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Cosplayers make Japan Weekend feel like Spanish Comiket【Photos】

Oona McGee Oct 5, 2021
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This might be the year for Tokyo Revengers, but there are plenty of other well-known characters in this cosplay photo collection.

Our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa has been in Spain for about a month now, after receiving two vaccinations and a vaccine certificate that allowed her to make the journey abroad.

Her visit couldn’t have come at a better time, as she was able to attend an event in Madrid called “Japan Weekend“. Held over two days, on 25 and 26 September, the Japan-loving event was filled with stalls selling anime goods, and a whole lot of cosplayers, whose costumes made Ikuna feel as if she were back home at Comiket in Japan.

This isn’t Ikuna’s first trip to Spain, as she previously visited the country back in 2019, when she learned that Demon Slayer was incredibly popular with Spanish fans. This year, Ikuna couldn’t help but feel it was the year of Tokyo Revengers, as she saw lots of attendees wearing outfits from the hit anime series.

As members of the Tokyo Manji Gang, the tough youths from Tokyo Revengers wear black jackets with “東京卍會” (“Tokyo Manjikai”) printed on the back.

The manji symbol (卍) is not to be confused with the Nazi swastika, as it’s commonly used to mark Buddhist sites in Japan, where it’s been used as a holy symbol for centuries.

In 2016, a year before Tokyo Revengers made its manga debut, “manji” was actually voted as the number one buzzword used by high school girls. They used it to describe a photo pose where people position their arms and legs to resemble the manji symbol, like Cactuar from the Final Fantasy video game series.

Ikuna herself is a big fan of Tokyo Revengers and the “bad boy” look of the main characters. She’s certainly not alone, as she reckons she saw around 1,000 people dressed in Tokyo Revengers outfits over the two days of the event, and one of those people was a cosplayer called Mikey, pictured below, who made Ikuna swoon.

In fact, Ikuna was so impressed with all the cosplayers she saw that she compiled a photo collection of her favourites. So let’s take a look at them below!

▼ This trio stepped out as the main characters from Demon Slayer…

▼ While this trio went Super Saiyan with their outfits for the event.

▼ Others paid homage to Attack on Titan…

▼ …Howl’s Moving Castle…

▼ …Re:Zero…

▼ …Super Mario…

▼ …and…Pokémon?

▼ The event was popular with a wide range of age groups, bringing families together…

▼ As well as friends.

Ikuna’s heart melted when she came across this young duo, who proved that unlikely characters from One Piece and Naruto can get along.

Some of the most impressive cosplayers, however, were the ones stepping out on their own.

When Ikuna stumbled upon this scene there were two things to gawk at, because that motorbike was a true thing of beauty.

Ikuna couldn’t leave the area without stopping to photograph this adorable cosplay of Saori Kido from Saint Seiya. This cosplayer even won a cash prize for their impressive costume!

As she made her way out of the building, Ikuna came across some other familiar characters from famous series like Naruto…

▼ And there was even a surprise appearance from Thor and Loki.

Ikuna was particularly pleased when she came across a cosplayer who handed her a business card.

Like Comiket in Japan, there were a number of cosplayers posing outside the main event hall as well.

However, out of all the cosplayers she met that day, there were two that stood out for their very unusual costumes.

▼ These were a pair of teru teru bozu!

Ikuna had a great day out spotting some of her favourite characters at the Japan Weekend in Madrid, where she was able to get a firsthand look at the anime and manga characters inspiring the great cosplayers of Spain right now.

It was a nice taste of home away from home, and Ikuna now hopes Japanese cosplayers will also be able to strut their stuff in Japan for Winter Comiket 2021.

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