Welcome to the Anime USA 2026 Cosplay Masquerade!
The Masquerade is Anime USA’s big cosplay stage show—a celebration of performance, creativity, characterization, and the pure joy of bringing your favorite characters to life.
Whether you’re planning an elaborate skit, dramatic performance, comedy routine, dance, or something we haven’t thought of yet, we want to see what you’ve got.
Please read the rules before registering. Our goals are simple:
Put on a great show. Keep everyone safe. Have fun doing it.
Eligibility & Registration
All Masquerade participants must have a valid Anime USA 2026 convention badge.
Contestants may enter individually or as a group.
Each contestant may participate in one competitive Masquerade entry.
For Anime USA 2026, craftsmanship judging is no longer part of the Masquerade. Craftsmanship will be held as its own separate competition.
Because the two competitions are now judged independently, contestants may enter the same costume in both the Anime USA Craftsmanship Competition and the Anime USA Cosplay Masquerade.
Entering a costume in the Craftsmanship Competition does not prevent you from wearing that costume in your Masquerade performance, and participation in one competition will have no effect on judging in the other.
So if you spent 300 hours making it and wrote a four-minute skit for it, go show off both.
Registration must be completed by the posted deadline. Space is limited, and registration may close once all available performance slots have been filled.
All contestants must check in with Masquerade staff at the designated time. Failure to check in may result in forfeiture of your performance slot.
What We’re Judging
The Anime USA Masquerade is a performance competition.
Costumes may be handmade, purchased, commissioned, thrifted, modified, summoned from another dimension, or assembled from whatever combination works for you.
How your costume was constructed is not part of Masquerade judging.
Instead, judges will consider elements such as:
You do not receive additional points because you personally constructed your costume, and you will not lose points because you didn’t.
Want the construction itself judged? Enter the Anime USA Craftsmanship Competition. You are welcome to compete in both events—even in the same costume.
Performances & Time Limit
Entries may incorporate acting, choreography, comedy, drama, dance, prerecorded dialogue, music, sound effects, or other staged elements.
All Masquerade entries have a maximum performance time of four (4) minutes.
The four-minute limit applies to all entries, regardless of the number of performers.
Four minutes is a maximum—not a requirement. If your performance works in 90 seconds, don’t stretch it to four minutes. A great short performance beats three additional minutes of wondering what happens next.
Your performance time begins with the start of your audio or your first intentional action onstage, whichever occurs first.
Performances exceeding four minutes may be stopped by Masquerade staff and may be subject to disqualification.
Please rehearse and time your performance before arriving at Anime USA.
The stage is where you perform the plan—not where you discover the plan.
Audio Submission
If your entry uses music, dialogue, sound effects, or any other prerecorded audio, you must bring your audio file on a USB flash drive.
Whenever possible, the flash drive should contain only your Masquerade audio file so staff can locate it quickly.
Clearly name the file with your entry name and/or entry number.
We strongly recommend bringing a backup copy on a second flash drive.
Audio must be turned in at the designated Masquerade check-in or technical rehearsal.
Please do not rely on streaming services, YouTube, Google Drive or other cloud storage, email, your phone, or convention Wi-Fi.
Once your audio has been submitted to Masquerade staff, that version will be considered your final performance audio.
If your performance contains dialogue, prerecorded dialogue is strongly recommended. Stage microphones may not be available for contestant performances.
Costumes & Characters
Cosplays from anime, manga, video games, comics, movies, television, tabletop games, literature, and other fandoms are welcome.
Original characters, alternate designs, mashups, and original interpretations are also welcome.
Purchased and commissioned costumes are completely acceptable.
Because this is a performance competition, contestants are encouraged to think about how their costume, character, music, movement, and performance work together onstage.
Stage Safety
Anime USA loves dramatic performances.
We do not love dramatic conversations with the fire marshal.
The following are prohibited on the Masquerade stage:
Props and costume weapons must comply with Anime USA’s convention weapons policy.
Nothing may be left behind after your performance.
If you bring it on, you bring it off.
Masquerade staff have final authority regarding stage safety.
Large Costumes, Props & Handlers
If your costume includes large wings, oversized armor, large props, stilts, long trains, restricted movement, limited visibility, or anything else that may make navigating backstage difficult, notify Masquerade staff in advance.
Handlers may be permitted when genuinely necessary for safety or mobility.
A backstage handler does not become part of the competitive entry unless they participate in the actual stage performance.
Your costume and props must be able to safely make it to the stage, onto the stage, across the stage, and back off again.
Content
The Anime USA Masquerade is presented to a general convention audience.
Comedy, drama, action, romance, and some suggestive humor are welcome.
Performances may not contain excessively graphic sexual content, extreme gore, hate speech, harassment, or material that violates Anime USA convention policies.
If you’re unsure whether something crosses the line, please ask Masquerade staff before the show.
Staff may require inappropriate or unsafe material to be modified or removed.
Green Room & Call Time
Contestants must report to the designated Masquerade Green Room or staging area at the announced call time.
Unless otherwise instructed, arrive in costume and ready to perform.
Late contestants may lose their performance slot.
After checking in, remain in the contestant area unless Masquerade staff give you permission to leave.
Please listen to Green Room and backstage staff. They’re coordinating performers, technical cues, audio, stage entrances, and approximately seventeen other things at the same time.
Help us help you look awesome.
Awards
The Anime USA Masquerade may recognize achievements including:
Award categories may change depending on the entries received.
Not every possible category is guaranteed to be awarded, and judges may create special awards when a performance deserves recognition that doesn’t neatly fit into an existing category.
All judging decisions are final.
Sportsmanship
We’re here to compete, but we’re also here because all of us thought dressing up as fictional characters in front of several hundred people sounded like an excellent way to spend a Saturday night.
Treat your fellow contestants, judges, volunteers, technicians, and Masquerade staff with respect.
Cheer for each other.
Harassment, intimidation, deliberately interfering with another contestant, or abusive behavior toward contestants, judges, volunteers, or staff may result in removal from the Masquerade.
Be competitive.
Be ridiculous.
Be memorable.
Just don’t be a jerk.
Final Authority
Anime USA Masquerade staff reserve the right to interpret or modify these rules when necessary for safety, fairness, scheduling, venue requirements, or circumstances not specifically addressed here.
Anime USA may refuse or remove an entry that violates convention policy, creates a safety concern, or significantly disrupts the operation of the Masquerade.
We’re not interested in catching contestants on technicalities.
We’re interested in putting on one hell of a cosplay show.
Bring your character. Bring your creativity. Bring your A-game.
We’ll see you on the Anime USA stage.