Last weekend the inaugural CharaExpo, a celebration of Japanese animation, comics, and video games, was held in Singapore. The event hosted artists, musicians, and voice actors, plus independent dojinshi producers and cosplayers, and also had an array of exhibit booths from a variety of game and anime companies.

At one booth, fans could take photos with some of the characters from Touken Ranbu, the computer game that’s been winning the heart of female otaku for the way it turns historical Japanese swords into handsome young samurai hotties. But while taking a picture with a flesh-and-blood celebrity crush means he might affectionately put an arm around you as you smile for the camera, you can’t ask a cardboard cutout to do the same. However, one attendee has shown that with a little creativity you can take a photo that makes it look like you’re in the passionate embrace of your inanimate anime crush.

While checking out all there was to see at CharacExpo, Twitter user gk_reiko was drawn in by the dashing sight of the clean-cut Mikatzuki Munechika and wild Kogitsunemaru, two particularly popular members of Touken Ranbu’s extensive cast.

As a fan, gk_reiko know she had to stop for a picture. Instead of standing sheepishly in front of the samurai and flashing a peace sign, though, she decided to get a little more creative and a lot closer to the pair.

In their official portraits, both characters have one arm hanging limp at their side. By positioning her body in front of the limb to block it, then twisting her own inside arm around to the opposite side of her head, gk_reiko creates the illusion that the two samurai, filled with protective affection, have pulled her to their breast.

The results are actually pretty convincing, producing an impressive 3-D effect. Still, the Touken Ranbu fan isn’t 100-percent satisfied with how the shots came out. Delicate as Munechika’s and Kogitsunemaru’s features may be, gk_reiko’s watch and bracelet, and especially her nail polish, give away the secret that the hand actually belongs to a woman. “If I’d have used a glove, the pictures would look even more realistic,” she laments, but really, there’s no need for her to be so hard on herself. She can always try again at next year’s CharaExpo, and as the summer anime convention season shifts into high gear, we’re sure we’ll see plenty of other fans building on her early success with similar shots of their own.

Source: Twitter/@gk_reiko