Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Matsudo, located in Chiba Prefecture, is encouraging cosplayers to visit on the weekends, billing its Yabashira district as a cosplay-friendly environment.
The city decided to launch a promotional campaign, noticing that cosplayers have been congregating at nearby 21 Seiki no Mori to Hiroba Park for photo shoots for several years. Together with the Yabashira Ekimae Chuo-Shotenkai shop owners association, which spearheaded the promotional efforts, the city has been posting posters of two girls, one in fantasy garb, with the phrase, “On weekends, I transform myself.”
Incidentally, the girl on the left is wearing an outfit modeled after the actual Matsudo High School uniform.
The support for cosplayers is not new; last November, the association turned a vacant storefront into a photo studio that caters specially to cosplayers.
The association also held a special event last week, shutting down streets to motor traffic and allowing cosplayers and other visitors to meander amongst the businesses around the Yabashira Station shopping district. A special cosplay booth also stocked costumes for young children, allowing them to get into the cosplay spirit.
Sources: Asahi Shimbun, Anime News Network
Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- The awesome costumed fans of Nagoya’s World Cosplay Summit -- Cosplayers invade the Kyoto subway system to promote upcoming event -- Canadian Micaela Braithwaite sworn in as new Kawaii Ward Mayor
© RocketNews24
4 Comments
Login to comment
Fox Sora Winters
So what's the rent like in Matsudo? Because this sounds like my kind of place. I'm still pretty new to cosplay myself. I dressed up once to raise money for charity, it didn't go as smoothly as I hoped but never mind. I think it would make for a much more interesting sight at the weekends, seeing people in cosplay gear, rather than the usual spitting teens, stoned adults, and alcoholic pensioners. Plus, I wouldn't feel at all uncomfortable if I joined in the fun, rather than going solo (I'm the only Otaku at my workplace, so talking others into it would be about as simple as convincing IS to stop beheading people).
Seriously though, it's nice to see a place that actually promotes cosplaying rather than condemning it.
taiga_123
ya i fully agree with fox sora winters. ive never cosplay b4, but i like the cosplay gears. thinking of wearing it one day but only when i find alot of people who would do the same. i live in canada and here people really dont have an amazing style like the otaku. every1 here is just the casual a-pop dresser
riku-sama
i think this is great as i live in England so there aren't many other cosplayers so it would be more encouraging with a cosplay friendly area
Fox Sora Winters
@riku-sama: As someone living in Wales, I know how you feel. I've only found one other person who has even seen anime, but they'd never cosplay. Most of the people here are actually quite hostile towards foreigners (you should hear some of the racist remarks they come out with, it's truly shocking), so trying to cosplay is nerve-wracking to say the least. Matsudo sounds like the exact polar opposite; a place where cosplay is welcomed and accepted.