favorite–”

“Aren’t you guys forgetting about someone… Eris-sama!”

“She’s the public favorite, but it’s up to the judges…plus it’s her debut season–”

“She’s got a real shot for advancing, but a win here really gives her a boost!”

As the MC walked on stage, the crowd grew quiet.

“Ooh, it’s starting!”

“Welcome, everyone, to AnimeTokyo’s National Cosplay Competition!” The crowd erupted in applause and cheers. “We have an exciting showcase for you all, so let’s get right into the details, and we can begin!”

“The cosplayers here today come from across Japan, and the world, and qualified for this competition, to show their excellence in craftsmanship and performance. The contestants will first have a call-out and showcase their amazing creations front and center. Then, each contestant will have up to a five-minute performance for us to enjoy! We welcome our fantastic judging panel, who will grade our contestants in those two categories. Of the twelve contestants, the top three will advance to the Cosplay World Cup in August, and we will also crown our winner today.”

“With that out of the way, who’s ready to welcome our cosplayers to the stage?”

***

“Next up, from Nagoya, her stellar three-time World Cup qualifier precedes her, it’s Nanami–chan, showcasing the elegance of Juliet from Epic Romantic Showdown!”

A woman donning a light pink Victorian era dress entered the stage to much applause and gasps of awe. She twirled around, showing the intricate hemwork, raising the crowd’s intensity twofold.

“From the great Hokkaido, you know and love him very much, Toro-sensei, returning as the titular sword-wielding maniac, Master Kenji from Zero-sum samurai!”

A man wielding two swords rolled onto the stage, causing the crowd to cheer and laugh with even more intensity. While he wasn’t the judges’ cup of tea at times, he was sure a fan favorite.

“We have a cosplayer from all the way from France–”

This must be Lafon! The crowd had already started rumbling, prepared to cheer for her as well.

“She may be new to the competitive scene, but many of you may already know her very well. Please welcome Eris-sama, as the martial artist turned-leader of ‘la resistance’–Azure!!”