Like a lot of other anime related things and activities in South Africa, cosplay is probably another something that tends not to happen very often, and when it does, it happens at very specific events, and the groups are usually small. The exception was at the rAge expo this year, where we saw quite a turn-out, with some very good cosplay taking place.

Beyond that, there are a few other events where cosplayers would feel free to strut their stuff, and we didn’t see it happen anywhere else, until Cape Town based Genevieve Lesch and Sasha Perdiago decided to kick some Capetonians into gear and get them together for a day in the sun.

While not a cosplayer myself (yet…), I wasn’t going to miss this, and thus, armored with my Mirai t-shirt of geekiness + 10, and armed with something that I am now ashamed to call a camera, I headed over to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to join in the fun.

As to whether the kicking was successful? Well, firstly – how many people would you guess turned up?

I probably wasn’t the only one surprised. I was expecting somewhere in the range of twenty to thirty people to rock up, and I seemed to be right … initially anyway. Spectators and other cosplayers kept arriving in dribs and drabs, and I decided to stop counting when I hit the forties.

We had mostly spectators though – with 12 definite cosplayers, but in all honesty I don’t think the ratio mattered all that much. Joining the cosplayers were a horde of photographers with Hubble-sized cameras, a whole group of Cape Town based artists from Legion Ink, while Grant Hinds from MWeb’s Gamezone also put in an appearance to take in the sights and interview a couple of the cosplayers.

There were numerous bloggers added into the mix, myself included, so you’re likely to see a couple of posts pop up over the course of the week following – I’ll linking them at the bottom in case you like some other (probably shorter) perspectives.

So, Cape Town’s weather, being temperamental as always, decided to do its best to blow us away, but didn’t reckon with the fact that we were hiding behind the mountain, and as a result we managed to enjoy a glorious day parking off in what happened to become very much “our spot”. And of course, no report would be complete without some pictures, so here we go:

First off … the girls who were doing the kicking, Genevieve  as Suzumiya Haruhi on the left, and Sasha (Asahina Mikuru) on the right. I’m guessing this would be from one of the Endless Eight episodes -

You wouldn't mind these two kicking you ... probably

I’m not going to be posting all the photos here; between myself and the rest of the photographers  – not to mention the studio shoots – hundreds of photos are going to be making their way online in the very near future. If you scroll down to the bottom of this post, you’ll find a collection of links to the various albums, blog and other articles, and possibly a video or two (Genevieve hinted in her post that one is in the making).

And now some more photos:

Asheeqa - Yuuki Cross from Vampire Knight

Francois here as Frankenstein from Soul Eater

Elza has turned into quite the cosplaying junkie, apart from already being a talented artist and being responsible for that incredibly cute mascot for the CT Cosplay group (although I should probably point out the poor thing hasn’t been named yet). Below she’s cosplaying as Hirasawa Yui, the lovable guitarist of the K-On! light music club – and taking part in Yui’s favourite activity:

Hint: Om-nom-nom-nom

And next – my personal favourite of the day – Ruth, being perfectly in character as Miyazawa Yukino from Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (His and Her Circumstances); personally it’s my first time coming across someone cosplaying from the series.

Star student ...

For the rest – well … you’ll have to go visit the albums  and links I’ve posted at the bottom. :)

As I mentioned earlier, we had quite a turn-out of spectators and people just generally enjoying the event:

Some of the group were quick to sit down and reach for the munchy items ...

These two decided the relaxing atmosphere wasn’t enough for them and decided to relax a little harder.

Seriously ... they had like, pillows and everything

And to finish off … a group shot of the cosplayers – some looking in another direction -

... because big cameras deserve more attention :p

Just so we can get the names of the characters down:

Right at the back in the middle – Asheeqa (Yuuki Cross| Vampire Knight) and Chris (Mugen | Samurai Champloo)
Back-right – Fay (Tifa Lockheart | FF VII) and Ruth (Miyazawa Yukino | Kare Kano)
Far right – Darren (Uchiha Itachi | Naruto)
Far left – Francois(Dr Frankenstein | Soul Eater) and Carlyn (Hyuuga Hinata | Naruto)
Front row – Sasha and Genevieve (Asahina Mikuru & Suzumiya Haruhi | Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Anzel (Amane Misa | Death Note) and Elza (Hirasawa Yui | K-On!)

And finally -

A duck ... cosplaying as a goose

As promised, some linky’s to albums and reports:

• KomboKitten Online – Genevieve’s blog
• KomboKitten’s Facebook Album
• Cape Town Cosplay Group album on Facebook
• Animated Meanderings’s Picasa slideshow and Facebook Album
• Hy-sê-Sy-sê – a local blog, was also in attendance – photos here – and here’s their report.

GameZone included a section about the cosplay event in their Christmas Special – so somewhere in the middle of the top 10 games of 2011 you’ll find an interview with some of the cosplayers.

I’m sure I’m missing some – so this list will be updated as I find additional photos and articles. While small, it was an awesome get together – we had a lot of fun and some interesting conversations and it’s definitely serving as the launchpad for future events – some of the cosplayers will definitely be making an appearance at this weekend’s Organised Chaos LAN event, and I’m hearing whispers of the next event being organised.

Feel free to join the group on Facebook, since discussions are pretty much permanently ongoing; and a local South African cosplaying forum is in the works as well.