To Judge and Be Judged

If you've been reading this blog, you might have noted that last Sunday, at a certain theme event, something new and unusual happened in regard to me and cosplay: I became a judge for the competition, rather than a participant in it. It's a unique and honorable position, especially considering that for years I've always been on the opposite end. At the same time, it's a position with a great deal of responsibility. But like many things that I deal with, in particular to my interests, Pokémon has a role to play in its dynamics as well as insights.

Being that Pokémon has an anime and that most cosplayers cosplay characters that are from anime, I can use the Pokémon anime as one of my references for judging. But that is not to say it's the only reference; I do watch or am exposed to other anime series, and use those as well for references for judging. What is probably most important is that some abstraction is necessary, because I can't possibly watch or be exposed to every single thing that others cosplay, and this may be the case for other judges. All that which I see, including Pokémon, play a part in the abstraction for the dynamics of judging; they help to fulfill the responsibility.

One takeaway from having participated in judging is that the experience can be used to improve my Pokémon cosplay - the insights portion. Given the previous judging opportunity, I can visualize how my next performance might look on stage. Sure, each competition is different and has different requirements, but at the least some things remain the same, like a focus on characterization, action, and costume. I know I can step up any of these to make up for what may be lacking and repeat the process for each competition, each time achieving a greater degree of satisfaction. It is then up to the judges of that particular competition as to how these parameters may be evaluated.

I've certainly participated as a competitor in many competitions, and I'm likely to partake in many more. And now that I've been a judge, this opens the door for possible judging opportunities later on. One can contribute to the other, which then overall improves my cosplay experience. Of course, cosplay personally is another way to express my interests in Pokémon, and this may be regarded to certain extents on both sides of competition. Given the most recent opportunity, there seems to be lots of lessons to be heeded, going forward.

One year ago: Catering to Old and New Players