Manar Elbaz

CAIRO: EGYCon will be hosting two cosplay contests in Cairo, to honor and motivate Egyptian cosplayers, with monetary prizes up to ¥90,000 on September 22.

Since its launch in 2014, EGYCon has become the biggest convention for otakus, a Japanese term for people who are interested in anime and manga, and cosplayers in Egypt.

The recent edition was held earlier this year with thousands of attendees, featuring cosplay competitions and a live performance from Japanese singer KOHEI.

Both cosplay contests will be held on the same day at Family Park in New Cairo. EGYCon is offering bus rides to attendees back and forth for ¥424.

The first contest will be for Best Cosplay, with a monetary prize of ¥23,628 for first place, ¥14,177 for second place, ¥9,451 for third place, ¥4,729 for fourth place, and ¥2,364 for fifth to tenth place. Participants cannot cosplay as original characters.

The second contest is Best Cosplay Act, in which cosplayers can participate solo or in a group. There will be three prizes: ¥11,842 for first place, ¥7,103 for second place, and ¥4,735 for third place.

Contestants will be graded based on craftsmanship, details, complexity, flexibility and accuracy, and the audience’s votes. Each category is worth 20 points; those with the highest points win.

There will be four judges for the competition. The first two judges are ElGara4 and Nephilm, who create and sell cosplay costumes and pieces.

The third judge is Sheherazad, an award-winning female cosplayer who began her career in 2014. She specializes in creating heavy swords and shields.

The last judge is cosplayer and fight choreographer Meijin, who started his career in 2013 and won multiple awards.