College campus turns into a space for cosplayers, anime enthusiasts, and Japanese food fans.
SoraNews24’s Indonesian correspondent Aqil Rahmansyah is an otaku, with a deep passion for anime and video games. He’s also a college student, attending the University of Brawijaya in the city of Malang.
Those two aspects of his life made for a lucky combination this month, as his school hosted Isshoni Tanoshimimashou, a festival of otaku/Japanese pop culture.
The event was held on February 12, with the gates opening at 9 a.m. When Aqil rolled up at 11:30, the line to get in to the venue stretched for about 100 meters (328 feet).
▼ You can see part of the line on the left side of the street here.
It took almost half an hour for Aqil to make his way to the front of the line, but once he did and paid the admission fee of 20,000 rupiahs (about US$1.30), he was in!
There was a diverse mix of people at the event, from obvious hard-core anime fans to curios passersby who’d been drawn in to see what all the excitement was about. And, as with any suitably sized otaku gathering, there were cosplayers, starting with sofyaulfa and piikappi as Lycoris Recoil’s Chisato and Takina.
Cosplay pairs pooled their skills to show off their love for Genshin Impact too.
▼ mizenkari and wikwikwikwikwikwikwi as Kokomi and Hu Tao
▼ yoir.ee and imawuw as Sucrose and Yae Miko
There was even someone (revansam), who cosplayed as one of Genshin Impact’s Primogems.
The most dynamic costume was the one sported by cocosapta, dressed as Chainsaw Man’s Denji.
For the full effect, you’ve got to see this one in motion.
Representing other action-packed series were 07_0157 as Attack on Titan’s Mikasa and ramv_ed as Tokyo Revengers’ Chifuyu Matsuno.
▼ Note Mikasa’s Maneuver Gear on her back.
There was also loeck_manm, clad in some Kamen Rider combat fashion.
Wearing somewhat less conspicuous attire, but no less meaningful to fans in the know, was Ari Muslim as retired yakuza boss Tatsu, from Way of the Househusband.
Aqil also spotted multiple members of the Hololive virtual YouTuber family, such as Laurent as Gawr Gura and bearbaraa as Kobo Kanaeru.
In addition to cosplay, Isshoni Tanoshimimashou had food stalls selling an impressive variety of Japanese festival foods like takoyaki (octopus dumplings), yakisoba (stir-fried noodles), okonomiyaki (savory pancake crepes), and taiyaki (fish-shaped sweet bean cakes).
The prices were higher than normal for street food in Indonesia, but worth it for the opportunity to eat so many kinds of tasty Japanese comfort cuisine in one place.
There was also a stage with live musical acts, like this idol singer unit.
As a primarily outdoor event, Isshoni Tanoshimimashou doesn’t have a dealer’s “room,” but there were vendors selling anime merch.
▼ This one was well-stocked with Spy x Family Anya-style hair bands.
Price-wise, character keychains were going for around 15,000 rupiahs and acrylic character stands for 35,000 (around US$1 and US$2.30), a lot less than what you’d pay in Japan.
▼ Though it’s kind of hard to tell if these are new or used.
Isshoni Tanoshimimashou may not be able to match the scale and polish of the biggest anime conventions in Japan or the U.S. There was a lot of grass roots passion on display, though, and it’s always great to see fans’ love for anime helping connect them to Japan and the rest of the world.
Related: Isshoni Tanoshimimashou official website
Photos © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]