Wow, what a weekend in New York City! The cosplayers, the anime fans, the manga maniacs and the Jpop listeners showed up in full force for the KRAZY! Cosplay Contest & Party! It was completely and absolutely sold out with another 100 people waiting outside just hoping to get in. Special guests include Akihabara singer Reni, World Cosplay Summit 2009: Team USA (& 2008!), head of New York Anime Festival Peter Tartara, and Ningin! The winning cosplayers were phenomenal. Be sure to check both photo galleries one and two!

The contest got off to a late start but it was worth the wait. We kicked things off with a performance by Reni in her trademark Harajyuku and Akiba style. We then got down to business and introduced the judges: India and Elizabeth from World Cosplay Team USA 2009, Renee from World Cosplay Team USA 2008, and Peter Sebeckis from Japan Society. After a quick rundown of the rules, it was time to bring the cosplayers on stage one by one.

Let me make this clear now, I was chosen to emcee the event for my emcee skills, not my anime or manga knowledge. I know a good amount but I was way out of my anime-manga league for this crowd. They delighted in giving me a full interactive lesson. By the time I announced “Final Fantasy Ex”, the crowd had gotten fully into the swing of calling back corrections. (In this case, “Final Fantasy 10″).

After almost 100 contestants walked on stage, most solo but some as teams, it was time for judging. There was a 10 minute musical break with Reni coming back out for two more songs. I then came back on stage and the crowd demanded to know the winners, but we had one more thing to do before that. Kid Robot had donated prizes for our youngest cosplayers. At first the crowd was gonna give me a cosplay ass whupping for the delay, but everyone’s hearts just melted when the littlest cosplayers came on stage. After a group “Awwww…”, it was time to announce the winners!

First place went to Scout Isensee’s “Ciel Phantomhive” (Beautiful!), Second place went to Amy Cheong’s “Imp Midna” (Fantastic!), and Third Place went to Jennifer Hwang’s “Ion Fortuna” (Stunning!)

It was a heated competition with many other cosplayers in close contention to win. I’m glad I wasn’t judging because I don’t think I could only pick three. Correction, I know I couldn’t pick just three (Kirby! Afro Samurai! L! Rei! Final Fantasy Ex! ^_^). With the contest over, the party continued for another good hour at Japan Society, with LOTS of picture taking and introductions. A smash success overall! I’m looking forward to the next one!

And the KRAZY Online Contest is being prepared to go live!
There’s still one more prize to give out, no, make that two more prizes to give out. A gift bag of DVDs from Manga Entertainment for the cosplayer who gets the most votes at our online contest, and one random voter will win “Akira” from Bandai on Blu-Ray disc! (That could be YOU!). Stay tuned as the online contest will be online within 24 hours!

KRAZY! Online Cosplay Contest is now open for voting!