Filipino cosplayers won at the World Cosplay Summit 2021

If there’s even such a thing as a rite of passage when it comes to anime series, some people would probably add Naruto to their list. In fact, two Filipinos won an award at the World Cosplay Summit (WCS) 2021 for their portrayal as Jiraiya and Naruto from the anime show.

Team Namikaze, who represented the Philippines in the event, is composed of Jin Joson and Amado Carl Hernandez. The two received the Best Costume award, which is the country’s first time to bring home a prize ever since it competed in 2013. The award was presented by Brother Industries, a Japanese technology company.

The judges of the competition are cosplayer Reika Arikawa and Japanese voice actor Toru Furuya. The latter’s work includes Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon, Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam, and Yamcha in Dragon Ball, among others.

Joson posted on Facebook the reason why Hernandez and himself wanted to portray the two Naruto characters for the event. He said, ‘We made a decision to choose Naruto and Jiraiya as our WCS entry because of our sentimental bond with the characters, as opposed to picking something flashy that doesn’t have the same emotional weight to us personally.’

‘We worked hard, but we knew all the other teams did as well,’ he added. ‘During awarding, we were ready to cheer for anyone. The surprise that was captured was genuine. We went in without expectations, but somehow, the people who mattered saw the value in our work.’

Due to COVID-19, the cosplay event was held online from August 7 to 8. Joson and Hernandez were among the 30 pairs who represented their respective countries. They submitted video skits for their entries instead of performing their piece in person.

The WCS 2021 Video Champion was Team Germany, while Team Italy and Team United Kingdom followed. The Filipino cosplayers’ video entry can be seen below.

Banner: Screenshot from YouTube/World Cosplay Summit

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Source: we the pvblic