Foo says there are many talented cosplayers in the country, but they need a platform to bring them to the international level, which is what WCS aims to do.
When Kazuki Foo was 15 years old, he participated in the World Cosplay Summit (WCS) in Japan for the first time.
Fast forward 19 years and Foo, now 34, is pursuing his passion in growing the cosplay culture in Malaysia as the World Cosplay Summit (WCS) director of international programme.
“My passion has always been cosplay since I was a child at the age of seven, and I want to grow this culture in Malaysia,” says Foo, who is of Malaysian Chinese-Japanese parentage.
“When I was based in Japan as a technical consultant, I wanted to bring WCS to Malaysia because I saw the opportunity for cosplayers to be on the world stage.
“Malaysia, like many other countries, has a lot of potential talent which should be showcased so that the country will receive the due recognition that it deserves,” he says.
“That’s why we decided to bring WCS to Malaysia and WCS Malaysia was formed in 2011,” he adds.
WCS is an annual international cosplay event, held in Japan since 2003, to promote global interaction through Japanese pop culture. It celebrates cosplay and culture, culminating in the crowning of the World Cosplay Summit champion. Every year, it attracts participants from over 40 countries in six continents, says Foo.
According to Foo, there are many cosplayers and events in the country, but they aren’t serving as platforms to bring winners to the international level to showcase their talents.
But WCS is a platform for them to compete and network with other cosplayers in the international arena and connect with a global audience, he says.
Foo explains that WCS is different from other cosplay competitions because besides cosplayers’ performances on stage, they also need to make their own costumes and props, whereas in other cosplay events, they can just buy it.
“Our aim is also to cultivate cosplayers’ interest in professional pursuits beyond cosplay as a hobby or ‘just for fun’.
“If you look at cosplay over the last 10 years, it was predominantly a hobby. But through this platform, cosplayers can translate their skills in performing arts as well as costume making and props crafting into viable careers.
“For example, if an entertainment or showbiz company needs a movie set or props to be designed and created, that’s something a cosplayer can progress towards,” says Foo.
“Cosplayers can develop many creative and technical skillsets through cosplaying, including photography, videography, stage performance, costume making, props crafting, LED programming, sound effects production, stage effects production and many others,” he says.
He strongly believes that the platform can help youth in Malaysia develop their passion into careers.
From strength to strength
Cosplayers can develop many creative and technical skill sets through cosplaying, including photography, videography, stage performance, costume making, props crafting, LED programming, sound effects production, stage effects production, and others, says Foo.
Since it started in 2011, many teams have joined WCS Malaysia. Initially, there were only three. This year, there will be close to 10 teams. The duos will then go through a stringent judging process and the winners will take part in the finals in Japan, reveals Foo.
“The costumes are judged in terms of how they are created, including the quality, standard and skills (such as stitching and neatness). For the props, we look at the details and how they’re made, such as the programming for the LEDs.
“Cosplayers need to explain and provide all the details of how it’s made and done, including all the gimmicks they use, such as moving wings,” he says.
“The next part is the presentation skit, which takes two and a half minutes. This includes a video and audio background which they need to produce to accompany their presentation on stage, and they must not violate any (image or music) copyright laws.
“The cosplayers have to act out what they have planned according to the characters and story they have chosen. And they’ll be judged on their performance as well as their video/audio background,” he adds.
According to Foo, there are many popular cosplay themes and characters in Malaysia, and most of them are from anime, manga, video games or fan fiction.
He adds that the first character he cosplayed was Ash (Satoshi) from Pokemon at the age of seven. He has also cosplayed Final Fantasy characters.
Foo, who has been a judge during the WCS world finals in Japan, highlights that on the international level, one of the most important areas in the judging is the accuracy of a cosplayer’s costume compared to the original.
In Malaysia, his role as an advisor helps participants and judges comply to the WCS rules. The local competition takes place in September, and the winning team will go to the international competition in Japan, in August the following year.
“This gives the cosplayers a year to prepare themselves for the international competition after the local one. The winning duo will present the same characters/story but are allowed to refine or make improvements to their performance, costumes or props, for the finals in Japan,” he reveals.
For more info, go to facebook.com/WCSummitMalaysia/ or noizu.asia/wcsmy2025nc/
