There have been a lot of people debating what is cosplay, and what is not. Whether original character cosplay is cosplay/ Gender bending is cosplay etc. And the simple answer is, when it comes to judging cosplays, I don't think there is a good answer. As a former cosplay coordinator, and judge, here's my two bits.
Jrock "Inspired" Cosplay - There has been a lot of debate with the onset of Jpop/Rock into the Anime convention culture wether or not this is or belongs in the cosplay. My answer is no. While I believe that you can cosplay specific outfits from specific bands, making something that is inspired by a mulitudes of artist or the music themselves is a costume/ or a fashion design, Not cosplay. To me the simple act of combining multiple peoples out fits or creating something that is your own personal twist inspired by harajuku fashions takes away the cosplay aspect of this and makes it completely unfair to judge in a competition where other people are graded on the skill and likeness to a character. Note,again, that this does not include people that find the actual costumes worn in videos and concerts and reproduce them, only the people that feel the need to produce "Inspired material".
Original Cosplay: My Answer...Sorta. Again, though skillmanship and other things can be judge on a original character we cannot judge them with people that are trying to make something look like something else. For me the actual cosplay is a harder task and a harder bar to meet up with for the simple reason that if it is your own original character and something dosen't look right, you can merely pass it off as "being part of the costume" Where a cosplay of a specific character doesn't have those alotments. You know what every seam is supposed to look like and what you represented.
However, some original characters are created from marketting and other things that allow them to have a visual representation, and to me, that gives the original character more of a foot to stand on and a consistancy of the creation. Something that can be created from a 2d/3d animation or illustration or a game that you are recreating but also put input in holds more of a footing for me then you throwing on what you have in your house and calling it an "original character". I believe they should be required to provide that reference for judging, as in a print out of their world of warcraft character or marketting materials, as otherwise we do not know what to compare it to.
Gender Bending: Result....Kinda. While Gender bending a costume is taking it out of the exact representation of the costume certain elements are required to create that illusion, and thus I think they are sticking with the spirit of cosplay, and something I feel that the J-Rock "inspired" costumers lack. A female Dante would still have his large leather jacket, just below the black band on his chest would be tits. A female Wolfwood still caries his cross and is still in a business suit, it just has a skirt instead of pants. I think that people that find a way to make a costume the same but different, have some skill even though I feel it would be hard to judge them "Best in show" or other things that create a high competition in a cosplay.
Sexy Cosplay: For me...this is just "titsfest" You cant call a wig and some lines on your face "Sexy girl Naruto" or a white lingere with a bit of fur trim "Felicia" . A love hina cosplay should involve more then leaves and a towel. You can't call a guy with black hair and no shirt "sasuke" These are just for attention. They are not skillful, they are not even true attempts at anything but swaying the camera men and the attentions of the pubescent men around them (okay,..okay ..women too!) Also..if you dress like this..don't bitch that dirty old men are taking pictures of you. You can't pick your photographers or the attention you attract.
Animal interpretations: This is another grey area since most people have to be creative with their costumes. No human will be shaped like a chocobo, and not everyone has the skill to make the large creations that we see on the professional cosplay forums. I think for these you are stuck looking at whether the cosplay is identifyable and if you can see the original creation in what was created.
In wrap up. I don't envy the judges of today's cosplay or even the cosplayers themselves (there is some tough competition!). But we do it because we love it, we do it because making fantasy a reality is something that is a grand idea. And for those that judge it we love to see what other people can accomplish with their skill and talent. But hey, that doesn't mean they can all be winners.
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