Archive for the ‘Cosplay’ Category

Cosplay Dating Game

Friday, May 11th, 2012

It’s rare to spot Yukka Ichihara trying to woo, among others, Link (at least OUTSIDE of the Rave).

Everything from licensing rights to pure logic prohibits such romances from forming in the characters’ source material. However, on the set of the Cosplay Dating Game, the only rule players need to follow is to try to be the best match possible.

Hosted by Buddy Christ from “Dogma” (a major improvement over Jim Lange), the Cosplay Dating Game, held Friday evening in the Main Events hall, matched two lucky bachelorettes and two even luckier bachelors with mates selected from the audience. An overly enthusiastic crowd filled the seats to see who would wind up with who.

Utterly absent from the Cosplay Dating game are the unoriginal (“What makes you smile?”) and innuendo-laden (“if I was a popsicle…”) questions that were a staple of its television counterpart. Instead, the audience and contestants alike were treated to a much better variety of questions…questions that may not have appeared on Jim Lange’s stage (except possibly when Andy Kaufman was a guest). Among the queries:

“Cake or pie?”
“If I were to push you off of a building, would you die?”
“Would you make fun of the outfit I wear on our date?”
“I live with 2 artificial girls, an animal that talks, and a man who is enslaved to me. How does this make you feel?”

And, of course, the most important question of all (even more important than “Cake or pie?”):

“Would you go to an anime con with me?”

Amidst an hour and a half of laughter, cheers, and applause, Cupid’s arrow struck eight people by the time Buddy Christ said goodnight, creating the following pairings:

–Shizuo Heiwajima and a cat;
–Lucy Heartfilia and BLU Medic;
–Sebastian Michaelis and Yumichika Ayasegawa;
–Yuuko Ichihara and The Baron.

Masquerade & Dating Game Registration Now Open!

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Registration for the Zenkaikon 2012 Masquerade and the Cosplay Dating Game is now open!

Registration for both of these events will be open through April 25, 2012, and participants should be registered for Zenkaikon before applying.

Read more about both of these fun events and apply to participate at the links below! :)

Zenkaikon Cosplay Fashion Show at Sakura Sunday!

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

Cosplayers at Sakura Sunday 2011

Zenkaikon is happy to announce that it will be hosting the Cosplay Fashion Show at the annual Sakura Sunday event on April 15, 2012 in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. In addition to hosting the contest, we’ll also be presenting education (and fun!) activities at our booth throughout the day. Sakura Sunday, sponsored by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia (JASGP), celebrates the blooming of the sakura (cherry blossom) trees in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. For a requested five dollar donation, attendees can enjoy musical performances, martial arts demonstrations, crafts, vendors, food, and more! It’s a great way to celebrate the coming of Spring. The festival has a full description of scheduled events on their website. The website also contains details on shuttle buses from Center City Philadelphia, for those who would like to take public transportation.

2012 Sakura Sunday Cosplay Fashion Show

Attendees are invited to dress as their favorite Asian, anime, manga, and video-game characters to participate. The show  is open to all ages and skill levels! There will be a  fashion show display of all entrants. The Sign-Ups  will take place  both before Sakura Sunday (through the Zenkaikon website), and also at our booth on the day of Sakura Sunday. More details on show times will be communicated to participants via e-mail, and posted on the Zenkaikon website as they are available.

Sign Up to Participate in the Fashion Show Here!

Anime and Manga Swap Meet:

Do you have old anime and manga lying around? Would you like the chance to discover some new series? At 2:30pm, Zenkaikon will be hosting an anime and manga swap meet at its booth! Bring series to trade, and make some new friends. (Please bring licensed items only; no bootlegs or copies please.)

Other Booth Activities:

Visit the Zenkaikon booth to learn more about anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture. Clips of various anime will be played throughout the day, and some tabletop games will be available for play. Our resident Asian ball-jointed-doll expert, Kris, will be available to chat more about her hobby. There may even be a few surprises in store, so please stop by to chat with us!

We’ll see you there!

Cosplay Masquerade and Dating Game Info Posted on Website!

Saturday, February 25th, 2012

Information on the Zenkaikon 2012 Cosplay Masquerade, as well as our Cosplay Dating Game, has been posted on our website! Pre-registration for both of these events will be available soon, but in the meantime you can read more about them in the Cosplay section of our site. We look forward to seeing all your wonderful costumes! :)

 

Zenkaikon on Tour: Sakura Sunday 2011

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

On Sunday, April 10, Zenkaikon once again hosted the annual Sakura Sunday Cosplay Contest. Despite the slightly chilly, cloudy weather, many cosplayers came out to participate! At the final awards ceremony, on the Main Stage of the festival, a large crowd gathered to admire the costumes and watch as trophies and certificates were handed out. In addition to the usual awards, special certificates were given to categories such as “Most Sporty” and “Cutest Tough Guy.”

Zenkaikon also hosted a festival booth throughout the day, where we educated festival-goers about anime, manga, and Japanese culture. A screen at our booth showed clips of various anime series, and a variety of English and Japanese manga were on display. Our resident Asian ball-jointed doll expert (and Zenkaikon Exhibits Head) Kris, also gave demonstrations of her hobby to interested visitors. Various board games were available for play, and at 2:00pm, we hosted our very first anime and manga swap meet!

A great time was had by all who attended, and we look forward to attending the festival again next year!

Check out our photos below!