An exciting, new event has been added to the calendar in the Australian Cosplay community.  The first Madman National Cosplay Championship (MNCC) swept through the Australian cosplay scene this year. The preliminary rounds were held in five cities around Australia throughout 2009, and recently Melbourne hosted the Grand Final.

Where: The Sebel Hotel, Albert Park - Melbourne

When: November 14th

Website: Madman National Cosplay Championship Website

Photos (still in the process of uploading)

About MNCC

Much to the surprise of the Australian Cosplay Community, Madman chose to announce the arrival of the new national cosplay contest in early 2009. Representatives were chosen from each of the Supanova Pop Culture Expos (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth), and from AVCon (Adelaide). In the announcement it was revealed that a grand final, which would see cosplayers strut their stuff on stage, would be held in Melbourne with and a trip to Japan as the major prize! This helped the contest gain a lot of interest and drew out some of Australia's best cosplayers.

The Competitors

Throughout 2009, five finalists were selected from the preliminary rounds, to compete in Melbourne in the grand final.  The final five were:

Robyn (Queensland)

Siera (Victoria)

Christie (NSW)

Min (WA)

Jenita (SA)

As soon as news hit the cosplay scene about who the final contestants were, it was safe to assume that it would be a contest of very high quality.

Ready! Set! Cosplay!
Before cosplayers took to the stage to battle it out to win the title of the Madman National Cosplay Champion, a couple of guests of the event made speeches. Mr Tsuyoshi Isaka, the director of the Consulate General of Japan in Melbourne wished all the competitors luck and told of how Japanese pop culture had grown both in Japan and abroad. Tim Anderson, one of the founders and a director of Madman Entertainment, then gave a short speech on how things have changed and grown in the 13 years since Madman was founded and thanked everyone for their support over that time.

First to take to the stage was Siera who was representing Victoria. She was dressed as Rue (Princess Tutu) and changed into Princess Krahe half way through her skit. She performed some beautiful ballet moves and had great use of lighting to carry the feelings of the show. It was a wonderful way to start the performances.

Second to do their performance was Jenita from South Australia, with an amazing outfit of the Laputa Robot (Laputa, Castle in the Sky). The entire costume was, in my opinion, epic, and the damage detailing was great. It was quite a surprise for everyone at the end to see such a cute girl pop out of it after the skit!

The next performance was by Robyn from Queensland cosplaying Kosmos (Xenosaga: The Animation). She attached lights to both herself and her prop. Her skit was very entertaining and action packed, which used some great quality sound and video – which she had timed perfectly with her acting.

Fourth on stage was Min from Western Australia who did a wonderful cosplay of Knight of Zero Suzaku (Code Geass R2). Her skit carried the emotion that is prominent at the end of Code Geass. Mid-skit, she changed from the Knight of Zero into the new Zero.

Last but far from least was Christie from New South Wales with a beautiful cosplay of Alice from Pandora Hearts. Changing half way through her skit as well (which seemed to be the theme of the performances) she moved her audience with a great use of music, video and her own performance skill.

(All videos courtesy of K. All photos courtesy of Floatyman)

The performances of the final five did not disappoint! The competitors all did a fantastic job on all their costumes. It was obvious that each cosplayer worked hard on their cosplays, and took the opportunity of the Grand Final very seriously. Although they all had such a serious approach on the stage, it was a different off it.  While backstage, it was easy to forget about the grand scale of the competition, with a friendly atmosphere surrounding the cosplayers – some even freely swapping tips and tricks! This sociable attitude was a refreshing change from the drama the cosplay scene is sometimes known for. I would like to commend all the competitors for showing this wonderful spirit and enjoying themselves.

While the judges went away to make their decisions, the results from the regular contest were announced. These announcements were not enough to fill in the time while the judges finished deliberating. The crowd was entertained by John the MC, who did some short interviews with parents of the finalists. Although the contestants found it a little embarrassing, I quite enjoyed it.

Once the judges were finished, the results were not drawn out and the announcement of the positions went as follows:

5th - Jenita as Laputa Robot from Laputa, Castle in the Sky

4th - Robyn as Kosmos from Xenosaga the animation

3rd - Min as Suzaku from Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

2nd - Siera as Rue/Princess Krahe from Princess Tutu

WINNER - Christie as Alice from Pandora Heart

Congratulations to Christie and everyone wishes her a fantastic time in Japan.

More than just a contest….

There was more to the event than just the MNCC Grand Final with the organisers having turned it into a mini convention. There were a number of traders, artist tables, screenings, karaoke and anime trivia. Even with all of these side-attractions, the focus was still well and truly on cosplay. All the panels were focused on cosplay (Cosplay Photography, Crossplay Panel, Cosplay Tips and Props and Armour) which was very informative and helpful for those wanting to learn more about cosplay. There was a large emphasis on sharing tips and encouragement throughout the panels. The side-attractions were concluded with a regular cosplay contest.

Locale and Locals

The venue was also very nice with plenty of space, nice air conditioning (for a very hot Melbourne day), with drinks and food also available. The stage and sound was also of a very high quality meaning very little was missed by the audience.

Sadly, even though it was expected to be a small event, attendance appeared even smaller than expected with very few local Melbourne people attending the event. This, however, was made up by the interstate people that came along to support and catch up with their friends, which created a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere for the whole day.

Other Media Reports

The other out come from this large scale competition by Madman Entertainment, has been the extra attention from the mainstream media. There have been reports in each states MX newspaper, and multiple reports in other newspapers, including a report in the AGE, which can be looked at online. There has also been a TV spot on Channel 7's Sunrise program about the preliminaries in Sydney and there is to be an interview with the winner, Christie, in January's Dolly magazine.

(story taken from MX Newspaper)

Changes to future contest

With a successful first year, Supanova and Madman have announced that the competition will be held next year. However, they have included some interesting changes to the competition. For the first time pairs will be able to enter and will compete directly against single competitors.  This change has many excited but also has some concerned as to how they will be judged against each other. It will be interesting to see how this is handled. Another change to the competition will be the wild card entry for someone that may not have won, but the judges thought worthy to be in the finals. The final piece of news, which is possibly the biggest change, is that next year the final will be held in Brisbane – which is where Supanova has their best attendance record. Hopefully Brisbane can get into it and support it! Whether this is a permanent move or the start of a rotation between cities we will have to wait and see.