More than 1,000 costume fans from around the world took to the streets of Nagoya on Sunday to wrap up the 10th World Cosplay Summit.
The participants, including the winners of the World Cosplay Championship held Saturday as part of the "costume play" summit, paraded through Nagoya's streets dressed as their favorite animation, "manga" (comic book) and video game characters.
A Japanese duo were selected world champions at the annual event, which attracted 40 participants from 20 foreign countries, setting a summit record.
The summit was started by local TV station Aichi Television Broadcasting Co. in 2003. The participants are evaluated according to the finish of their costumes and the performance of their teams.
For the parade, 19-year-old Yesaya Marito from Indonesia dressed up as TV hero "Kamen Rider" ("Masked Rider"). He said that, as an "otaku" (geek), he would like to join the event again next year because everyone was friendly to him.
While otaku are known to share a single-minded obsession with a particular subject, they are generally considered to be fans of animation, comic books and video games.
Italian Dario Albanesi, 34, said he was proud of his costume, which is based on a character from the popular comic book series "One Piece." He said the getup attracted many Japanese girls.
Nagoyan Miki Yokoi, 26, said costumes allow her to reveal her alter ego.
"I can show a different side of me when I get into character," she said while dressed as the heroine from the animated series "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya."
