It might be said that 2013 was the year that cosplay hit the big time, with a primetime show on SyFy (and subsequent reaction to the reaction to that show on SyFy) featuring people absolutely devoted to the craft of embodying our favorite characters. In honor of cosplay's breakout year, we've rounded up a top ten list, 'cause, well, that's just what you do in December.
Screw Comic-Con and E3, though. Between Animate! Miami, Mizucon, and the exponentially expanding Florida Supercon, we have plenty of homespun talent with awe-inspiring work. Check out this year's favorites after the jump:
10. Hipster Disney
We must give a mention to our Hipster Disney characters. We liked 'em so much when they showed up at Supercon, we had to give them the Instagram treatment. It even inspired this writer to give herself the Ariel treatment on Halloween:
9. Balloon Mech Something
We're not sure what character this is (let us know in the comments!), but it's putting scores of birthday clowns to shame. That's thinking outside the sewing machine.
8. Mana Man
In the same vein of unconventional materials, we have Mana Man. It took forever for him to construct his costume made of varied Magic: the Gathering cards--I can't even imagine how many packs (and how much it cost) to make it happen. We'd tap that.
7. Jack & Sally... and Bird.
'Til death do they part. When cosplayers are involved, couples costumes are no longer cheesy--they're double the challenge!
6. Queen Esther
She ruled the roost at Florida Supercon, winning an award and wowing people with the intricate details of her outfit, from the sewing to the fine beadwork. Basically, she commanded people to bow down months before Beyoncé.
5. TARDIS
This Whovian decked out her motorized wheelchair into a TARDIS and wowed the judges at this year's Florida Supercon.
4. Aquamarine
Aquamarine took the prize for best original character at Florida Supercon. She took the character from a Japanese art book and brought her to life, which totally showcases the kind of range the cosplay scene has.
3. The Silent Hill Gang
You can treat cosplay in a number of ways. It can be a pure showcase of technique in replicating iconic and complicated elements. You can have fun with a tongue-in-cheek representation of your favorite character. Or you can scare the everliving daylights out of people. These folks chose the latter, and we are grateful.
2. Aiolos
This is one case where the cosplayer is known more than the character. This is one of local cosplayer Jonathan Stryker's masterpieces. Not only is he dedicated to his craft, but he is dedicated to the scene--creating a cosplay calendar Kickstarter to help fund not only a new local con, but to help animal shelters in the process. What's not to love?
1. The Adventure Time family!
This troupe stole our hearts at Animate! Miami this year and proved that cosplay is one big happy family, literally and figuratively.
With all of this talent under the South Florida sun, we can't wait to see what characters will be brought to life in 2014.
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