Nothing says “convention” like wearing full suits of armor in 100-degree heat.
Last weekend, thousands of gamers, anime fans and all-around nerds descended on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for the 18th annual Otakon anime convention – the second largest convention of its type in North America. Naturally, the place was packed with people watching the newest licensed shows, dealers hawking giant robot models and just-shy-of-pornographic posters – and lots and lots of fans wearing costumes from their favorite series, no matter how obscure (or how popular).
Fans dressed in outfits from every part of the geek spectrum – anime, videogames, fantasy novels, you name it – and here are just a few of the many cosplayers from Otakon ’11.
Harry Potter‘s Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban to wind up in Baltimore. We think he might want to go back.
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Even in real life, there’s no escaping My Little Pony.
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Not pictured: A near-perfect imitation of Johnny Depp’s mannerisms as Captain Jack Sparrow, and a sudden thirst for rum.
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The leading duo from Disney’s Tangled. Rapunzel must have gotten a haircut to be able to walk around like that.
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In Touhou Project, they say that demons like Suika and Yuugi are perpetually drunk. So how do they walk through doors with those horns?
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A group of BlazBlue cosplayers, immediately before breaking out into a giant brawl and busting out their super moves.
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You can’t arrest League of Legends‘ Brolaf, his dad owns a dealership!
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Being a true Star Wars fan means braving 100-degree weather in full Mandalorian regalia.
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Chell always thinks with portals.
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We didn’t see any zombies at Otakon, but Dead Rising‘s Chuck Greene was ready for them all the same.
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Tidus and Yuna from Final Fantasy X beat the heat – not by having cooler, breezier costumes, but by staying indoors in the air conditioning.
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Way to go, Ezio Auditore. Nobody will ever suspect you’re an Assassin at all.
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Otakon isn’t exactly the Wonderland from American McGee’s Alice, but the confusion is understandable.
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Emperor Kuzco found his new groove after all – it was in Artists’ Alley!
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Some say that BlazBlue‘s Bang Shishigami is far too loud and visible to be a good ninja. Others don’t say that for fear of getting smacked with a giant nail.
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I don’t know how long it took Final Fantasy VI‘s Kefka to put on that makeup. I don’t think I want to know.
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Splicers square off with a Big Sister from BioShock 2, and yet there was nary a Little Sister in sight.
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It must be great having a friend cosplay Professor Layton at a convention. With that top hat, you’d never lose him in a crowd.
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Do the Creep! (Haahhhh) Do the Creep!
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Green Arrow is about to shoot you. Somebody call Hawkeye – at least he’s been in a movie recently.
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The girls from Madoka Magica might have cute outfits, but fashion probably isn’t worth battling evil Lovecraftian horrors for the rest of your life. Well, maybe it is.
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Luke Skywalker’s wingmen Wedge and Biggs know how to stay on target.
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This “Spellthief” version of League of Legends‘ Lux didn’t have much magic to steal at Otakon. Maybe she should have visited the Madoka Magica gathering from a few pages ago.
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This may be the most laid-back picture ever taken of the Demon Sisters and Brief from Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt. They’re just taking a break.
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This Carmen Sandiego said that she was hoping to take a picture with a Waldo (of Where’s Waldo fame), but she couldn’t find one. Is that ironic, or extremely fitting?
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Mega Man‘s Dr. Wily must have been up to no good at Otakon. Dr. Wily is always up to no good.
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There are many, many characters in Touhou. This is maybe a fifth of them, if that. That series is seriously crazy.
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Surprisingly, this League of Legends cosplay group actually has a fairly well-balanced team composition.
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Look at your costume. Now look at me. Now back to your costume. Now back to me. Sadly, your costume isn’t me. But if you stopped cosplaying from Naruto and Hetalia and started cosplaying the Old Spice Guy, you could look like me.
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Thankfully, Captain Olimar from Pikmin was on hand to help any of the little creatures wandering around from getting trampled.
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Cammy and Zangrief from Street Fighter were ready to throw down against any challengers.
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Vincent from Catherine looked a little rough around the edges, probably from all those pillow fights he keeps getting into.
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Saria and Sheik from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time did an amazing cover of “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.
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“I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite Anime Convention in Baltimore.”
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Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehogs have a serious discussion about the importance of gold and other precious metals.
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Samus from Super Metroid decided to leave her Zero Suit home this year and break out something retro instead.
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If you didn’t have nightmares before, these two sure guarantee you will now.
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This Zora from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess looked like they’d be more at home in the water than a crowded convention center.
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Loki from Thor was sporting some pretty impressive horns.
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The famous chef from Cooking Mama offered up a lot of recipes and suggestions to attendees.
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House Slytherin was out and about doing what House Syltherin does best- looking sinister and pointing at things.
