The “Otakukon” festival in Harare, Zimbabwe brought together fans of Japanese pop culture, with Gabriel Ota winning for best anime cosplay. Ota spent a month creating a Samurai outfit to look like Jin Sakai from the popular game “Ghost of Tsushima”. The festival aims to celebrate anime, comics, and video games, with the director hoping to reach more people and make a bigger impact. The community of anime fans in Zimbabwe is growing, but remains small, making it challenging for local cosplayers to compete internationally. The festival provided a space for young Zimbabweans to escape from the challenges of high unemployment and living costs. Comic book artist Bill Masuku emphasized the importance of telling African stories and plans to write comic books in the local Shona dialect. Overall, the festival provided an opportunity for fans to come together, express their creativity, and immerse themselves in Japanese pop culture.
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Zimbabwean youth enthusiastically adopt elements of Japanese pop culture at festival | Global News
