The eighth annual Nipponbashi Street Festa stamped Osaka March 20, 2012 (Nipponbashi is Osaka’s geek district – much like Akihabara is for Tokyo). Cosplayers turned up in colourful outfits, dressing as characters from their favourite manga, anime, and video games. The street was closed to cars, and otaku flooded the streets, snapping pics, cosplaying, and hanging out.

Hirari Ikeda, a well-known Harajuku street fashion personality, on the street in Shibuya. (Photo by Tokyo Fashion)

A woman runs while another woman ducks down to avoid teargas as police disperse supporters of the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, during a demonstration against Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, 09 May 2016. (Photo by Dai Kurokawa/EPA)

A dancer performs a fire breathing act during a procession to mark the 669th anniversary of the birth of Hindu Guru Bawa Lal Dayal in Amritsar on February 9, 2024. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

Gail Couillard, of South Burlington, Vermont, waits with her dog, Lyndon, for Republican presidential candidate, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to take the stage at a campaign event at the DoubleTree Hotel on March 3, 2024 in South Burlington, Vermont. Despite having lost every state primary thus far to former President Donald Trump, Haley intends to stay in the Republican race at least through Super Tuesday on March 5. (Photo by John Tully/Getty Images)

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, returns the ball to Magda Linette, of Poland, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Photo by Manu Fernandez/AP Photo)

The Belgian rider Wout van Aert crashes during an ascent on the 11th stage of the Tour de France in Col de Néronne, France on July 10, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Photo)

Women in Pathein, Myanmar, construct in the last decade of August 2024 parasols that they will paint in vibrant colours to sell in nearby markets. (Photo by Nantapon Pattamakijsakul/Solent News)