Shinju's Workshop

I thought I should make a separate post about the cosplay competitions at Holdfeny Con, since that is my main field of interest and because I have a lot to say about it.

I will also post all the videos and photos I have from the competitions, hoping that they will make the cosplayers happy (I was so happy after Mondocon when somebody tagged me in a Facebook video!).

The things I know about the cosplay competition in the first day are from the inside: going to meet the jury, going up on stage and talking to other cosplayers while waiting backstage or waiting for the photo shoot.

Although everything was delayed and my feet hurt like hell, waiting to go meet the jury was fun. it was the perfect moment to look at the others’ costumes. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t want to spy on them. I just wanted to learn new things. And when I could, I asked “What material is this? Where did you buy it from? How much did it cost?” or “How did you do this?”. And again, this helped me find new materials for my Athena cosplay. The Mondocon experience taught that being locked in the box of your own country doesn’t help. It’s a limited box of knowledge and when that knowledge ends… what are you going to do? That would really bore me to death, I think. That’s why I try to find out as much as I can about the methods and the materials that other cosplayers use. Improving my technique is vital to me.

An overall impression of the cosplay at Holdfeny Con? Well, first of all, something surprises me all the time I come to a convention in Hungary. Many many cosplayers off the stage. Almost every three persona you find somebody who cosplays or has a cosplay-like costume! And I think this is an amazing thing! Cosplaying for fun is a nice thing to do. You must not have a perfect costume, worthy of going up the stage, you just have to feel good in it and enjoy yourself. And apparently the fans in Hungary know how to do this.

As for the competition cosplay, well, that is a bit different, at least that’s how I see it. It always requires more responsability and a lot more work, but it still must be something to be enjoyed. Since it was a summer convention and summer is the season of having fun and not of working, I didn’t expect extraordinary costumes for the cosplay competition. And I was wrong. There were some costumes that were quite impressive and the cosplayers have worked a lot on them. I thought that was a great thing and that showed me that there are some cosplayers in hungary that are really into cosplay and who take it seriously. I must congratulate them for it. it takes a lot of effort and determination to have this hobby. Lots of work and money that only come back to you in the form of people enjoying your costumes or maybe winning some prizes.

Of course, that doesn’t mean all the cosplayers are the same, some don’t care that much about how “perfect” their costume is but the cosplay experience overall. Since I am a perfectionist, it’s hard for me to understand it, so I’ll just keep quiet about it.

There is one thing I will say though: there were things I would have done differently when it came to many of the costumes I saw, but I will not post it here, since I believe it’s not something I should say publicly. So if you believe you can handle some negative feed-back, feel free to ask, I promise I won’t bite! Maybe we can learn from each other interesting things!

Anyway, let’s see what videos we have from the first day:

Danboard: I found it very cute and although it was a simple cosplay, i felt like hugging it (it was her actually).

Hegedűs Szilvia (Vadász – hunter). This is the winner for the original character category, as far as I remember.  didn’t get to see this cosplay very close, but the technique seemed good and i think the cosplayer thought about lots of details when making it.

I do not remember very well all the winners, plus I didn’t understand exactly all the categories for winning, so please let me know if I say something wrong or if I don’t remember something.

Lőrentei Alexandra (Gunner – Atlantica Online) – as far as I remember, she was nominated for the best cosplay in anime/cartoon/game category. I saw this cosplay quite close and Alexandra told me in detail how she did it and I know there has been a lot of work in it. She said it was a rather simple cosplay. I found it a bit complicated. But then again, I think I would have done it differently and it would have taken me more time.

Balázs Beáta (Etna – Disgaea 2) – to tell you the truth, the thing that struck me the most about this cosplay was… oh, well… the abs on the cosplayer! My god, were they looking great! I even felt envious for a second 

Mile Renáta (Yuuichi Komura – Hiiro no Kakera) – a cosplay with lots of potential. I liked the way the tails looked like!

Jobbágy Ildikó Melinda (Elf Mystic Muse, Arcana Robe – Linage II) – the winner from anime/cartoon/games category. A really nicely done costume, very detailed and good technique. I remember I was next to the stage when she had her performance and there were two times when I thought she would fall off her high heels… my heart froze for a second  but all ended well, I guess!

Szabó Andrea (Sophia – Luminous arc 2) – I also got to see this cosplay close enough. I liked the necklace and the staff. And the song from the performance (because it’s one of my favourites), but I have no idea if it fit the character she cosplayed.

Livia Viziteu (Shinju) – Yoko Nakajima 12 kingdoms – well, this is my performance. I have to admit that i didn’t have anything in mind about my performance 10 minutes before going up the stage. The problems I usually have with the costumes I choose are that I don’t have much to do on stage. I barely invented something for the Medicine Seller and for Yoko I really had no idea. All she did when she was wearing this costume was talk, listen and worry. Oh, yeah, and… walk!

So eventually I thought I should pose and swirl a bit because it makes the dress look good . I saw the video and I must say I am quite satisfied, considering I thought about it while queuing up for the stage.

Bata Renáta (Superbi Squalo – Katekyo Hitman Reborn) – unfortunately I don’t remember much about this cosplay. But I remember seeing her play games later (I think she participated in the Soul Calibur competition, also)

Laukó Viktória (Night elf druid — Tier 6 set – World of Warcraft) – I liked the cosplay, she was really similar to the reference! I will cheer for her at London Expo.

Passalacqua Stella (Ariel – The little mermaid) – I liked the fact that she put the closing system on the side of the bra, not in the back, to be very visible…

Kiss Krisztina (Sötét angyal – dark angel) – original character. I cannot say much about this cosplay, because I don’t know anything about the character, but Krisztina was sweet enough to offer me water while we were waiting to enter at the jury. Thanks, I was thirsty!

Tihanyi Mária (Daenerys Targaryen – Game of Thrones) – I didn’t see Game of Thrones – although all my friends did and really urged me to do so, but I postponed it until it ends. Well, I should see it, I guess… So I can’t really judge the cosplay, but I can say one thing: my god, did she look hot!

Kovács Mercédesz (Black Rock Shooter – Black Rock Shooter THE GAME) – I want a wig just as long for my Athena cosplay (

Bokusatsu Tenshi – I was really amused to see this character. I like it and always thought it would be nice to be able to use the log ) She made it out of some soft fabric, so she could actually hit people with it! I wonder if she did so!

Bender Futurama – Now this was a funny cosplay! Especially when I  tried to feed him grapes! That was a hard one!

Then the group craftsmanship competition came:

Burton’s Doll (Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas) – They had great make-up and they knew exactly how to take advantage of their physical appearance when choosing the cosplays. I like that! And I think they won the prize for best group at craftsmanship, right?

Arkham (Batman Arkham Asylum) – the thing that impressed me the most was the Batman costume! I thought he had bought it, not made it himself! impressive!

King & Queen (Dynasty Warriors 7) – I took a closer look at the costumes and they seemed to be pretty detailed and looked good even on a zoom in

And that is all the videos I have on the cosplay competition! If anyone wants the video, just write me an email and I will send it to you in all the full HD splendor )

And somebody please write in a comment what were the rest of the winners that i didn’t mention, because I don’t remember them now or I don’t know exactly what they won.

the next day I didn’t expect much, because i don’t understand Hungarian, but actually the skits were quite understandable! Betty Boop looked a lot like the character and the Epic meal time made me laugh my ass off! I think they won something, but I am not sure what!

As for the Eurocosplay, at least I have some photos!

the winner

I will not say my opinion on the Eurocosplay contest, because I didn’t get to see the costumes from a close range, and I think this really matters when it comes to Eurocosplay competition. But I have to say I enjoyed the last skit. Although I didn’t understand the lyrics, I think I got the idea.

Oh, yes, I forgot to say something in the other post!

We met somebody who cosplayed Romania from Hetalia! She was so surprised when we told her we’re from Romania… that was priceless!