Read or Die organization head and event organizer Rochelle Dumlao says in an interview, “This is part of Ang Bagong Libro which holds a series of events held by Read or Die, a non-profit organization and were doing this hand in hand with the Manila Book Club so it’s a number of different activities and this is one of them, the Literary Competition, wherein we get cosplayers to play different characters from books, then we judge them and the winner gets a great prize from the sponsors.”
Cosplayers as young as 3 years of aged were scattered all over the World Trade Center turning heads of many customers and foreigners who happened to be there. Many requested to take photos of them using their mobile phones, which pleased the cosplayers as they creatively pose as their character.
Majority of the cosplayers in the area did not join the competition and were there only to get dressed and see other cosplayers. The cosplayers who did join the competition were pre-judged immediately after registering.
For this event, characters that have originally come from anime, animated cartoons, video games, table-top games, television shows, and movies -- even those that have book adaptations or novelizations, are officially disqualified. Participants were judged accordingly:
- Accuracy: 30% (How closely the costume follows the original design of the character portrayed.)
- Craftsmanship: 30% (How well the costume has been made, the level of difficulty involved in creating the costume, and the creativity employed in materials and construction techniques.)
- Characterization: 30% (How well the contestant portrays the personality of the character they are cosplaying.)
- Over-all Impact: 10%
