The best cosplayers from Day One of the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival

These cosplaying queens waited two years to step out as their favourite manga and anime characters, and the wait was definitely worth it. 

One of the biggest events on the calendar for cosplayers in Japan every year is the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival. Held at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, one of Tokyo’s most popular otaku meccas, the annual cosplay celebration was sadly cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but this year, the event went ahead with coronavirus countermeasures in place, and it was held over two days from 30-31 October.

Ikebukuro’s Halloween party kicked off with a bang, but one thing that surprised us when we visited was the fact that most of the cosplayers weren’t dressed up in Halloween costumes — they opted to dress up as characters from their favourite manga and anime instead.

There were definitely fewer zombies and witches at this year’s event, but we certainly weren’t complaining. Plus, after an extra year off from cosplay, it’s only natural that a lot of cosplayers were waiting for a chance to step out as their favourite characters again.

So, as we walked about the event space on Day One of the festival, we spied some well-known faces from franchises like Uma Musume and Fate/Grand Order, which always has a strong showing at the festival.

While spectators at the event were required to wear masks at all times, the cosplayers were allowed to remove their masks while posing. This allowed us to take some great photos of some of the country’s most creative cosplayers, so let’s take a look at some of the best from the day below!

▼ Maki Nishikino from Love Live! School Idol Festival (Cosplayer: Kinomi)

▼ Michelle and Tsurumaki Kokoro from BanG_Dream! (Cosplayers: Kawasemi Sayahana and Aimu)

▼ Taiki Shuttle from Uma Musume Pretty Derby (Cosplayer: Amami)

▼ Artoria Caster from Fate/Grand Order (Cosplayer: Ea)

▼ Flandre Scarlet from Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (Cosplayer: Koimu)

▼ Morgan from Fate/Grand Order (Cosplayer: Yuzuriha Kureha)

▼ Nana Daiba from Shojo Kageki Revue Starlight (Cosplayer: Kue)

▼ Oguri Cap from Uma Musume Pretty Derby (Cosplayer: Toramaru)

▼ Kyouka (Halloween) from Princess Connect Re:Dive (Cosplayer: Inami Yuri)

▼ Gawr Gura from HololiveEN (Cosplayer: Peroneko)

▼ Sangonomiya Kokomi from Genshin Impact (Cosplayer: INA)

▼ Jolyne Cujoh from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Cosplayer: mi-ya.)

So there you have it — some of the best cosplayers from Day One of this year’s Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival!

This year’s iteration of the event may have been slightly more subdued, with less numbers attending than usual due to the pandemic, but it was certainly no less impressive, thanks to the enthusiasm of the cosplayers.

We’d like to extend a big thanks and a hearty “otsukaresama” to all the cosplayers who kindly allowed us to feature them in this story. Be sure to stay tuned for our photo collection from Day Two of the event, which will be arriving shortly!

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New Monster Hunter attraction at Universal Studios Japan lets you hunt monsters in VR

Free-walk VR game gives you your choice of Monster Hunter weapons to swing as you track and fight Velkhana.

Though the original concept behnd Universal Studios Japan was to be a place where guests can enjoy movie magic, the Osaka theme park has also become one of the country’s coolest destination for video game fans.

Last spring saw the grand opening of the park’s Super Nintendo World expansion, and last month we found out it’s going to be growing even bigger to welcome another Nintendo star. Then at the start of October came word of a separate partnership between USJ and the Pokémon Company.

Universal Studios isn’t in any mood to ease up on the gamer-oriented accelerator, either, as they’ve just announced their newest project: a team-up with Capcom’s smash hit Monster Hunter franchise. It’s a VR attraction, but instead of being a headset-supporting roller coaster or theater show, USJ is giving fans what they really want: the ability to grab weapons and hunt some monsters!

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne XR Walk is the first attraction for USJ’s new XR Walk, a free-walking virtual reality system and venue (i.e. you’re actually walking around it, not sitting in a chair and pressing a “walk” button).

Together with up to three other players in your party, you’re cast as recent arrivals as the game’s Seliana base. After another hunter comes back to the guild after suffering heavy injuries, your team heads out to rescue his comrades who are still out there in the Hoarfrost Reach, traversing snowfields and caves as you gather items, search for tracks, and try to find the survivors.

Naturally, you’ll be armed, and you get your choice from among a selection of iconic Monster Hunter weaponry such as a great sword, long sword, hammer, switch axe, or heavy bowgun, which respond with a feeling of impact when they strike their targets. Gusts of wind are another promised physical element… or maybe the blasts of air are from a monster’s roar. Of course, you won’t find the hunters you’re looking for without encountering some hostile wildlife too, and USJ promises a climactic showdown with the elder dragon Velkhana.

▼ Velkhana

イヴェルカーナまじでかっけぇし美人だよな pic.twitter.com/EtqcTh4BIT

— Code:あさひ (@melt_Asahi) October 26, 2021

One possible concern for preexisting Monster Hunter fans is that an attraction like this, in trying to appeal to a broad audience of theme park visitors, might not provide as much challenge as the games themselves do. However, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne XR Walk also has a scoring system, so it’s not just a question of whether or not you can complete the quest, but how well you can complete it, which should make for an exciting challenge regardless of individual skill level.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne XR Walk will have its preliminary opening on January 21 ahead of a full launch in March, and will be in service until August 28.

Source: PR Times (1, 2) via Otakomu
Featured image: PR Times
Top, insert image: PR Times
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What’s so funny about “Sweet Fries of Clowns” from Burger King Japan?

Everybody loves a clown French fry, so why can’t we?

One day, while our reporter Seiji Nakazawa was walking to work, he passed by the local Burger King. In front of the fast food restaurant was a sign advertising “Sweet Fries of Clowns” for 330 yen ($2.90) or as a free upgrade from regular fries when purchasing a combo.

This caught Seiji’s attention, not only because the upgrade was a nice deal, but because there was nothing especially funny or circusy about this side dish. It was covered in a “special MIX chocolate sauce” that was a little eccentric but not really groundbreaking at this point.

▼ “Sweet, Salty, Irresistible. New Sweet Fries of Clowns”

When he got to the office, Seiji decided to get to the bottom of this by checking the product description on the Burger King Japan website:

“The side dish ‘Sweet Fries of Clowns’ is a new release for a limited time and while supplies last. Customers can upgrade the side menu of their combos to this product for no extra charge. It’s an item that will hook you in with its sweet and sour taste.”

There was no mention of what clowns have to do with anything, and Seiji thought that this very low-key campaign, quietly tagged onto their Guilty Butter Burger release, was very suspicious. There was only one way to crack this case….

Seiji slowly opened his box of Sweet Fries of Clowns, bracing his funny bone for whatever capers and hijinks might be going on inside.

But there was nothing of the sort. It was just a pile of fires with a drizzling of brown and yellow sauces. Even after taking a bite, Seiji couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. These fries were hot and crispy as fries ought to be, and without any funny business whatsoever.

One mild surprise was the yellow sauce. Seiji had just assumed it was cheese, but it was much sweeter and more in line with the chocolate. Could this be the essence of clowns?

To confirm he decided to ask the staff:

Seiji: “Excuse me, what is this?”
Staff: “It’s mango.”
Seiji: “Huh?”
Staff: “It’s mango.”

Even after Seiji’s intense interrogation, the only information the Burger King worker would cough up was that the sauce was mango flavored.

Seiji spent the rest of his time eating his Sweet Fries of Clowns and contemplating what possible connection there could be between these fried sticks of potato and comedic circus performers. It could have been a Halloween thing, but still, why choose clowns where there are so many other options like “Friesenstein” or “Chocolate Mummifries?”

Maybe it was an allusion to the Lucky Pierrot fast food chain in Hokkaido (Japanese uses the Italian word “Pierrot” to refer to any clown). But if that was the case, why would one restaurant name a menu item after a competitor?

Every possible answer just led to more questions, so once he finished the fries, Seiji returned to the office and contacted Burger King Japan directly. After asking why they named this product Sweet Fries of Clowns, he received the following reply:

“There’s no especially deep meaning to it.”

And that was it.

It was a humbling experience for Seiji, reminding him that not everything in life needs to have a logical reason behind it. Sometimes a major corporation names their food after clowns, just because they feel like it.

In these increasingly chaotic times, it was a valuable lesson for Seiji, but not one he expected to get from Burger King for 330 yen.

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Why is there a giant Buddha head on the top of this Japanese office building?【Photos】

It’s not the only startling rooftop surprise in this town, either.

The area around Bentencho Station in Osaka’s Minato Ward is pretty nondescript. Yeah, cars pass through it on the Hanshin Expressway and trains on the Osaka Loop Line, but it’s pretty much a typical industrial neighborhood of factories and warehouses.

But if you happen to walk up this staircase…

…which leads to this bridge…

…when you turn your head to the right…

…you’ll see a head.

Peeking out from one of the openings at the top of that beige-colored building is a giant Buddha head, and there was no way we weren’t going to investigate.

Navigating our way to the building wasn’t hard, since its size and color made it easy to keep in sight as we approached, even if we did lose sight of the head along the way.

Despite the Buddhist statuary, the building isn’t a temple or religious facility. Called the Ajigawa Call Warehouse, it’s an office building/warehouse owned by Maruhi Shokai, a company that deals in petroleum and petroleum-related equipment. When we knocked on the door to ask about the head, one of their employees, Mr. Hayashida, offered to give us an up-close look.

The company rents out part of the building’s office space to other tenants, and the top floor has both enclosed and open-air sections. Stepping out onto the roof we first saw the regular sort of maintenance fixtures you’d expect…

…but once we turned the corner, there it was.

Now, we should mention that in Japan, small rooftop Shinto shrines aren’t all that uncommon for office and commercial buildings, often dedicated to Inari, the patron deity of merchants and commerce. Rooftop Buddhist temples, though, are something you never see, nor are rooftop Buddhist heads, with this startling exception.

So…why? Well, remember how we said that the offices for Maruhi Shokai’s petroleum business don’t take up the whole building? Part of the leftover space was once a Balinese restaurant and import goods shop, which were also run by Maruhi Shokai. The head was made in Bali, and there used to be two more just like it, which they sold to customers. The third head, though, was installed on the roof to promote the restaurant and import store, and originally there was a banner with the shop’s name that hung down the side of the wall right underneath the head.

Both the restaurant and import shop went out of business years ago, so Maruhi Shokai got rid of the banner. Removing the head, though, would take a lot of effort and expense. It’s actually not prohibitively heavy, because even though it’s made of bronze, the center is hollow. The real problem, though, is the size. It’s too big to fit through the hallways or onto the elevator, so in order to get it down from the roof, they’d have to hire a crane.

Then there’s the fact that the company’s president is a pretty devout Buddhist, who often participates in festivals at local temples and makes donations to help pay for their upkeep. He likes having the head on the roof, and even in a secular sense, he likes the fact that it makes people smile or chuckle when they first see it (Osaka is, after all, the center of Japanese comedy).

Looking out at the city from the Buddha’s perspective, we picked out the exact spot on the bridge where we’d seen it from, and realized that while we were looking at the head, it had been looking right back at us.

By the way, if you’re wondering what kind of position Hayashida holds within Maruhi Shokai, he’s the manager of the small theater, Sekai-kan, that the company runs, which is located next door.

Inside, he showed us some of their stage props, like this giant book.

After that, he drove us to another office building the company owns in the neighborhood. This one doesn’t have any Buddha head on the roof…

…but it does have a giant hand and telephone. These, Hayashida told us, were originally props used by an overseas film production company. Back when the building was new and still had empty offices available to lease, they put a sign with the phone number for interested parties to call in the hand, where it could be seen by passengers on the nearby train line.

Oh, and he also took us to a gas station that Maruhi Shokai manages. It was just a normal gas station, so we didn’t take any pictures, but it was nice to have some proof that Maruhi Shokai really is in the petroleum business, because we were starting to wonder.

Related: Maruhi Shokai, Sekai-kan
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