Japanese anime characters rub shoulders with some surprising faces in Tokyo’s famous otaku neighbourhood.

Halloween is celebrated a little differently in Japan, and though the tradition of trick-or-treating may be yet to fully catch on here, one aspect of the holiday that’s been easily adopted is the custom of dressing up.

Over in Ikebukuro, one of Tokyo’s biggest destinations for otaku culture, the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival is held every year over the weekend closest to Halloween, and though you won’t see a lot of ghosts or zombies at the event, what you will see is a whole lot of anime characters, with a few surprises in between.

▼ This year, the event was blessed with great weather, although on the first day of the two-day festival there was a strong wind that participants had to contend with.

The festival took place mainly within Ikebukuro’s Sunshine Square, with both cosplayers and photographers required to purchase a participation ticket. A premium ticket that granted entry from 9:00 a.m. was priced at 3,500 yen (US$23.65), while a ticket from 11:30 a.m. was slightly cheaper, at 2,500 yen.

▼ Upon entering at reception, ticket holders were handed a couple of leaflets and a mask to wear that served as proof that a participation certificate was purchased.

After returning at a reduced scale last year following a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus, this year’s festival was held without entry caps, so we were expecting it to be crowded. However, while there were more participants than last year, it still wasn’t as congested as pre-pandemic levels.

As always, though, the cosplayers who were there went all out with their costumes and poses, bringing to life a wide variety of characters. So let’s get to it and take a look at some of the best cosplayers from Day One below!

▼ Oscar François de Jarjayes from The Rose of Versailles (Cosplayer: @roselalonde3367)

▼ Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo from French music duo Daft Punk (Cosplayer: @_SHIKU_SHIKU)

▼ D.Va from Overwatch (Cosplayer: @rinyanpassan)

▼ Seiun Sky from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby (Cosplayer: @kokorophoto23)

▼ Lucy and Rebecca from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Cosplayers: @xxMomoi [left] @sir00111 [right])

▼ Umi Sonoda from Love Live! School Idol Festival (Cosplayer: @iLeylv)

▼ Sailor Moon from Sailor Moon (Cosplayer: @vesone350)

▼ Sailor Moon was joined by fellow pretty warriors Uranus and Neptune, both of whom also appear on Japan’s infamous buff men stock photo site.

▼ Sailor Uranus (Cosplayer: @AkihitoAll)

▼ Sailor Neptune (Cosplayer: @s_ichinohe321)

▼ Blue Poison from Arknights (Cosplayer: @yamo8cos)

▼ Fumika Sagisawa from Idolmaster Cinderella Girls (Cosplayer: @Yukinozomi3)

▼ Chisato Nishikigi from Lycoris Recoil (Cosplayer: @suyasuya_yuki)

How awesome were all those cosplayers? We honestly feel like the quality at this cosplay festival just keeps getting better every year.

Stay tuned for our collection of photos from Day Two of the event, and until then feel free browse through some of our favourites from last year’s festivities!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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