• You must have a valid Anime America 2025 badge/wristband to participate.
• If you are under the age of 13, you must have your parent or guardian’s permission to enter and you must also be accompanied by your parent or guardian during judging, rehearsal and the contest.
• When you sign up for this contest you agree to having read and abiding by all rules as posted. If you don’t, you will be disqualified.
• Cosplay staff reserves the right to disqualify you for any reason.

• The Main Cosplay Contest is rated teen. Be clever, not crass. Judgment on the appropriateness of material is left to the discretion of our cosplay staff.
• All costumes entered must adhere to the cosplay, costume and dress policy. If your costume does not meet this criteria you may be asked to change or not permitted to walk the stage.
• 75% of the cosplay must be constructed or altered by the entrant. If you are modeling a cosplay that someone else made, they MUST be with you at pre-judging for you to be eligible for an award.
• Purchased or commissioned cosplays are NOT eligible for any awards and cannot be entered into the contest.
• Skill divisions are strictly enforced. If an entrant is deemed above the skill level of the division they have entered by the judges, they will be moved up a division. If an entrant is found to have intentionally entered a class below their skill level, they will be disqualified.
• Be respectful to other cosplay entrants and the judges. Unruly or disruptive behavior during pre-judging, backstage, or during the contest is not permitted.
• Entrants must be able to enter and exit the stage quickly on their own. If your costume/prop is too big for you to get on and off the stage by yourself easily, you may bring a handler to assist you. Our cosplay staff will not be able to provide a handler for you.
• Entrants with disabilities or mobility impairments are welcome to provide their own handler or request handler assistance from our cosplay staff for any stage of the cosplay contest process. If you think you may need assistance, we request you to contact us in advance or request assistance during the pre-judging process.
• To prevent sandbagging, entrants wishing to compete with costumes that have previously won a costume competition must declare this upon registration. In order to be accepted, at least 60% of the costume must be altered or remade since the costume last won an award and the costume must also be entered in a higher skill division if one exists. Failure to inform the judges and our cosplay staff of this will result in being prevented from entering in future Anime America contests.
• A costume that has won Best in Show at another Anime America show cannot re-enter the same costume at a different Anime America show. (IE: If you win at Anime America Dallas, you cannot enter at Anime America Houston).
• Group entries of up to 5 people are allowed. Entrants may not participate in multiple groups.
• Costumes entered must be presented with reference images and recreate characters from anime, manga, animation, etc. At least one reference image must be in color. Reference images must be provided during pre-judging and may be provided on any medium including, but not limited to, paper, phone, tablet, etc. You can also submit it digitally at animeamericacosplay@gmail.com
• Original characters will not be permitted; however, art book variations and reinterpretations of existing characters (including gijinka, Hannah Alexander) will be allowed with an accompanying reference.
• Progress portfolios are HIGHLY encouraged as they include photo documentation of your work from start to finish.
• Professional cosplayers ARE WELCOME to enter. A professional cosplayer is anyone who makes a significant portion of their income from costume design, construction or sales or feels they are a master of their craft. If you are a pro, you MUST enter in the MASTER division.
• All contestants must participate in the Main Cosplay Contest pre-meeting and rehearsal before the contest. If you arrive late or after the rehearsal you will not be allowed to compete or participate in the contest.

• Signups: Open one month before each event. (August 1-23 for Anime Dallas and October 1-25 for Anime Houston). Any spaces not filled by these dates will be available on site.
• Sign ups will take place online. Slots that do not fill by the deadline will be available on site at Cosplay HQ on-site on a first come, first served basis until all spaces are filled.
• The spaces allotted are subject to change and will no longer be available once all slots for the contest have been filled.
• Each entrant (or group leader) must fill out the Cosplay Sign-Up Application online. Only one entry per group is allowed.
• Once your entry is confirmed, you must check in at Cosplay HQ before or at your scheduled judging time or you will be dropped from the contest. Additionally, please be aware that only two (2) handlers are allowed with you unless specifically required. We will ask you how many will be needed at check in so we can allocate the correct number of seats.

• You will not be able to submit your own music track for your walk on.
• Walk-on entries will be limited to 30 seconds and may include up to 5 people.
• Walk-on entries are required to attend craftsmanship judging. If you skip this, you will not be eligible to receive awards or participate in the contest.
• Any costume that is skin tight is expected to have the appropriate underthings. I.E. A dance belt. Any lack of such will result in you being removed from the contest.

• No microphones may be used by the contestants at any time.
• Everything brought onto the stage during a walk-on entry must be removed at the end of the time limit. Messy substances including confetti, glitter, flower petals, and water are not allowed.
• Pyrotechnics or special effects such as fireworks, flash paper, or smoke machines will not be allowed on the stage or backstage area.
• Contestants may not throw anything off the stage or into the crowd, including themselves.
• All stage fighting or acrobatics must be limited to ¾ speed and quarter strength. One foot must remain on the floor at all times. Climbing onto the stage or leaping off the stage is strictly prohibited.

• All costumes must be made by the entrant(s) or credited to the creator(s) on the entrant’s entry form. Creators not entering in costume must be present to receive awards. Purchased costumes will not be allowed for craftsmanship judging.
• All walk-on entries must be at least 75% made or significantly modified from original garments.
• When filling out the application, you must choose a one-hour block during which your group will come in for judging. If your first choice is full, you will be asked to choose another time slot. Each entry will be allowed 3 minutes to present their costume to the judges; groups of 3+ people will be allowed one minute for each additional group member (up to a maximum of 5 minutes). Entries that go over their time limit may be disqualified. Please be courteous to your fellow cosplayers and to your judges by keeping your presentation brief!
• Pre-judging is NOT open to the public. Only participants, handlers, and parents/guardians are allowed.
• Craftsmanship judging will take place in Cosplay HQ. Please arrive a few minutes early if possible in order to check in, as entries for each block will be judged in the order they arrive. If you arrive late, you may not have the chance to be rescheduled. If you find out in advance that you will not be able to make your timeslot, please contact us. Entries that do not show up for judging will be disqualified.
• There will be Saturday judging ONLY. You must check in to the contest during open table hours before your judging time.
• Reference images and progress binders used as part of craftsmanship presentations must be picked up immediately after the contest or they will be destroyed.

Here is a list of Skill Levels, sometimes referred to as divisions. If you have questions about which division you should be in, feel free to ask us. We would like to assist you.

• All groups must enter the division applicable to the most skilled member of the group.
• The judges reserve the right to move your placement to another division if we think it’s a better fit for you.

NOVICE

The Novice division exists to encourage people who are new to costuming to compete.

You should enter if:

• You are new to costuming, have never competed before, or are not a professional costumer.
• You have competed in the Novice division, but you have not won any awards.
• You have competed in the Novice division, but have won less than three major awards. A major award is anything that is not a judges’ award (IE: Best Novice, Best Craftsmanship, Best Novice) at any convention.

You should not enter the Novice division if:

• You are a professional costumer.
• You have competed or won an award in Journeyman/Masters/Advanced.

JOURNEYMAN

The Journeyman division is an interim division for costumers who have consistently won awards in the Novice division, but who feel they are not yet ready to compete in the Master division.

You should enter if:

• You have been cosplaying for a number of years but do not yet feel like a master of your craft or are not a professional costumer.
• You have won more than three major awards in the Novice division or less than two in the Journeyman division.

You should not enter the Journeyman division if:

• You are a professional costumer.
• You have competed or won in the Master division.
• You have won Best in Show, Best Youth, or Best Journeyman.
• You have won more than three awards in the Journeyman division.

MASTER

The Master division is open to any competitor who wishes to enter. Professionals MUST enter this category.

If you have questions or are not sure what category you qualify for, our cosplay staff would be happy to help you figure it out.

Awards: Awards are issued immediately following a brief entertaining intermission after the contest.

• Best in Show – This award is to be granted to the entry that shows an overall exceptional degree of craftsmanship and execution. This award may be given to an entry in any division.
• Best in Division- Given to an entrant who has shown an exceptional degree of craftsmanship and presentation for their division.
• Best Craftsmanship – Given to an entry which displays an exceptional degree of craftsmanship.
• Judges’ Awards – Each judge may grant an award to an entry that they feel is exceptional.

NOTE: Only trophies will be handed out on stage. Any other prizes must be picked up by the winners immediately following