The winners of the 2007 New York Anime Festival Masquerade were given a very special prize -- they were crowned the World Cosplay Summit's Team USA -- and after months of practice and preparation, they've flown out to Japan to compete in the World Cosplay Summit Finals.
The World Cosplay Summit is the Olympics of Cosplay, an event that brings teams from over ten countries together every summer in Nagoya, Japan. There, they compete before press, fans, and celebrities until one is named the best in the world. And, I'm very proud that the US is represented on the international stage by two girls -- Sonnya Paz and Renee Gloger -- from Queens.
Sonnya and Renee have spent the entire year getting ready for the WCS and along with gifted cosplay photographer Anna Fischer, they're now on a bullet train destined for Nagoya. The three have been in Japan since last week and already geeked out in Akihabara, hung out with some of the other teams, and met the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Really.
If you'd like to follow Team USA's journey, you can browse Anna's flickr gallery…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27594459@N04/
And or more on Team USA, you can check out their recent interview with AintItCoolNews and this story on the AP…
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37577
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080730/ennew_afp/entertainmentjapancultureanimationoffbeat_080730160606
If you think you've got the stuff to compete with cosplayers from around the world, enter the 2008 New York Anime Festival Masquerade, as its winners will travel to Japan as Team USA in 2009!
http://www.nyanimefestival.com/en-us/607.cfm
