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BURSTS of ocean colour and costume mastery everywhere were to be seen on Saturday at Launceston mini anime convention MAICon.
The Under the Sea-themed event saw more than 500 anime and cosplay fans arrive at the university campus at Newnham ready for a costume-wearing day of fun.
Costumes inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean characters took out the top three awards in the much-anticipated Cosplay Competition.
It was a very hot day for the winner of Best in Theme and Best Constructed costume, Tyrone Corbett, who went as ghost ship captain Davy Jones.
‘‘I do creepy characters and this is the first one that came to mind,’’ Mr Corbett said.
‘‘I bought a polystyrene head, glued garden hose onto it, moulded clay over the top and covered that with liquid latex.
‘‘This character cannot touch land so I’ve been swimming in these sweat-filled boots all day.
‘‘Even if I hadn’t won, it would have been worth it. It is cool to represent a character.’’
Best Overall Costume was won by Sam Dikkenberg, dressed as Jack Sparrow, who spent 12 hours constructing a pirate wig for her first competition.
A group of Launceston lads, including Jacob Hodgetts and Chris Dolbey, took out Best Group for their mermaid costumes.
Tasmanian Pop Culture Society treasurer Ben Holton said the event offered social freedom.
‘‘You don’t get judged at an event like this for choosing to do something out of the ordinary,’’ he said.
‘‘It is a very accepting group and allows people to play-up on their niche fandoms.’’