Welcome back, Comiket cosplayers!
Following a two-year hiatus, Comiket, Japan’s largest convention for doujinshi (self-published manga) and otaku culture, finally returned to Tokyo’s Big Sight convention center on Thursday. In total, we’ve missed three Comikets during the pandemic (summer 2020, winter 2020, and summer 2021), making this an especially joyful homecoming to the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center not just for artists and collectors, but for cosplayers too.
Checking out all the cool costumes on display took a little more planning than usual this year. As part of its pandemic protocols, not only was there a daily attendance cap in place for Comiket 99 (as the winter 2021 Comiket is numbered), but movement between different sections of the venue was restricted to designated paths and times, to prevent crowding of the access corridors. We made sure to work out a schedule that would get us into the cosplay area at the middle of the day, though, and here were the best outfits to be found, starting with Hololive virtual Youtuber Shirogane Noel (cosplayer: Moe Iori).
Something otaku found incredibly saddening about the cancelled Comikets was the lost opportunities for Uma Musume cosplay, since the anthropomorphized race horse series got a new TV anime season in 2020 and the launch of its mobile game in 2021. As the first Comiket since that double bump in the franchise’s popularity, we weren’t surprised to spot some horse girls in the cosplay area
▼ Symboli Rudolf (cosplayer Kirara Momokawa)
▼ Mejiro Ryan (Yokohamaken)
This was also the first post-Genshin Impact iteration of the event, and so it was Hu Tao’s (Sakiccho) Comiket debut.
It wasn’t all trendy new series being represented, though, as there was still plenty of love for evergreen anime favorites.
▼ Code Geass’s Kallen Kozuki (Mayoka) and C.C. (Mogu Horigaya)
Right now, schools are on winter vacation in Japan, which explains why Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club’s Karin Asaka (sis) wasn’t in class…
…and neither was fellow schoolgirl idol singer Chisato Arashi (Reni Kashiwagi) from Love Live! Superstar!!
Several sorceresses and magical girls also made their way to Big Sight, including Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’s Roxy Migurdia (Rio Kureha)…
…Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina’s Elaina (Ringo Chan)…
…and Cardcaptor Sakura herself, Sakura Kinomoto (Bella).
Speaking of old-school anime icons, we also encountered two of Dragon Ball’s most beloved-to-be-hated villains, Cell (Rei Kinu) and Frieza (Freza), the latter in his frequently forgotten pink form.
▼ Yet another antagonist with a huge fanbase: Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth (Sato #29) reenacting his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate scene with Super Mario (Shota) in his Super Mario-kun manga form.
And last, we come to the mysterious guy who simply gave his name as Chainsaw Man, and considering how authentic his outfit is, we honestly think there’s a chance that it really is the character himself who’s stepped into the real world, as opposed to just someone cosplaying as him.
A big thank-you to all the cosplayers who braved the cold so fans could snap photos on this chilly winter afternoon, and hopefully it won’t be another two years before we can see you all again!
Photos © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]