Hikaru from Angelic Layer

We really liked how this cosplayer is posing totally in-character. Not enough people do that! Her wig is nice, as is the rest of the costume. Perhaps she could have chosen slightly less shiny fabric (as in photos it tends to come out a little fake looking), but since the character IS a doll, this is a situation where shiny material is a valid choice.

Misaki from Angelic Layer

Our favorite thing about this costume is how clean-cut it looks - how straight the lines are - just like CLAMP's art for that series! Although she didn't make boots for it, the boot covers she's using look really nice and totally work! Also, it's great that she's using a wig even though the character has "normal" colored hair, but it could be a little fluffier.

Sakura from Card Captor Sakura

Let us just be the first to say that this cosplay was adorable. They might not be the right colors, but Sakura was actually on inline skates! Seeing her skate around the convention hall in-character automatically gave her a great appearance above all the people that were just standing around in their costumes. The attitude and pose are also great. The costume and the props are good, and she was definitely cute enough to fit the part, but what made the cosplay great was how in character she acted.

Sumomo and Kotoko from Chobits

Sumomo's outfit could be more form-fitting, and the hat could be a lot puffier, but the pose and the tambourine are great. The hair really isn't accurate at all, but it surprisingly does not detract much from the costume as a whole.

Kotoko might have been better off with less shiny fabric for the obi, but her overall presence is very cute! The giant bells in her hair are great, and the wig works really well too!

Ran and Fairy Statue from Clover

Sadly, this isn't the greatest picture. Ran/A/C has a nice costume and okay hair. The wing is a good try, but perhaps different materials would have worked better.

Fairy Statue deserves special credit for original idea. She deserves even more credit for pulling the idea off so well! The wings are lovely and airy and the idea of making it all gray-scale except for the vines creates a really dramatic and artistic look, just like the Clover manga itself.

Suu from Clover

The costume is not fully accurate, but it looks great. We're especially impressed with the wings! It would have been nice if she had also made the character's jewelry instead of buying them, so they would be more accurate. Her wig works really well for Suu's hair. The pose is nice, but perhaps something more in character and innocent would have brought the costume out better.

Hikaru from Magic Knight Rayearth

Again, not the best of pictures, but it's all we have. Her attitude and poses are good, but completely wrong for the character. The clothing parts of her costume are actually not very good, but the weaponry and armor are astonishing. The idea of using Christmas ornaments as gems is genius. As everyone can see, the sword is also incredible. She also gets points for a nice wig, even though it doesn't look so good in this picture.

Ashura from RG Veda

Despite our deeper lack of knowledge as far as the series goes (we've only read what's been published in English so far), this Ashura cosplay was amazing. The sandals are a perfect example of paying close attention to important details. The wig and the ears work really well, and while the clothes part is simple, it doesn't look thrown together. The overall appearance is really close to perfect. The attitude and posing is icing on the cake. Also, the improper use of makeup could have destroyed this otherwise beautiful cosplay, but she used just the right type and that pulls everything together.

Seishirou and Subaru from
Tokyo Babylon

To be fair, let's show off the good and bad of our own cosplay! We might not look the part perfectly, but we do a pretty good job of posing in interesting ways.

Subaru's coat is just about right, complete with CLAMP-like shoulder pads. Black dress gloves are also hard to screw up. Without wanting to sound smug, the hat is one of the better ones we have seen. You can't see the red stripe around it from this angle, but you shouldn't be able to considering how Subaru wears it. The biggest problem with Subaru is the slightly off-colored hair. However, the cut is rather perfect.

Seishirou's hair is the right color, but the wig quality could be better. It's rather hard to screw up a black suit and tie but there are a few things that make this one work really well, such as the buttons being in the right place, the suit closing in the right direction, and the famous shoulder pads.

Subaru and Hokuto from
Tokyo Babylon

The details on these costumes are great, the patches were even hand-stitched! The yellow hat was not quite right, it was a little bit too cowboy-style. It's hard to say how accurate it is since we were unable to locate the reference picture, but at least the style is totally fitting with Tokyo Babylon's image. If the wigs were more identical, it would help the image that they're twins. It's a nice detail that Hokuto has lipstick and Subaru doesn't.

Sakura and Syaoran from Tsubasa

Again, nice work on the details, especially Sakura's hair accessory. Sakura's kimono is not too shiny, which is good. The only real room for improvement would be wigs. Sakura's hair is somewhat too dark, and she needs the correct bangs. Syaoran's hair isn't fluffy enough, and the highlights don't work for the character. With costumes with such nice details, good wigs would be the cherry on top. Syaoran's pose is good, but Sakura's, while pretty, could be cuter.

Tomoyo-Hime from Tsubasa

Overall, a successful costume. The scarf-like cloth that hangs in front of the kimono should be longer. While her hair is the right color, and even arguably the right type, Tomoyo has bangs. The lack of bangs actually made her slightly hard to recognize. The headpiece is good, and the decoration on the kimono is well done.

Fai from Tsubasa

This costume is perfect. We're quite stunned. All the details and the materials are exactly right. The staff is detailed and beautiful. Even the Mokona plushie is the correct one for the size. The wig is exactly the right style and since Fai's hair color is not quite set in stone, it is a perfectly acceptable choice. The manly flat chest is great. The only thing that could be improved, is the choice of pinkish lipstick. Using skin-tone lipstick in anime cosplay helps hide the lips, since anime characters don't really have them. Other than this small detail, this cosplay is perfect.

Karen from X

Another close to perfect cosplay, we feel quite impressed. The wig is really nice in color and style, both which aren't the easiest to do for this character. (The color is correct for the image that this costume is taken from.) The only possible improvements would be stronger eye makeup because the rest of the colors are so strong that her face is losing a little, and making the markings on the patches a little darker so they show up in photos. Otherwise, this costume is correct down to every detail and very beautiful and impressive.