On February 18, your favourite anime, manga, and comic characters Obito Ochiha from Naruto, Hange Zoe from Attack on Titan, Makima from Chainsaw Man, Scarlet Witch from the Marvel universe, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, the Predator and so many more descended on Lahore, and got together under one roof (or rather the open sky).

And if you’re a true fan, yet you don’t know why they were here, you were probably living under a huge rock!

If you’re still wondering what happened, then let us tell you that around a thousand crazy anime and comic fans congregated at a farmhouse in Lahore for the first such event in town, ‘Animaykon: Mission Lahore’.

This convention comprised a whole day of various activities, primarily people of various age groups cosplaying their favourite characters like those mentioned above, as well as Hatsune Miku’s strawberry version, Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan; Luffy, Nami and Sanji from One Piece; and Satoru Gojo and Toji Fushiguro from Jujutsu Kaisen and many many more.

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If the elaborate costumes, meticulously crafted accessories and striking makeup weren’t enough to make one’s jaws drop, then when they gestured like their favourite superheroes also, it really felt like one had been transported to another world altogether. For the camaraderie everyone shared was pretty fascinating -- complete strangers connecting with each other over the respective characters they were cosplaying, exchanging stories and favourite moments from the shows they watched, posing and taking pictures with each other.

Animaykon, planned on the lines of Comic Cons held in many countries around the world, was more of a closely-knit community of strangers getting together than a regular event. From speaking to some of the cosplayers, one realized almost all of them were introverts, yet at the convention they felt comfortable, safe, at ease and in their element.

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Aliza who was cosplaying Power from Chainsaw Man said she found refuge in anime during the Covid pandemic, and since then she developed a really strong bond with it. “I’m crazy about it. I had been waiting for the event for a year and just prepared my costume at the last moment last night.”

Miral, a book writer, was dressed up as Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact. She said her elaborate costume and spear and modified wig took a month to prepare and explained how anime has helped her at certain low phases in her life. “Coming to this convention and going to other such events was meant to celebrate the beauty of anime. Anime has been a part of my life since eternity; it has been a saviour at certain points when I was low. I’ve come here to meet a lot of other cosplayers, spending time with them, taking pictures and just sharing like-mindedness.”

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Farah Zia, a BS Computer Science graduate cosplaying Hange Zoe from Attack on Titan, claimed to be an introvert, yet came to Animaykon because she felt other cosplayers were like her family, her siblings. For her, anime has helped boost her confidence and been a source of motivation.

“I’m an introvert, but other cosplayers are like your family, siblings. Anime is considered cartoons and made fun of, but when you meet community fellows it’s very satisfactory, boosts confidence and increases motivation. This event feels like a community and everyone looks familiar despite being absolute stranger,” she explained her reason for attending Animaykon.

Her sentiments were shared by Monam Saleem, a fashion design student dressed as Hatsune Miku’s strawberry iteration. She said it took her at least five hours a day for around five months to ready it.

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“I fell in love with the environment, as everybody has the same interests and nobody’s judging you. It’s a safe environment where everybody understands you.”

Artist couple Shayan Inzi and Alina, cosplaying Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza and a Palestinian flag, respectively, chose their costumes because there’s no bigger hero in these times than the journalist who became a sensation through his fearless reporting from the war-torn Gaza Strip.

“We always cosplay western heroes so why not shed light on our own Muslim community and remember them?” questioned Alina.

Shayan, one of the judges of the cosplay competition at the event, said 99% of the people attending were introverts as they didn’t hang out much or go to shaadis, “so this is their outlet, their valima where they can find their community”.

Explaining how anime is different from cartoons, they said the former was targeted towards kids, but the former had several genres, categories and plots. “They teach you life lessons. We’ve seen growth in such events skyrocketing from something that was only underground a couple of years ago. We see the younger generation going the extra mile crafting their cosplays.”

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Islamabad-based Danyal Farooq, the organizer of Animaykon -- a computer science graduate-turned-event organiser and planner cosplaying Senua from Hell Blade, was happy with the response this third event in 12 months had generated.

What started as an experiment in Islamabad in February 2023 with around 900 people attending, Animaykon has been inspired by similar annual international events. “I now plan to go to Karachi and make it Pakistan’s biggest event. We have hundreds of thousands of comic and anime fans, so this event caters to those who don’t have much international exposure and haven’t met likeminded people to get together and mingle to see there are many more like them.”

He feels that awareness about anime is just increasing by the day.

Besides a ramp walk for all the cosplayers to showcase themselves, the event also featured food stalls, loads of anime, comic and gaming merchandise like posters, stickers, figures, keychains and books, and a gaming tournament featuring Tekken 7.