With cosplay shows finally making a comeback not just in the US but internationally as well, we’re taking a trip overseas for Kotaku’s first ever look at Romics, a big convention that’s been running in the Italian capital for over 20 years now.
Originally kicking off in 2001 as an annual event, Romics now holds two shows every year, one in spring—the one we’re looking at today, which ran earlier this month—and another in the fall, usually held around October.
Here’s a seven-minute video of the event’s cosplay, hosted on Mineralblu’s channel, but actually shot by his partner in Italy, Muffin Geek Productions.
And since we’ve only got video from this show, here are a bunch of hi-res screenshots. As always, the cosplayer’s social media information and costume details are watermarked on the image.
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Our Favorite Cosplay From Japan Expo 2022
With most of the scene having been shut down during the pandemic, and major shows only just starting to make their way back into the line-up, it’s lovely to be able to turn our attention internationally once again with this feature on Japan Expo 2022, which was held in Bangkok a few months back.
Let’s Revisit A 1995 Anime Convention
Anime and/or cosplay cons are now so commonplace you can find them in cities big and small across America. But in 1995, people’s options for sharing their interests (and buying associated merch) were a lot more limited.
Back then, you could know some kids from school who were also into roughly the same stuff as you, meet some people through a local comic/book store, or, if you were really lucky, reach out and contact a relative handful of like-minded fans on the internet. That’s it! Given how hard it was to network and make friends in the scene, having a visual record like we’re about to see of these pioneering days is incredibly cool.