Cosplay Rules

Cosplay rules and regulations

On this page, you will find all the relevant information required to take part in the Cosplay contested hosted by Animangapop at each event. Please take your time to read each section carefully and make sure you fully understand the procedures in place.

If you are unsure about any aspect of the documentation written here please reach out to our team at cosplay@animangapop.co.uk for further help and guidance.

Important information about the Cosplay Competition. Please read.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Animangapop and POP Nippon reserves the right to modify and/or update this policy at any time in their sole discretion and without prior notice. By filling in the application form to participate within the Contest you have read, agreed and understood fully the rules of the competition.

 

The Competitions will take place on 2 different days. These days are Saturday 12th of February 2022 and Sunday 13th of February 2022. They are in no way linked together and should be classed as 2 separate competitions.

 

The Competition will be judged in 2 main classifications. The 2 classifications are;Hand-made’ or ‘Shop bought’. Further details on these 2 classes are detailed below:

Hand-made.
To be classed as hand-made your costume needs to be over
70% hand-made by yourself and not commissioned or store-bought. You will need to discuss in detail on your form the processes you have gone through to create it, how many hours it took, what was the hardest part etc.

Shop bought.
This classification would mean that your costume was purchased online, commissioned and that over
70% of it was not hand-made by yourself.

 

Once the classification has been selected, the sub-classes are as follows for each class:

  • Under 12’s
  • 12 – 16-year-olds
  • 17 and over 

Additional Information.

  • You may wish to enter contests on both days which is fine and accepted. However, you cannot use the same costume on both days. You must fill out 1 form for Saturday and 1 form for Sunday showing off the different costumes you will be wearing.
  • Pre-judging will take place when you sign-in at the Cosplay booth at the Event. Please make sure you lookout for the signs for this. The judges will be asking questions and confirming the details they have on you in front of them.
  • When it comes to making the final decision on the winners of each class, the judge(s) casting vote is final. 
  • With regards to Weapons and Props. Please make sure you have read and adhered to the rules and regulations. These are for everyone’s safety. If you are found to have broken these rules on purpose you will be excluded from the contest and also will be asked to leave the event. 
  • We allow entrants to the contest to do a Skit if they so wish. Each skit will be limited to 2 ½ minutes each. The performance will not be judged this year and is just for fun.
  • If you are unable to stay till the end of the event, and you have won a prize,  we will contact you via the email and telephone number supplied to us, and we will deliver the prizes to your address, (limited to the southwest)

Any questions about the contest or your submission, please email our dedicated team members at cosplay@animangapop.co.uk for a more direct and quick answer.

 

*Currently Group Cosplay does not have a Class. However, if we have enough Groups Sign-up we may have a separate class for groups on each day. This will entirely depend on the sign-ups and we cannot guarantee this. This decision will ONLY be made in late January. So at the present, all Group entrants will be classed as a Singular entry.  If the Group Cosplay is of mixed-age, we will go on the average age of the group members ages entered into the cosplay form.

Creation Date: Feb 9th- Feb

Animangapop reserve the right to modify and/or update this policy at any time in their sole discretion and without prior notice.

WEAPONS POLICY

Your participation in Animangapop means that you agree to comply with this Weapons Policy. An “Event” shall mean any event held by “Animangapop”, “AMP”, or “POP Nippon” in this current document.

You further understand and agree that for your safety and the safety of everyone at an Event, AMP has the absolute and immediate discretion and right to inspect your costumes, prop weapons, and any other item you bring to the Event. We may temporarily or permanently remove any attendee at our discretion at any time for violating this Weapons Policy — because your safety and the safety of every attendee is of the utmost importance.

No Real Weapons Are Allowed at an Event.
This includes firearms, knives, curio, relic, antique firearms, any form of ammunition, any item designed or manufactured with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, whether carried openly or concealed, even if any such weapons are inoperable or unusable and irrespective of whether you are licensed to possess such weapon. Items that may otherwise be legal for you to own or carry are not welcome at any Event if they violate this Weapons policy. The following are examples of weapons that you CANNOT bring to an Event:

FIREARMS, AMMUNITION, RIFLES, SHOTGUNS, HANDGUNS, BLOW GUNS, TASERS, LASER POINTERS, LASER-AIMING DEVICES OR SIMILAR LASER DEVICES, EXPLOSIVES OR OTHER INCENDIARY DEVICES, KNIVES, LIVE BLADES/SWORDS (INCLUDING KATANA AND OTHER MARTIAL ARTS STYLE SWORDS), DAGGERS, SWORD CANES, SWITCHBLADES, BALISONG (BUTTERFLY) KNIVES, AXES, HATCHETS, METAL POLE-ARMS, CLUBS, WOODEN/METAL BATS AND PADDLES, HUNTING BOWS, ARROWS, NUNCHUCKS, BRASS KNUCKLES, WHIPS, PEPPER SPRAY/MACE, POWER TOOLS, STILTS, VUVUZELAS, ANY ITEM DESIGNED OR MANUFACTURED WITH THE INTENT TO CAUSE DEATH OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY TO ANY PERSON OR PROPERTY, OR ANY ITEM THAT APPEARS, IN ANIMANGAPOP’S SOLE DISCRETION, TO BE DANGEROUS OR WHICH WOULD POSE OR PLACE OTHERS AT RISK OF HARM, IMMEDIATE OR OTHERWISE. 

Prop Weapons Are Allowed Only If They Are Peace-Bonded on entry.
Prop weapons are inoperable weapons that support the overall look of your costume or character. For example, plastic Airsoft guns, Nerf guns, water guns, dart guns, disc guns, pellet guns, and cap guns are prop weapons.

Prop weapons must peace bonded before attending the event. AMP has the sole discretion to approve prop weapons. 

We may revoke Peace Bonding at any time in our sole discretion. For example, we will revoke approval if you use or brandish the item in an inappropriate fashion (like play-fighting, swinging the weapon around, or if someone is hit intentionally or otherwise). We will also revoke approval if we receive complaints about the way you are using or displaying your prop weapon or futuristic device, or if you tamper with the Peace Bonding

Peace Bonding Rules
If a prop weapon is, or was, at any time capable of firing anything, it must be rendered permanently inoperable to qualify for Peace Bonding. You can do this by, for example, permanently have the barrel filled or having the firing mechanism fully removed. You must be able to prove that the prop weapon is permanently decommissioned upon inspection. Bring tools or documents if necessary.

Besides, to be Peace Bonded, your prop weapon must meet the following criteria:

  • Your prop weapon cannot be more than 7 feet (2.13 meters) long or weigh more than 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms).
  • Prop explosives cannot be made out of metal or feel real.
  • All swords or bladed martial arts prop weapons must be blunt-edged and cannot have any sort of cutting or sharpened edge (no live steel). Prop metal swords must have a sheath and must remain in the sheath for the duration of the event. Whenever possible, to keep prop metal swords in sheaths, the sword must be anchored or otherwise secured to the sheath. We also reserve the right to anchor bladed weapons shut.
  • All prop bows must be unstrung or have a low-tensile thread and be incapable of shooting.
  • All prop arrows must have non-metal, blunted tips.
  • Metal chains must be less than 12 inches long and no more than one inch thick.
  • Non-metal chains must be under a reasonable length so as not to pose a safety or fire hazard.

 

Additional Firearms Criteria, one or more of the following conditions must be met

  • An Orange Solid Plugin Barrel: Have a blaze orange or orange colour brighter than that specified by the federal standard colour number solid plug permanently affixed to the muzzle end of the barrel as an integral part of the entire device and recessed no more than 6 millimetres from the muzzle end of the barrel; or
  • An Orange Barrel Marking: A blaze orange or orange colour brighter than that specified by the Federal Standard colour number, marking permanently affixed to the exterior surface of the barrel, covering the circumference of the barrel from the muzzle end for a depth of at least 6 millimetres; or
  • Entire Surface Coloration:  Coloration of the entire exterior surface of the device in white, bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright blue, bright pink, or bright purple, either singly or as the predominant colour in combination with other colours in any pattern.

Peace-Bonded Weapons at the Event.
You may display your prop weapons only as costume pieces. Do not swing or brandish your prop weapon in any way that could be considered unsafe or threatening.

You may pose with a prop weapon in a brandishing manner, so long as no reasonable person would interpret it as anything but a pose for dramatic effect. Event staff or management may stop your posed brandishing at their sole discretion.

Please put your prop weapons away when leaving the Event site so that you do not attract the attention of local law enforcement. Animangapop cannot be responsible for any actions taken by local law enforcement agencies – such as detaining and questioning you – if you decide to display or brandish your prop weapons at or outside of the Event.

Martial Arts Performances & Demos
You may display working martial arts weapons during, and 30 minutes before and after, a performance that has been approved by Event management in advance.

You must use common sense to avoid harming any person or property. You must conceal or wrap the weapons when transporting them to and from the demonstration, and you must remove the weapons immediately after the demonstration. Con staff reserves the right to stop any performance or demonstration at their sole discretion.

Law Enforcement Uniformed Costumes Are Prohibited

COSTUMES THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OR OTHER EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL UNIFORMS ARE NOT PERMITTED AT THE EVENT.

It’s just not safe / and is illegal  to impersonate local law enforcement, emergency personnel, or first responders. Animangapop has the absolute right and sole discretion to decide whether your costume looks too much like one of these uniforms, and to request the removal or modification of that costume. Should you refuse to cooperate, we may expel you from the Event in order to protect the safety and welfare of everyone at the Event.