Anicon Arrival: Explanations, Spice, and Cosplay Spectacle

"..Weren't you friends with Karin..?"

The question slipped in cautiously. But her expression was already brimming with suspicion. No point in making ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠excuses here—it would only deepen the misunderstanding.

'It's not like I came here for anything shady anyway.' The best move was to lay out the facts straight.

"Uh… it's a bit complicated, but basically—" I gave her a quick rundown of everything that had happened. Suihwa and I had been close for a while now, and when she got invited to Anicon, I tagged along to Japan. That's why I was holding the camera next to her while she streamed. And the "same age" thing? She blurted it out mid-broadcast, so even I was caught off guard. I tacked that on naturally.

"Hmm…" After my explanation, the woman gave me a strange look.

"Oh, so that's the setup."

"Pardon?"

"I get the picture." She nodded like she'd pieced it all together, then flashed a sly, knowing grin. She was thoroughly misunderstanding things. I'd laid it all out plain and simple, no frills, and here she was smirking like that. What a headache.

*

"Why order something so spicy if you can't handle spice? You left half of it."

"Hoo… I didn't think it'd be that bad."

"Next time, look it up first. It was insanely hot."

Anyone who could finish that had to have no tongue—or zero sense of taste. It was that ridiculous.

'Lucky I grabbed milk from the convenience store nearby.' Without it, I'd have been in real trouble.

Anyway.

"I don't get why you're doing the same-age concept, but since you're at it, keep it up around your fans. People are staring weirdly."

"Ah, sorry, oppa. But it was so spicy, I couldn't even stick to the concept…"

"..Yeah, fair enough." Even I, who hates food theatrics, had to admit it was next-level. That wasn't food for humans, so we dropped the nagging there.

How long had we been chatting and walking? Screech—

"We've arrived."

We'd pulled up to Anicon before I knew it.

"Whoa…"

Unlike proper, rooted anime events, this Anicon had zero pedigree. First time ever. But what set it apart from the authentic ones? Overwhelming capital. They were bulldozing the lack of roots with sheer money.

They'd rented Japan's biggest exhibition hall—Kamiten—and turned every corner into full anime sets. Not cheap knockoffs, either; top-tier quality. Sets from anime with characters who eat a fruit and suddenly can't swim. Ones with grown-ass adults in hairbands sprinting around. Shows packed with nothing but iconic quotes. Pretty much every major anime had a set. Insanely high production values. You could feel the cash poured in.

That sparked a question.

"...But does an anime event this extravagant even turn a profit..?"

It just popped into my head. Sure, the sponsors probably weren't sweating the bottom line, but I was purely curious.

'Kashio Yuu said she'd come too.' Not just local cosplayers; even Kashio Yuu would be here. Info only I knew, of course.

'Looked it up on the way—no one else knew.' X-Net was flooded with rumors, but zero mentions of Kashio Yuu at Anicon. Made sense; she hated going out that much.

"The quality is insane..!"

Suihwa had forgotten she was here to stream, darting around like a maniac. I didn't stop her. I wanted to sightsee too. Otaku artist? Redundant.

"They've got Banmu cosplay wigs here too, oppa!"

"Oh, really? No way."

Piles of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silvery-white wigs shimmered.

And the sign in front:

"What’s it say?"

I posted Japanese cosplay on X-Net plenty, but that didn't mean I spoke the language. I could parse basics; anything like that needed a translator app.

"'Please enjoy cosplay casually! It's free!'"

"Free?"

"Yep, crazy. Handing these out for nothing."

How loaded were the sponsors? I was impressed, lost in the sights, when—

"...Sightseeing's over. Time to stream, oppa.."

Suihwa sounded genuinely bummed. She'd been hyped exploring, but now remembered why we were here.

"Ugh, don't wanna stream today.."

Still, she struck a pose like a pro and flicked her eyes at me.

Three quick blinks: start stream. Four: end. Our simple signal.

And moments later—

The familiar chime kicked things off.

Suihwa was popular for sure—the chat exploded the second we went live. Too fast to even read.

'How does she keep up?' A mystery.

"Can you hear me okay?"

"Sound good? Not too noisy?"

After her usual audio check, Suihwa pulled out her phone and activated the dark stream overlay. Her face popped up on screen.

"Hey everyone."

"Forty-oppa, no-no on that chat.."

Suihwa didn't even flinch—clearly used to it—and kept going.

"Anyway, I'm at Anicon." She plopped the Banmu wig on her head.

It suited her surprisingly well. Maybe because of her usual bob cut. She'd rock white hair dye too. I gripped the camera tighter.

"Just got here and checked it out—the quality is unreal. No wonder entry's 5,000 yen."

The chat went nuts at the 5,000 yen mention. Fair; most events were free or 20,000 won max. 50,000 yen? Outrageous. I'd just learned the price too.

'Kinda pricey.' Enough for a nice meal. Quality was great, but worth it? Right then—

Thud, thud.

People in bizarre outfits approached from afar.

'What? Event hasn't opened yet.' We got in early as staff, but it wasn't public.

Odd clothes aside, they were decked out. Staring openly out of curiosity—

Colorful wigs and outfits, exaggerated prop weapons glinting in the sun. A blue-skinned guy with a massive sword led, followed by a woman in a dress of shimmering scales, gliding elegantly. Then a boy with a tail cape bounding over, a tall cosplayer in a half-face mask. Straight out of the screen. As they passed, a unique scent and intricate makeup caught the eye. Seeing them, it clicked.

'..With cosplay like that, 5,000 yen's a steal.'