Mostly I’ve been attending conventions to film the cosplay scene but Niconico was an event I wasn’t even sure had cosplay. I heard about it from a friend and looking it up online I could only discern that it was an event aimed at making people smile. So I decided to check it out and soon discovered that not only was there cosplay but also many, many other things to see. Most Japanese conventions are largely spectacle with big booths to check out upcoming attractions and buy merchandise. While they’re not nearly as social as America’s, it’s still fun to check out the interesting displays. And that’s where Niconico surpassed all of the Japanese events I’ve attended thus far.

Niconico is like the Japan version of Youtube. So you can imagine what it would be like if Youtube threw a party. The Niconico Chokaigi convention halls were filled with an assortment of randomly elaborate booths and areas. There was long-jump, rock climbing, bungee jumping, light cycles, a submarine, the U.S. army, an aquarium filled with giant isopods, concerts and futuristic phone booths. They had a Shingeki no Kyojin 3D maneuver gear balance booth with wires setup just like the manga training section and people could get strapped in and test their balance (while wearing a corps jacket of course). There were fully armored knight cage matches. At one point I was wandering along a random corner of a hall when I heard the Thriller song ring out. A group of guys in funny monster masks were doing a dance number. The zombies were also competent in other female jpop dance routines.

The most elaborate setup was the sumo area. A large group of epic sumo wrestlers were duking it out all afternoon. I liked their warmups the most because all of the wrestlers were huddled around the stage pushing each other around. A bunch of lighter weighted wrestlers got to test their strength against the big guys before the real fights began. This was also the first time I heard sumo wrestlers sing! I was able to film some of the fights really close up because of my press badge. Did I mention I got a press badge? And that it was amazing? You know those huge Comiket lines where hoards of people wait outside in the sun waiting to get in? Skipped that. Pay for a ticket? Naw. Press yo. Thanks RtP. I did still have to register as a cosplayer to store my steadicam bag though.

I’m starting to feel like I’m slowly progressing in terms of getting cosplayers more comfortable with being in a video. Some people now recognize me as that guy with the steadicam and they know what I want to do. I was pretty happy to direct a group of wicked looking Silent Hill nurses. Gotta have that sexy undead walk! The cosplay area was paaaacked with people though. Really hard to film, let alone move around. I did get to give out some of my new slick business cards though. Started a twitter account because most Japanese cosplayers use that.

Lastly, what AMERICAN CON gives out free beer, huh? That’s right, each day after the event ended the beer booth gave away all its unsold cans. The press booth also gave me a special mug and pancake (dorayaki) for all of my hard work. I say that jokingly, but actually I’m of the opinion that my dubstep sumo video is a hell of a lot better than their own advertising videos for the event. So you’re welcome Niconico. See you next year.

Photography by Ramon McGlown.

Niconico Chokaigi is held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.