Cosplay: Japan LovEvolution Vol. 2 - Kaizen

Let me just say firsthand that in some cases I might discuss cosplay events a day after they have taken place, because some of these events may be all-day affairs that don't leave me much time or energy at the end of the day to write. I like experiencing events for as long as possible so I can enjoy them to the maximum, especially with cosplay, and in particular Pokémon cosplay. Now that we're clear, let's discuss the event.

So, yesterday I went to a Japanese event entitled Japan LovEvolution. As with many local Japanese events, they're either school or college events; this one is a college event. The "Vol. 2" tag indicates that this is the second year they held the event; the event itself is actually part of the festivities for the college's association of Management Department students. And like most Japanese events, cosplay is certainly involved. Last year I went as Pokémon Trainer Red and nabbed the Best Street Cosplayer award, and last year the event showed promise of being a great annual event, which I'm sure the college thinks so too, so that's likely why they fulfilled the promise by having it again this year.

To vary things up, this time I decided to go as Ash from the XY/Kalos saga. However, they seem to have varied the cosplay competition as well - or rather limited it, as now the only cosplay competition was a cosplay walk/parade. And as I remember it, the entry fee for the competition last year was significantly less than this year's only competition; coupled with the fact that I wanted to go with a simpler costume, I knew that my chances of getting a prize was small - therefore I decided to forego the competition and just do non-competitive street cosplay.

As for the event itself, the event went smoothly for the most part; the only part that didn't was a spot of rain in the afternoon that lasted at least an hour. Since the event was almost fully outdoors, the visitors had to pack into the shady areas of the event when the rain occurred, and that included me. As a result, the event was delayed by that much time as well; I am certain had the rain not occurred, we would have had an on-time finish. Even after the spot of rain, there was still intermittent rain throughout the event, but that did not cause further delays. I'm also glad I didn't enter the competition for the reason that the winners' announcement was done later in the night, which by then is an unbearable wait, though I did wait that long solely to just enjoy the event.

This event is a relative newcomer among local Japanese events, but it seems to get more and more festive. I look forward to next year's iteration should they hold it again, which I'm sure they will, notwithstanding how the event went this year.