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Although it’s not necessarily wrong to call Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood the anime capital of Japan, that’s actually a little bit of a simplification. Akihabara isn’t only the place to get your hands on the latest animation, but also video games, idol music CDs, printed comics, and a whole array of audio and video electronics.

In other words, Akihabara isn’t just about anime, but about media, and several forms came together when one Twitter user took a photograph of otaku taking videos of another video of real people dressed as anime characters to promote a new movie.

The rest of the world still has a bit of a wait before it gets to see the Love Live! movie, but the first theatrical feature of Japan’s currently most passionately supported anime opened domestically last weekend. It’s a safe bet that Twitter user Awatsuki was pretty amped about this, considering that at the top of his Twitter page you’ll find a picture of Honoka Kosaka, the Love Live! character who seems to get the most publicity out of the franchise’s cast of teen idols.

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Still, even he was taken aback by a recent display of enthusiasm by his fellow Love Livers (as fanatic fans of the series call themselves). Across the street from Akihabara Station sits the UDX Akihabara building, which features one of those giant video screens that urban Japan is so strongly associated with.

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To celebrate the release of the Love Live! movie, the UDX screen showed a special message from the anime’s vocal cast, dressed in outfits similar to those worn by the anime’s nine main idols, along with a preview of the film.

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Much of the modern anime industry is built on the repeatedly proven phenomena that the hardest of the hard-core fans will compulsively collect any merchandise or media related to their favorite show. This Love Live! ad was no exception, as it stopped passing otaku in their tracks and compelled them to pull out their phones or cameras to record the pre-recorded video.

Had any of them been able to tear their eyes away from the screen and look behind themselves, though, they might have noticed that Awatsuki had his camera pointed at them.

“All the otaku are recording video and I’m like LOL,” tweeted Awatsuki, and there’s definitely something chuckle-inducing about how they all seem to be standing at attention. Of course, given how compact cameras are these days, we wouldn’t be surprised if he snapped this photo with his right hand, while at the same time recording a copy of the Love Live! video for himself using another device in his left.

Source: Jin
Top photo: Twitter/Awatsuki (edited by RocketNews24)
Insert photos: Twitter/Awatsuki, Akiba Map, YouTube/tatsuyaps3