Unique Canonicato, dressed up as Hanji Zoe in Attack on Titans, at the Otaku Cosplay competition yesterday.
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Hundreds of anime fans gathered at the Katara Esplanade yesterday to see their favourite anime and film characters in flesh at the Otaku Cosplay competition, the highlight of the inaugural Ajyal Youth Film Festival’s ‘Family Week-End’.
Thirty-one cosplay fanatics dressed up as their favourite characters from manga, anime, films and video games to compete in categories, including Best Male, Best Female, Best Group, Best Skit, and Open Category.
Unique Canonicato, a senior student at Philippine School Doha, impressed the judges with her costume and performance as Hanji Zoe in Attack on Titans.
She received a perfect 10 score from all four judges to win the Best Female category.
“This is the first time that I have joined a competition like this. Cosplay is part of my fascination with anime, so I joined this contest,” she said.
Two weeks of tedious preparation to create her costume with the help of her father paid off for the young anime fan, who has been in Qatar for nine years.
Not only young citizens and residents joined the contest but also cosplay fanatics from neighbouring countries like Saad from Saudi Arabia.
“I have joined contests like this before, mostly in Bahrain and the UAE,” he said, adding he had limited time to prepare.
“I only had only three days to prepare for this so I used my old cosplay which was Shanks.”
The winners of the Otaku Cosplay competition, who dressed up as their favourite anime character from a movie or cartoon, were judged based on craftsmanship, originality and choreography and will be officially announced at the closing ceremony tonight.
Awards include Best Male, Best Female, Best Group, Best Skit, and Open Category (open to all other costumes styles).
They will receive a voucher courtesy of Fifty One East for the much-anticipated Sony PlayStation 4 being launched next month.
The ‘Family Week-End’ continues today from 2pm to 8pm at the Katara Esplanade.
Activities for the whole family include the Ajyal Studio, the Hataraky Workshop, the Sony Tent and the ‘The Sandbox’ designed to familarise audiences with filmmaking by providing them with entertaining behind-the-scenes insights. The Peninsula
