Zenkaikon provided another wonderful celebration of anime, science fiction, fantasy, comics, games, and fandom this past weekend in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Not even a rainy Saturday could stop the abundance of amazing cosplay! The most popular fandoms for cosplay included Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Demon Slayer, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Five Nights at Freddys. 

Carbon Costume was delighted to return for its second Zenkaikon. See last year’s coverage of Zenkaikon 2023 here!

Much like Katsucon and our 2024 cosplay predictions, Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss were extremely popular with cosplayers. Angel Dust cosplay by @fizzy.bizz, who is a professional wigmaker who made her own wig!

Come along if you dare – this Ghost Rider cosplay is flaming hot.

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A Josuke cosplayer gives their best Jojo pose.

See all Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure costumes…

These Eustace and Muriel Bagge cosplays from Courage the Cowardly Dog give us Cartoon Network nostalgia.

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Basphomet invites you to live deliciously while posing with a fan.

Orange you glad we didn’t say banana?

This gorgeous Revolutionary Girl Utena cosplay won Best in Show in the cosplay contest!

Art the Clown offers a positive message to Zenkaikon attendees.

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Already the Willy Wonka Glasgow fiasco is attracting cosplay, such as this sad Oompa Loompa. Photo credit: @hoovycosplays.

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It’s morphin time! This White Ranger cosplay from @rexa_cosplay rocks.

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These Fire Force cosplays showed off some excellent foam-building. Read this article about how to work with EVA foam!

This Aragorn from Lord of the Rings cosplay from @_spiderbob bows to no one. This photo was taken at the returning DCM Cosplay photo booth, where attendees could take and purchase professional photos of their cosplay!

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This La’zel cosplayer is ready for battle! Photo credit: @hoovycosplays.

See all Baldur’s Gate 3 costumes…

What a delightful surprise to run into Carbon Costume’s resident Diomira Keane! She wrote a full length tutorial about how you too can make your own Alfira cosplay just like hers!

Cosplay Programming

Cosplay programming at Zenkaikon included cosplay meetups ran by attendees across a variety of fandoms. Despite the rain on Saturday, that didn’t stop the cosplayers, moving their meetups inside for photographs and mingling.

Above: You teach me and I teach you at the Pokemon cosplay meetup. Photo credit: @delbeniphotos.

Among the many panels, cosplay was a major topic. Zenkaikon also offered pre-paid crafting workshops, such as learn to crochet and make your own ita bag insert. See below, where Barracuda Cosplays explains the structure of this wig in her panel “Wig Styling 101.”

Some cosplay panels were for adults only (18+), which required a special wristband for entry. One such panel covered cosplaying in your 30s, proving that even as you get older, you can still rock your cosplay!

Cosplay Masquerade and Hall Contest

The most popular event of Saturday night was the Cosplay Masquerade and Hall Contest. Returning host Uncle Yo kept the audience in stitches! Check out the photos below, and visit the DCM Youtube playlist for video snippets of each entry, plus the judges’ announcement of the winners.

Interested in more convention coverage? Check out all our convention features here!