About 160,000 people gathered for the cosplay event!
For three days from October 24 to 26, “Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fest 2025 Powered by dwango” (Ikehalo 2025), one of the largest cosplay events in Japan, was held for the 12th year at various locations in the east side of Ikebukuro Station, Tokyo. The weather on Saturday and Sunday, the 25th and 26th, was unfortunately rainy, and the high temperature on the 25th was 13 degrees Celsius, as cold as the beginning of December, making the conditions unusually bad in recent years.
The weather may be rainy, but I feel fine!
The person who answered our interview, shivering in the cold, was zekt, who was dressed as Godzilla (the “Godzilla vs. Kong” version). He is a veteran cosplayer who has participated in Ikehara many times, and this time he will parade around Ikebukuro from the morning of the 25th to the night of the 26th in his “one-of-a-kind” costume, which took 10 months to make and cost 200,000 yen to produce.
Like Mr. zekt, cosplayers gathered in droves, defying both the rain and the cold, and the number of visitors reached a record high of 161,000, tying the previous record.
At the “Ike Hallow Cosplay Parade 2025,” a specialty event of Ike Hallow held on Sunshine 60 Street on the 25th, Toshiya Miyata (37) of the male idol group Kis-My-Ft2 made a surprise appearance. Wearing a costume of the original character that graced the cover of the cosplay information magazine “COSPLAY MODE,” he drew cheers from the many galleries gathered.
Miyata of “Kis-My-Ft2” participated in the cosplay parade. His coolness drew yellow cheers.
Miyata said, “Next time, I want to try characters from “Final Fantasy” and Kurapika from “HUNTER x HUNTER. I am especially interested in Kurapika because he is the same height and weight as me.
It seems that his “desire to cosplay” has been aroused as well. Many participants have developed a desire to cosplay after attending Ikehara 2025, including Hertz, who witnessed the “ending” (the event’s closing ceremony) on the 26th, dressed as Hyanshi from the game “Collapse: Star Rail.
‘This was my first time at a cosplay event. It was the first time in my life I’ve been approached by someone saying, ‘May I take your picture? It was the first time in my life that someone asked me, ‘Can I take your picture? It satisfies my need for approval (laughs). I might just get into cosplay.”
The unseasonably cold weather and rain did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the cosplayers. Please take a look at the photos of the brave cosplayers who took part in this year’s event.
zekt cosplaying as Godzilla from the movie “Godzilla vs. Kong mian cosplaying as Yol Forger from the anime “SPY x FAMILY Rehto cosplaying as Ram (idol ver.) from the anime “Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu”. Ms. Misato Tsukimiya, Miko Tsukigumo, and Yuyuko Futami cosplaying as original costumes from the AI chat application “FLAI”. Ms. Jiu (Jiu) Mr. Hitoshi and Ms. Nashi cosplaying as Chika Amatori and Kirie Konan from the anime “World Trigger. Ms. Satsuki, cosplaying as Edmond Honda from the “Street Fighter” game seriesTsukune Tsukumai cosplaying as Galbrena from the game “Narutio Nayu Kurachi, cosplaying as Niko Koganei from the female VTuber group “FLOW GLOW” (Hololive)
Iatan cosplaying as Ilyasphiel von Einzbern from the anime “Prisma Illya
Sadana Esperanza cosplaying as Dio from the anime “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Rumu Somemu cosplaying as Kaimu Kitagawa (Black Lobelia ver.) from the anime “That dress-up doll will fall in love”. Ami Honami and Yuu Hatata cosplaying as Himeno and Angel Devil from the anime “Chainsaw Man”. ico, cosplaying as Kenmochi Touya from the VTuber group “Niji Sanji Mashiro cosplaying as Kaoruko Wakuri from the anime “Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku Erena Takashima, a seven-turn Yao, cosplaying as Momo Ayase from the anime “Dandadan” and Rei Ayanami from the anime “Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yayoi-san and Suunemu cosplaying as Madoka Kaname and Mami Tomoe from the anime “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” （SAKURADOLL) Miiko-san cosplaying as Ryu Tsukishiro from the game “Zenless Zone Zero Suzuki Suzu cosplaying as Ruby Hoshino from the anime “Mystery Child”. Mameta, who is cosplaying as Nagarose from the game “Narutio Rio Benuha cosplaying as Marie from the game “Blue Archive hal, cosplaying as Tanya Degrechov from the anime “Child Wars Ms. Miyuki Takagishi, the mayor of the district, enjoying the cosplay event Toshiya Miyata of “Kis-My-Ft2” in his original cosplayCosplayers who enlivened the parade by cosplaying as characters from anime and video games Cosplayers showing off their cosplay in various poses Many participants came from overseas, and conversations in foreign languages could be seen here and there. Everyone was excited by the cosplay of the well-known movie thieves. People in highly revealing cosplay wore body warmers and other cold-weather measures to survive the event. Cosplayers who were too beautiful to be seen at the cosplay parade Some cosplayers used wheelchairs. Cosplayers were marveling at the high level of perfection.Emilia Sakurai, cosplaying as Yaumi Suna from the anime “DEATH NOTE YUZURIHA Kureha, Dekomori Takane, and Shiki cosplaying as original costumes from the AI chat application “FLAI Einashi participating in her original cosplay MOMO, who participated in an original cosplay Mirai cosplaying as Shimakaze from the game “Fleet Koroku Kushon Ms. Mehmei cosplaying as Judy from the movie “Zootopia Kokoro Shinozaki in her original cosplay YS (Usha) cosplaying as Madame Herta from the game “Collapse: Star RailKasmin-san, Lariru RIE, and Dora Q, who are cosplaying as Shinjiro Koizumi, Sanae Takaichi, and Suga Yoshihide. Eriko-san and Suimi-san cosplaying as Reze and Denji from the anime “Chainsaw Man. They are recreating the movie poster. Eriko-san and Suimie-san cosplaying as Reze and Denji from the anime “Censorman”. Cosplayers cosplaying at the event booth Ms. Hartz and Ms. Sakuramaru cosplaying as Hyanshee and Tribby from the game “Collapse: Star Rail”. Yuku Yoko cosplaying as Cartesia from the game “Narutio Nini22 cosplaying as Luanne Maey from the game “Collapse: Star Rail Ayaki Miyamoto, who participated in an original cosplay Ms. Mafuyu Kagurazaka, cosplaying as Amagure from the game “Hara-Kami Mafuyu Kagurazaka cosplaying as Gan Ame from the game “Hara Shen”. She is an idol with 2.4 million followers in China.
Interview and text by： Keitaro Haga PHOTO： Takero Yui
