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Zombies, Monsters, Magical Girls Take Over Ikebukuro for Halloween Cosplay Festival 2018

The entire Ikebukuro district in Tokyo became one of Japan's largest cosplay venues last weekend as everyone got into the Halloween spirit.

Cosplayers dressed in their favorite anime and video game characters to mingle, dance, and spook and delight event goers. During the festival, the entire town of Ikebukuro transformed into a cosplay paradise as magical girls, superheroes, and Super Saiyans hung out on the main streets, parks and even inside stores. Participation was free and open to everyone whether in costume or not.

Saturday and Sunday's event marked the fifth year for the cosplay festival and it reached a record high of approximately 105,000 attendees, about 20,000 in costume. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike and Toshima mayor Yukio Takano appeared on stage during the opening ceremony, each dressed in their cosplay outfits. Governor Koike was Maetel from Galaxy Express 999 and mayor Takano was Gintoki Sakata from GinTama.

During the two days, the event showcased a plethora of cosplay related activities including fashion shows and stage performances, The cosplay runway show featured 300 cosplayers marching across the city. The event also offered business opportunities as cosplayers and photographers were able to network and enjoy backdrops in locations within Ikebukuro. Additionally, visitors could also try posing with handmade cosplay props crafted by skilled modelers from around Japan and have their cosplay outfits repaired by veteran cosplayers and seamstresses.

This year was the first to include MuCos ~Music and Cosplay~, an anime song concert with DJs and live performances by voice actress Hitomi Harada, DJ shimamura, DJ Caesar, and more.

The recently wrapped Angels of Death anime got in on the fun with a themed photo booth area, make-up corner, and cosplay gathering.

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Source: niconico PR, Ikebukuro Cosplay Festival site

All photos ©niconico