After more than 200 hours of costume crafting and two-and-a-half intense minutes on stage, two young South Africans have claimed an award at the World Cosplay Summit in Japan!
Nagoya, Japan (07 August 2026) – Two South African cosplayers have won a special award at the World Cosplay Summit, the largest cosplay competition in the world.
Jessica Lin (Jessie_Jestar) and James Avence (Speedyy) represented South Africa at the international championship in Nagoya, where teams of two from 40 countries competed with handmade costumes and performances inspired by Japanese games, anime and manga.
The Cape Town duo won the coveted Matsuri Award, which celebrates the team that brings the most energy, theatre and performance flair to the stage.
“The team won the ‘Matsuri’ Award, whose core purpose is to honor a team that best captures the fun and dynamic atmosphere that can be created by cosplay and skit performances. Unlike technical awards that focus on armor fabrication or precise sewing techniques, the Matsuri/Festival category highlights enthusiasm and performance flair. It’s tough to generate tension in 2 mins 30 seconds, and the team was awarded for their portrayal of fear and suspense.” says team organiser Les Allen.
South Africa holds its own qualifying event every year at Comic Con Cape Town, where one team earns the chance to represent the country in Japan. Jessica and James were selected in May last year, which gave them more than a year to prepare for this month’s championship.
The pair chose characters from the hugely popular game Elden Ring. Jessica portrayed the Tarnished, while James became the terrifying Aging Untouchable monster ,which hunts players by sound.
Their performance at the World Cosplay Summit captured the tension of that encounter so well that it earned them the award.
Les says the duo spent more than 200 hours building their costumes.
“Jess estimated over 200 hours of work going into the creation of their costumes. Making costumes at high level competition covers the gamut of skills: sewing, painting, 3d printing, electronics work, working with various types of foam and sealants.” shares Les.
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South Africa has built quite the reputation on the international cosplay stage over the past few years. The country was the first in Africa to be invited to compete at the World Cosplay Summit 2018. Since then, our local competitors have earned five podium finishes in global championships!
“We would very much like to express our deepest thanks and gratitude to the Embassy of Japan in South Africa, who have been incredible in helping to get our team to Japan for the competition.” says Les.
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