Project Cosplay: Where Anime Meets Reality
Every Anime fan has worn a headband or t-shirt of their favorite Anime character or show, but few have the courage to embrace convention halls wearing homemade costumes of those characters. Even fewer yet have the skill to do it well. For those rare and elite breed of Cosplayers, we salute you! Your time in the spotlight has finally come.
Project Cosplay is the Anime-based reality TV series that showcases world class Cosplayers as they conceive, create, and unveil their costumes for Anime Expo. You'll laugh at the antics and cry for the costume that doesn't get completed as we expose the side of Cosplay that your momma don't talk about! Learn what it takes to become a professional Cosplayer from some of the best in the business.
The show follows four main Cosplayers, each with their own special talent and each a judge at the prestigious Anime Expo Masquerade. Michael is skilled in making weapons, Tianna is a makeup artist, Matt is a jack of all trades and Diana is an expert seamstress and the group's leader. The plan is simple, grab as many friends as possible, including Project Cosplayers Greg and Sean, then live, eat and spew Anime construction for eight solid weeks in preparation for Anime Expo.
Watching costumes being made is entertaining, but learning a few tips along the way is priceless. In a type of assembly line process, Mike creates a sword out of Styrofoam for his costume of the video game character, Donovan (Darkstalkers), while Diana starts making boots out of raw materials and roller blades for her Gum costume (Jet Set Radio). One of the best costumes we have ever seen is Matt's –Sephiroth incarnation; everything from the hair and makeup to the leather jacket and outrageously long sword are meticulously recreated from scratch.
The mix of video game and Anime characters makes you thirst with anticipation to finally see these Cosplayers on stage, in all their glory and in front of a crowd of thousands of screaming Anime fans. Anime Expo is one of the largest Anime conventions on the planet and accordingly, features Cosplayers from around the world that perform in extremely hot weather, wearing many layers of pleather.
Project Cosplay shows you the highlight performances, the judge's top picks and gets you exclusive behind the scenes access at Anime Expo. So get your pen and paper ready so you can write down the latest Anime fashion do's and don'ts as we break down the keys to success and how to win best in show. A little known fact about living the Cosplay lifestyle- all Cosplayers have a Cosplay war story to tell.