: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comTOKYO — The raging popularity of Street Fighter IV in Japan meant plenty of Chun-Lis and Kens in "cosplay alley" at this year's Tokyo Game Show.
Many people dressed up as the characters, which are mainstays of Capcom's fighting-game franchise, while hundreds of others donned costumes inspired by videogames and anime series, both mainstream and obscure.
Cosplay — short for "costume play" — is a popular pastime for anime and gamer geeks in Japan, who express their fandom by dressing in character. Some spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars perfecting their outfits, but the more serious cosplayers custom-make their own costumes using fabric, a sewing machine and glue. Here are some of our favorites.
Left: Photographers on cosplay alley are required to stand single-file in front of the character they want to shoot; the cosplayers pose for each one separately until the photographer is satisfied.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comUnlike their U.S. counterparts, Japanese cosplayers often hide their true identities, providing fans with "cosplay" business cards and alternate cellphone numbers.
In Tokyo Game Show's cosplay alley, strict signs forbid onlookers from asking the costumed individuals questions that will invade their privacy.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comCosplayers are great at staying in character for the photo shoots, but when you try to talk to them afterward, they revert back to being polite, courteous humans.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comA cosplayer dressed as Kirin Soubi from Capcom's action role-playing game Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G shows off her muscles.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comA kigurumi version of Chun-Li from Street Fighter IV. Hard-core cosplayers not only dress up as their chosen character, but wear masks or, in this case, bobbleheads.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comThe Prince from puzzle-action game Katamari Damacy stands in a corner, rolling his ball around and posing for pics.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comOne of the more popular cosplayers on the alley poses for a fan. Young women engage in cosplay for three main reasons: to fulfill transformation fantasies, as a way to express love for a character and because they want to make their own outfits.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comThis girl is dressed as Ayane, the silent but merciless assassin from the Dead or Alive videogame series.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comKen from Street Fighter IV is about to punch me in the face.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comThese two women are dressed as royalty from The Scarlet Moon Empire in Konami's RPG Gensou Suikoden V.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comCosplayers can't ever show that they are tired. If they did, fans might do what they would do if an in-game fave grew weary — trade them in for a fresh new character.
Cosplayers often carry around a small bottle of Febreze in order to stay fresh throughout the day.
: Photo: Lisa Katayama/Wired.comThese three are dressed as shinigami, or death gods, from Square Enix's The World Ends With You.
