Tiffany Chen walked away the top cosplayer at Anime Picnic 8.0: The Kimono Edition held at the Hope Gardens Pavilion, St Andrew, on Saturday, August 27.

“I was overjoyed, especially since I was too sick to attend AnimeCom Fest this year and enter the competition there,” Chen told the Jamaica Observer.

Chen’s character, Grim, caught plenty of attention with its on-theme costume design and massive faux scythe.

“I was actually indecisive about what I wanted to do, but I spoke to a few friends and suddenly a design came to mind for Grim. I’ve been developing this original character for a while and thought making a kimono version would be cool,” Chen explained.

According to her, it took around two weeks to build the costume with three days devoted to the weapon itself. While Chen has won cosplay competitions before, she does so more on the enjoyment factor than the competitive element.

“I’ve won competitions before, most recently was at an Anime Yado event. I used to cosplay not for competitions but only for the enjoyment of the convention. My friends, like Steffi [Singh], have been urging me to enter them so I decided to start getting a bit more serious now,” she said.

Singh, one of the top cosplayers in the island, finished second with her rendition of fictional swordsman Yamatonokami Yasusada of the Japanese series, Touken Ranbu.

“It was a really exciting event for me. I like bringing attention to obscure series and the prizes for second place were awesome,” said Singh.

She was followed by another well-known name in the cosplayer space, Rhea Rampair. Donning her entry from her participation in the Caribbean Cosplay Championship 2022, Bruno Bucciarati from the Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure, Rampair finished third.

Anime Picnic itself faced challenges as random heavy rains would force a late start and the programme to pause, but as a closing cap to the summer cosplay season, patron and competitor support was high.

“Anime Picnic 8.0 was a success. Despite a few setbacks that caused us to have a small delay, it was a memorable event that allowed us to see our patrons in a new light. The best feeling is having loyal customers who will stand by you through everything, which makes it even better,” said Tianna Powell, president of event organisers Anime Nerds of Jamaica (ANJ).

Beyond the cosplay competition, there was plenty to do with the usual vendors’ row selling genre-specific wares from food to clothing and accessories. The programme featured varied activities such as a Mixed Martial Arts display, an art competition, dancing, and food eating challenges. Attendees not willing to commit to full costumes were enticed to participate in a lighter fashion, given the Japanese kimono theme of the event.

For ANJ, the next event is October, when they will collaborate with the Hope Zoo for their annual Halloween event, Boo in the Zoo. They will then host their first-ever rave party, King’s Game, in November. Powell added that they will also try to create more online activities for the community and small business owners in the Asian pop culturespace.