Top Cosplayers Vie for Otacool 2 Cover Spots

UPDATE: Yaya Han, the third cosplayer in this post, makes it clear in a comment that her application was not motivated by competitive spirit:

No one is competing for the cover. We are just submitting because we love cosplay and this seems like a great book to be a part of because it allows cosplayers from all over the world to submit.

No one was surprised to see Filipina cosplay princess Alodia Gosiengfiao apply for inclusion on the cover of Otacool 2: Worldwide Cosplayers, the upcoming cosplay photobook from Japan-based otaku culture blogger Danny Choo. After all, Alodia’s toy collection was featured in the previous photobook, Otacool: Worldwide Otaku Rooms.

What surprised me, however, were applications from two other very famous cosplayers — neither of whom were involved in the first Otacool project, and neither of whom live in Asia.

Italian cosplayer Francesca Dani won the World Cosplay Summit in 2005. A twelve-year veteran of the cosplay industry, Francesca was among the first cosplayers in the world to directly monetize her passion, by charging subscription fees for premium content on her web site.

US-based Chinese cosplayer Yaya Han is famous for her exquisite costumes, elaborate skits, and musical performances. This ten-year career cosplayer is often a guest of honor at anime-themed events.

With big names from around the world throwing their hats (and costumes) into the ring, Otacool 2 is shaping up to become the hottest thing in the global cosplay scene. It’s certainly a testament to the power of disintermediation, self-selection, and crowdsourcing that one blogger’s book project could attract direct contributions from top talent across three continents, all in a matter of weeks.

The submission process involves no talent scouts, no go-sees, no local contests, no committee meetings, no inefficient prefilters of any kind — just online postings by enterprising individuals. It’s the sort collaboration case study you’d read in the bestselling business book Wikinomics.

If you’re a cosplayer, click here for the application requirements. You’ll be publicly posting your application on Danny Choo’s hobby site Figure.fm. Even if you don’t make the cover of Otacool 2, you’ll be putting your work in front of Danny’s many, many readers. Submissions will be open until mid-February, so start digging up your best cosplay photos.

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