As a person who's never experienced Cosplay before this series, and dislikes Reality TV (people with no lives watching others with no lives), I thought a more neutral view was required for other like minded souls.Every great story starts with people who are driven, people who love their hobby so much it becomes something more. The computers of today were once the domain of geeks in garages trading capacitors and diodes, wrestling was a sport generally restricted to schools or drunken brawls, and anyone who played computer games was part of a curious minority group called "nerds" ...... who would have believed that hobbies would be worth millions in the future?This story follows several people as they show their intense passion for a unique but growing form of entertainment called Cosplay. For those who are unsure, Cosplay (I assume is short for Costume Play) appears to be people competing in role playing a character from any fictional source where each person/group designed and created their own props. Some of these costumes and props can range from basic and economical to true works of art with a price tag to match.Each episode revolves around a particular competition, most set at different locations. As the series follows these unique people through their lives, many of whom have their financial situations closely related to these Cosplay competitions, there is a strong sense of community. Seeing peoples dreams and aspirations, their success and their failure, it's hard not to feel empathy. Possibly it's easier if you've felt the addiction of competition but by then end of the six (6) episode you feel, on some level, bonded to each of the actors.The only area of disappointment resides in the producers attempt (only a few scenes) to hyper inflate certain situations to imbue emotional reactions in the viewer, it cheapens the empathy a person feels.By far the true value came from watching the props and costumes go from thought to production to completion. Some of these people have prodigious levels of talent, and as a team, they compliment each other perfectly. Jinyo and Victoria for example. At first they appear complete opposites, but within minutes we can see how well they suit each other. Jinyo is a skilled designer and helps keep Victoria grounded. Victoria has extraordinary flare as an actor and helps to bring some much needed chaos into Jinyo's life ..... after all, what's the point of existing if nothing changes.If you haven't found interest within the first thirty (30) minutes then you likely won't enjoy the series, if you do then you'll probably watch all six (6) back-to-back like I did.

If you like video games, comic books, anime or just good old fashion cartoons HoC is for you. Good old fashion fun, imagine project runway mixed with fantasy artists and you have cosplay. Whether you want some ideas on how make creative designs or you just want to watch another competition drama show there is something for everyone. Everyone competes but it is the viewer who really wins. You get the opportunity to watch some of the top people in the industry compete with rosy eyed newbie hopefuls. I personally watch this show to see the creative process start to finish and the very novel ideas that the characters apply to their costumes. Enjoy.

I've watched every episode so far and can say it is great. Yes some parts are staged (its a TV show Derrrrrr) I find this does not take the magic away. I love how the people create different costumes, I love the original spin on old classics (I will mention nothing). SOme of the people clearly have more artistic talent than others, some rely on partners, in varying degrees. Conventions and Expo's are about expression, fun and friends..Unless you claim to make all the pieces of your costume yourself I see no harm done. I attend Expo's and Conventions in the UK, but I am relatively new to the scene, only being part of it for 2 years. I did not know so many were held in the US and love the way it has broadened my insight into this. I thought Dragon Con was the one, jeez how naive am I :). If you ever fancied going to any kind of Con or Expo, check this out, ye sure remove the staged TV parts, and look beneath the surface...There you will find, Magic, Mystery and a great little community. Thumbs up and keep em coming

Over the years, I've seen some amazing costumes at comic book conventions- but few as elaborate as what we see here. I had no idea that "playing dress-up" could be so time-consuming- or so expensive. The desperation some of these contestants experience is understandable when one factors in the amount of time, the workload and the out-of-pocket expense(s). By far the most impressive of the cosplayers (for me) is Yaya Han (or, as Howard Wolowitz of THE BIG BAND THEORY might put it: "Yaya YEAH!!!"): I can't think of a better ambassador for cosplay than Miss Han; anyone who thinks that cosplay is just for kids only needs to take a long look at her...