Traveling Valentine was invited to judge the Sac Anime January cosplay contest. We judged alongside Katie B, Pikmin Link, Mr. K, and Dante. Judging started at 3PM and we had 40 entries to go through. Take a look at the brave cosplayers who answered to the call of masquerade.

*Because of my camera's unreliablity, some of the photos did not turn out well and had to be omitted for the convention report.

We sat ourselves down for the show. The area close to the stage was being cleared off to accomodate the contest audience. The judges were seated in front of the stage. As things were getting ready, I took pictures of cosplayers that I may have missed during the day. I also bought some snacks to satisfy my appetite. Many thanks to Dante for the fries and to Sue for the fruit snacks. The masquerade was made out of candy-- literally. One of the repeated highlights was Francine, Ebi, and Imari tossing out candy to the audience.

As far as masquerade performances go, we had a revival of Para Para Paradise. Death Note themed skits ending in the killing of characters seemed to be pretty popular too. We had three Metal Gear Solid acts. There were many new faces to the cosplay contest. Give yourselves a huge pat on the back for coming up on stage and doing your thing. It takes a lot to get up on there. The show was hosted by Tamaki and What's His Name in the Glasses from Ouran Host Club. Renge also made some special appearances as Witch Hunter Robin, Miaka Yuuki, and a Gothic Lolita.

As the judges deliberated, the cosplay contest entrants gathered to form a congo line. Everyone was invited. There was a mass gathering of karaoke on stage. Now that's what a halftime show is all about. When we were finally done deliberating, we allowed Francine to annouce the winners of the show. More importantly, we also gave Francine a send off. This would be her last time running the cosplay show. Though Tom and I worked with her only for this Sac Anime, it was a pleasure working with Francine.

After masquerade, the judges were given special gifts for participating in the contest. We chose among several game strategy guides. I picked a guide for Twilight Princess since my brother is currently playing that game. Some of our friends were leaving for the weekend. Diana and Rico were on their way home so we gave them big hugs of love. Francine shared her many cupcakes with us. When the fun was done, we drove to the Red Lion Sacramento.

The Cosplay Contest Winners

Best Presentation: Hanyaan Fairy (Judeau from Beserk doing a happy dance to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Life of Brian)

Most Original: Bart Boy and Yunri (RPD Officer from Resident Evil and Hinata from Naruto performing Mooselini's rap from Parappa the Rapper)

Best Costume: Princess Serenity (Sailor Moon) & Sophita (Soul Calibur)

Honorable Mentions:
-Inuyasha group with Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango
-Youko Kurama in pink EGL gown
-Naruto group with .hack character

Judge's Award: One of the Naruto's

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