This is your “Call to Cosplay”

Crunchyroll has invested time and money in making their own content. One show is on its second season and is none other than “Call to Cosplay”. Before I dive into the changes and review of the show some background needs to be established. This show is the first of its kind as it focuses on two competitors who are facing each other to develop a cosplay costume. They are judged on four different categories that make a costume authentic. The show is a great concept, shines a different light onto the cosplay world, and is a fun watch if you’re not to judgmental. So this is your “Call to Cosplay”. Cosplay information can be found here.

As I stated above the show is currently airing its second season. The first season was rough to watch and might be a turn off for many fans and I understand. For those of you who are reading this and did not watch the first season here is a quick recap. The first season of “Call to Cosplay” was broken to the degree of using Donkey Kong to beat 15-minute endless melee by holding down the B button and control stick. The first season had many mishaps, the biggest one being that contestants were offered a budget of $100 for supplies, but could use items laying around their homes which exceeded their given budget. Secondly, the contestants were poorly matched and did not receive equal screen time, hinting at who would win the face off between the two competitors. Finally, the season finale featured a seventh contestant who appeared out of the blue and won the competition, which as a viewer felt very unprofessional. The idea in the first season of “Call to Cosplay” was not bad but a few kinks needed to be worked out.

The second season of “Call to Cosplay” in the first episode has addressed some of the mishaps of the first season. The first misstep addressed is a correction of the broken rules. Instead of giving contestants money and allowing them to purchase and use items around their homes, they are on a stage. This stage is known as the “Call to Cosplay” arena, which is stacked with many different fabrics and materials. Furthermore, the stage has different machines such as sewing machines and power tools that can be used for costume designing. This improvement equalizes the playing field among challengers and allows them to focus on designing. It forces challengers to design their costumes from scratch

The second change is the time limit that these challengers have, four hours rather than eight hours. The change in time forces the competitors to work faster and smarter. Another change is the limit on the supplies. Whoever gets to the supplies first can grab certain supplies that might be useful to the other competitor. This adds a strategic element to the competition. Competitors, if they need supplies, may have to barter with one another to complete their costumes.The second season has some problems from a technical component. The sound and visual are not always up to par. The voice component is extremely poor when the competitors are talking to their assistants or each other and is average when the judges are speaking. The video visual is average and does an ok job but is fuzzy at certain times and should be crisper, especially when displaying the final cosplay costumes.

Over all the second season of “Call to Cosplay” is a step in the right direction. The show has made improvements on the problems that have occurred during the first season. The show has been restructured and this has created new issues that need to be worked out, but it is taking a step in the right direction. Ultimately, “Call to Cosplay” second season, is an improvement from the first season but is still not perfect. At times it can be rough to watch.