Every year, JAFAX welcomes a diverse array of cosplayers from all over Michigan and beyond. If you'd love to dress up as your favorite character from anime, manga, video games, or other pop-culture media, we'd love to see you bring your favorite fandom or character to life! For 2025, JAFAX is expanding its cosplay offerings to encourage more participation amongst attendees. In addition to our non-competitive Cosplay Showcase and our Cosplay Craftsmanship Competition, both held on Saturday in Main Events, we are also offering:

— an Exhibitors Cosplay Contest so that our vendors and artists can join in on the fun

— a Theme Division to our Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest to encourage our participants to reflect JAFAX's annual theme in their cosplay. The 2025 theme is Villains and Anti-Heroes!

— a Hall Cosplay Contest on Sunday

— a Children's Cosplay Contest, for ages 6 - 12, on Sunday

— Cosplay fandom meet-ups

Registration for our 2025 Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest and our Exhibitors Cosplay Contest is now open! Registration for the Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest closes on June 7 or when all spots are filled. Registration for the Exhibitors Cosplay Contest closes on June 21.

Please be sure to review the guidelines posted below before registering! Thank you!

JAFAX gratefully thanks our 2025 cosplay events sponsors, Lucky Cat Market and Forest's Edge Studios!

Cosplay Fandom Meet-Ups

JAFAX is the perfect place for cosplayers who share a love for a particular fandom to meet up for photos and fun! To help make this happen, we are setting up a weekend meet-up schedule for groups to get together, with a member of our team standing by to capture the moment. 

If you would like to host a fandom meet-up at JAFAX, please fill out our application! Meet-up hosts are responsible for preparing a list of desired fandom photos, for helping our team member keep the meet-up on track, and for spreading the word about their fandom meet-up. The deadline to apply for a fandom meet-up is Sunday, April 27, 2025 and the meet-up schedule will be posted on this page in early May. Please note: JAFAX fandom meet-ups are 45 minutes long and are open to all attendees cosplaying from that fandom. Questions? Email cosplay@jafax.org. 

2025 Cosplay Guests

Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest Guidelines

The 2025 JAFAX Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest is a competition for cosplayers ages 13 and up who have handcrafted a specified percentage of their cosplay and who participate in divisions based on their cosplay competition experience.

Divisions

Novice: A cosplay must be at least 50% handmade and the participant has never before participated in a cosplay contest or has never won 1st place, Best Craftsmanship, or Best in Show.

Journeyman: A cosplay must be at least 70% handmade and the participant has won top crafstmanship awards (1st Place, Best Craftsmanship, or Best in Show) one to four times.

Master: A cosplay must be at least 90% handmade and the participant has won top craftsmanship awards (1st place, Best Craftsmanship, or Best in Show) five or more times.

Pre-Registration and Pre-Judging

Contest participants may register for the 2025 Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest online from March 1, 2025 through June 7, 2025. Spaces are limited, so please register early! Any spaces remaining after pre-registration ends will be available first come, first served at Cosplay Ops.

Cosplay contest participants will be asked to select a pre-judging appointment time, during which they will appear before our panel of cosplay judges to have their cosplays evaluated. Cosplayers are asked to bring a reference photo for their character; build books are welcome. Contestants will receive a badge number and a time to report for line-up. During the contest, each participant will be presented and have the opportunity to post for the judges and audience.

Awards

Awards will be presented to the winner and runner-up in each division as well as to the Best in Show. In addition, three Judge's Choice awards will be presented. Starting in 2025, a Theme Award will be presented to the competitor whose cosplay best embodies JAFAX's annual theme (the 2025 theme is Villains and Anti-Heroes).

Important Guidelines

Cosplay craftsmanship competitors may not compete with a cosplay that has previously won 1st place, Best Craftsmanship, Best in Division, or Best in Show at another cosplay contest.

The JAFAX Cosplay Director and/or the cosplay judges reserve the right to reclassify a competitor if they believe that a different division better fits the competitor or if a division is underrepresented and needs to be combined with another division.

Should a participant mistakenly register for the Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest when they should be in the Cosplay Showcase, they will be transferred to the Cosplay Showcase.

All contestants are expected to behave respectfully and with courtesy towards their fellow competitors, the cosplay judges, the Cosplay Director, and all JAFAX staff and volunteers. Negativity of any kind will not be tolerated.

Any participant not following the JAFAX convention rules, contest guidelines, or any instructions provided by the cosplay judges, the Cosplay Director, or JAFAX staff may be disqualified.

Cosplay Showcase

The 2025 JAFAX Cosplay Showcase is a non-competitive event which allows cosplayers to take the stage individually or in a themed group and display their cosplays for the JAFAX audience. The Cosplay Showcase is ideal for cosplayers who do not wish to take part in a competitive event, whose cosplays have previously won top awards, or whose cosplays are purchased, commissioned, or otherwise not handcrafted. Sign-ups for the Cosplay Showcase will be held on site at Cosplay Ops. Participation is limited to 30 cosplayers.

Exhibitors Cosplay Contest

sponsored by Forest's Edge Studios

New for 2025, the Exhibitors Cosplay Contest allows our vendors and artists to participate in the JAFAX cosplay fun! Any vendors and artists wishing to participate may register starting March 1, 2025, with registration closing on June 21, 2025. Cosplays may be purchased, commissioned, borrowed, or handcrafted. Judging will take place on Saturday morning, with our cosplay judges walking around the Exhibition Hall, evaluating cosplays for their authenticity (how closely they resemble the character) and presence. Special awards rosettes that can be displayed on the winners' booths will be presented for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The three winners also receive a mini-photo shoot with contest sponsor Forest's Edge Studios and they will be recognized at Saturday's Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest.

Hall Cosplay Contest

sponsored by Lucky Cat Market

New for 2025, the Hall Cosplay Contest is an informal contest for cosplayers ages 13 and up who were unable to participate in our Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest on Saturday, who participated in the Cosplay Craftsmanship Contest with a different cosplay, or who prefer not to take part in a stage cosplay presentation. Hall Cosplay Contest sign-ups and judging will be held on Sunday at Cosplay Ops. Judging will be based on authenticity (how closely the cosplay resembles the character), presence, and craftsmanship (at least 50% of the cosplay must be handcrafted by the cosplayer). Competitors may not compete with a cosplay that has previously won 1st place, Best Craftsmanship, Best in Division, or Best in Show at another cosplay contest. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded at Closing Ceremonies. We thank Lucky Cat Market for generously sponsoring our Hall Cosplay Contest.

Children's Cosplay Contest sponsored by Lucky Cat Market

New for 2025, the Children's Cosplay Contest allows our younger JAFAX attendees ages 6 to 12 to take part in the cosplay fun! Cosplays may be purchased, commissioned, borrowed, or handcrafted, with preference given to cosplays handcrafted by the participants themselves. Registration will take place on Sunday at Cosplay Ops. Each participant will be given a badge number and a time to report for line-up. During the competition, each participant will be presented and have the opportunity to post for the judges and audience. Cosplays will be judged on authenticity (how closely the cosplay resembles the character), stage presence, and, when possible, participant craftsmanship. Cosplays that have previously won at another cosplay contest may not be entered. Awards will be presented for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. We thank Lucky Cat Market for generously sponsoring our Hall Cosplay Contest.