• The application for online pre-registration will be open December 1, 2025 - February 1, 2026. 

  • Craftsmanship based entires must be approximately 70% completed by the February 1st deadline. 

• Skits will be required in the application to provide a script/general Updoutline for their performance. A video runthrough is preferred but not required. 

  • Any skit applications without at least one of these things will be rejected immediately. 

  • Skits do not need to meet the craftsmanship requirements unless the costume(s) are being entered as both. 

• If a contestant wants to enter both skit and craftsmanship they will need to fill out both applications. Acceptance into one does not mean acceptance into both. We will specify if the contestant made it into one or both.

• First round acceptances will be sent out no later than February 15, 2026.

• Pre-Judging time requests will be sent out no later than February 24, 2026. 

• Official pre-judging times will be sent out March 1, 2025

• Entries are not first come first serve. 

• The Cosplay Events team will be doing a soft jury to view costume completion. Any contestants that fall below the 70% completion after submissions close will be denied in order to minimize at con drop outs. 

• If there are any drops before the start of the convention we will send out emails to those waitlisted. 

• At the end of Friday judging if there are any last minute drops/no shows one last email will be sent out to those waitlisted with follow up instructions for judging on Saturday. 

• Contests

  • Craftsmanship: Contestants enter here to display their skills in craftsmanship. Costumes must be mostly handmade. Specific percentages vary by category. Judging will be based on: cleanliness, level of difficulty, creativity of your costume, and reference accuracy. Contestants must walk the stage. 

  • Skit: Open to all levels. Contestants will perform a skit of their creation no longer than 3 minutes. Skits will be judged based on their creativity and entertainment factor. 

• Divisions

  • Professionals may only enter at a Master Level. 

  • Exhibition: These are for those who simply want to show off their costumes but do not want to be judged. Exhibition may sign up on-site on Saturday, limit 5. They are not eligible for any awards. 

  • Chibi: Contestants must be 16 years old or younger. Contestants are allowed to receive help from a Parent, Guardian, or Sensei during crafting. 

    • Contestants 16 and younger are not limited to this category and may move to novice instead. Contestants who have placed Novice or above before may not enter this category.

    • Contestants must have helped in at least 50% (at the Department Head's discretion) of their costume in some way. A child wearing a costume designed and built entirely by an adult should be entered either in the adult's appropriate skill division, with the adult as a group, or an exhibition, out of competition, piece. This is to encourage children to create.

  • Novice: Contestants who are new to the competition scene enter here! 

    • Contestants must make at least 50% of their costume. 

    • Contestants who have won  "Best in Show", "Masters”, “Journeyman”, or 2+ “Novice” awards for craftsmanship may not enter this category. 

    • Prior hallway awards, judges choice, and youth/chibi do not disqualify contestants from this category. 

  • Journeyman: Contestants who have placed previously in contests but have not placed in Masters may enter here! 

    • Contestants must make at least 65% of their costume.

    • Contestants who have won “Best in Show”, “Masters”, or 3+ “Journeyman” awards for craftsmanship may not enter this category. 

    • You may enter this category even if you have not won an award previously if you believe your skills/experience is of Journeyman level. 

  • Masters: Contestants who are at the top of their crafts or are professionals may enter here! 

    • Contestants must make at least 75% of their costume. 

    • “Professionals” include but are not limited to: anyone who receives regular income from costume construction. 

• The Masquerade Department Head reserves the right to move a cosplayer up to a more competitive level, or down a level suiting their skills. A cosplayer may always request to compete in a higher division than that in which the Masquerade Department Head has placed them. They may not choose to compete in a lower division. If you are unsure of where you belong please email the cosplay events team, we are happy to help! 

• Judges can move a contestant up a division at their discretion during the deliberation phase. 

• Craftsmanship participants must show up during their 1 hour allotted judging window. 

  • There is a 1 hour window to provide some flexibility for cosplay emergencies. If you are going to miss your slot please email the cosplay events department immediately to let us know. 

• Skit contestants can drop any props off in the masquerade office at any time during masquerade office hours. 

• On stage skit run through will be Saturday morning at: TBD. Skit contestants will arrive at the masquerade office to access the stage. 

  • Each contestant will be allowed 2 run throughs on stage. 

• Contestants will all return to the masquerade office 1 hour before the contest starts. Doors will be closed 20 minutes prior to the competition starting.

Best in Show

Masters Division

• Best Masters

• Masters Runner Up

Journeyman Division

• Best Journeyman

• Journeyman Runner Up

Novice Division

• Best Novice

• Novice Runner Up

Skit

• Best Skit

• Skit Runner Up

Chibi

• Best Chibi

Judges Awards

• 1 Per Judge. Can be given to craftsmanship or skit.

Technique/Medium based awards (2)

• By registering you agree to all of the following rules

• Costumes that have won a placement in Novice and Journeyman may be entered, however they must be entered one level up and have had alterations/improvements. 

  • For example: If your costume placed Novice at a con it must be entered into Journeyman and this must be told to both the coordinators and judges.

• Costumes that have won masters or best in show may not be entered for craftsmanship judging. They can enter into skit or exhibition. 

• Skits that have won at previous shows may not be used again.

• All convention policies must be upheld during the entirety of the masquerade. Anyone seen/heard breaking Anime Milwaukee rules will be disqualified and potentially barred from future masquerade entry. 

• Masquerade participants should display good sportsmanship both in person and online. Failure to do so may result in being disqualified and potentially barred from future masquerade entry. 

• Entrant must have a valid AMKE badge to participate

• Those entering craftsmanship must be at least  50-75%% hand made by the contestant. Percentage varies by division. Contestants will be asked to provide photos of their process in the application.

• Skits costumes do not need to be hand made unless they want to be judged under both craftsmanship and skit.  

• Group entries are permitted for both craftsmanship and skits. 

• You can enter in a costume from any genre. Original characters are allowed with a reference photo (front and back)

• Anime Milwaukee is an all-ages event. Content should not go beyond a PG-13 rating.

  • Offensive language of any kind is not allowed - no racial or sexual epithets; no profanity, etc.

  • No excessive violence.

  • No sexual activity or contact - real or implied.

  • All sexual jokes must have a non-sexual interpretation that is at least as obvious as the sexual one.

  • No nudity - all costumes must adhere to the official Anime MilwaukeeCode of Conduct.

  • If you think your costume or presentation might be too risqué or offensive, it probably is.

  • If you have questions about your content, please feel free to ask our Masquerade staff.

• Walk-ons are limited to 30 seconds

• Skits are limited to 3 minutes. 

• Skits must be as self contained as possible. Crew will not be available to help clean up purposefully dropped items/props. Cleanup after the skit must be completed within 10 seconds. 

• You may surprise the audience, but please never surprise the staff/crew.

• Handlers are allowed backstage ONLY for those who need extra assistance, however there will be AMKE crew throughout backstage to help contestants on and off stage. 

  • We ask that if possible handlers join the audience and let us take care of the contestants. 

  • Handlers for skits are allowed if the skit requires it. 

• No fire, flame, smoke, fog, dry ice, wind machines, lasers, pressurized gases or liquids.

• Absolutely no loose glitter is allowed in ANY form.

• No messy substances - wet, dry, or oily - on stage or in the designated Masquerade rooms.

• No jumping on or off stage - please use the officially designated stage entrances and exits.

• Any props/scenic elements that are larger than handheld need to be submitted to the Masquerade staff for approval.

• Entrants must abide by the Anime Milwaukee weapons policies. Pointing weapons at anyone not in your cosplay group will not be allowed. The Masquerade staff must approve any actions involving weapons.

• Contestants may not use stage time to make political, religious, insulting, or other demonstrations.

• Contestants who violate any of our performance rules may have their performance stopped and will be disqualified.

• If for whatever reason one contestant is removed from the Masquerade for any violations, the entire group may be disqualified as well depending on the severity of the situation.

• You must have a form of foot covering. Shoes or boots are required.

• Any contestants found in violation of Anime Milwaukee's Anti-Harassment policies will be stripped of any awards won for that year. Depending on severity, the contestant may be barred from future competitions, determined by the Programming Director.

• Props must follow AMKE’s weapons check policy. 

  • No live steel or firearms.

  • All prop firearms must have an orange tip with no projectiles loaded.

  • All blades must be fake and dull.

  • All ranged weapons, such as bows, must not be tight strung.

  • No part of your performance or costume may leave the stage and go into the audience.

• Will there be in person sign ups?

  • We will be filling all available slots online. If there are any last minute drops we will open up in person sign ups as well as emailing the waitlist. This could be as late as Friday after judging. 

• Can I have a handler in the Contest

  • Yes you may have 1 handler, however we ask that handlers if possible go and join the crowd before the contest starts. They will have early seating privileges. There will be staff present throughout the greenroom and backstage area to assist contestants. If a handler is required on stage please let staff know in advance. 

• Do I need to create my costume to enter.

  • Yes and no. Skits do not need to create their costumes. Craftsmanship entries are required to make their costumes. Further explanations can be found in Judging Categories.

  • A craftsman may use a model to wear a costume they have made but the craftsman MUST be present at judging. 

• What is a build book

  • A build book is break down of your costume and how you made it. While not required it helps the judges have a reference for your costumes once you leave the room. It typically contains:

    • A reference photo of the character 

    • Progress photos of the costume creation broken down by sections such as  wigs, pattern making, sewing, foamwork, 3d modeling, prop, etc. Please use what is applicable to your costume.

• Can I cosplay with as a group

  • Absolutely!

•  How many photos are recommended for progress photos

  • There is no standard amount. Please add as many images you feel show off your work. As we grow closer to the February 1st deadline you will want to add images that show off how completed your cosplays are. We also accept build books in place of multiple images.

• What is a skit?

  • A skit is a performance to tell the audience a story. There are a wide variety of options such as: choreographed fights, dance routines or movement pieces, a comedy sketch, or a dramatic scene. The sky is the limit.

• Can I speak/sing on stage?

  • No, we do not support live vocals. You are free to record and lip sync over your audio track.

• Can I have a video play behind me on stage?

  • No. We do not currently support videos. The background will be standard at this time. We hope to be able to in the future.

• For any further questions please contact cosplayevents@animemilwaukee.org