Masquerade

The Masquerade is undoubtedly the biggest and most widely anticipated event at Anime Expo every year. In fact, this year it was so big that the main hall was shut down at 2:00pm on Saturday to give the contestants a chance to rehearse and the tech crew a chance to set up equipment to meet the needs of this unique event.

Meanwhile, outside the hall, people tried to begin lining up as early as 2:30pm. By 4:00pm, when the tickets to the seating were to be handed out, the line stretched all along the side of the convention center. Since the main hall held roughly 1,300 people and there were over 4,500 attendees that weekend, not everyone would be able to get into the Masquerade. However, two video rooms were converted to a simulcast, which allowed for a total of nearly 2,000 people to see the masquerade. This seemed to satisfy most of the fans.

Although scheduled to start at 7:00pm, due to scheduling difficulties, last minute technical issues, and other things, the Masquerade actually started closer to 8:00pm. By then, of course, the fans were really ready, as some of them had been waiting for this event for several hours.
This year boasted more than 50 entries (single and groups), making it the largest Anime Expo Masquerade to date. There were of course, the expected entrants. Lupin made an appearance, so did several characters from FUSHIGI YUUGI, DRAGONBALL, and SAILOR MOON. And several EVANGELION characters made an appearance this year—even the enigmatic Kaworu. One of the most impressive costumes was the BUBBLEGUM CRISIS hardsuit, which drew cheers from the crowd (and walked away with the award for Best Craftwork). Meanwhile, three familiar goddessses were granted the Best in Show award.

Attendees were impressed by the quality of the costumes; it was obvious that the Masquerade participants devoted a lot of time and energy to preparing for the Masquerade. Judging by the popularity of this event, the Masquerade will continue to grow in the future.