Each year that the World Cosplay Summit is held in the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, the mayor of Nagoya and governor of Aichi Prefecture are there, too. They attend not only to show support for an event that celebrates the talents of cosplaying worldwide—an event that has representatives from 40 nations and regions across the globe, mind you. They’re also there to show Japan, and the entire world, that some politicians are actually rad as hell. (Or, perhaps, to secure the coveted anime and manga vote.)
These two cool-guy politicians are governor Hideaki Ōmura of Aichi Prefecture and mayor Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya, who showed up to the event this year as Zoro and Sanji of the incredibly long-running manga and anime One Piece, respectively.
You might be pleased to know that both Ōmura and Kawamura are no strangers to cosplaying. In fact, here’s some of Ōmura’s best work.
And some of Kawamura’s.
Enjoy, also, this clip of newscasters losing it over seeing their elected officials in costume. Below, you can hear an announcer uncontrollably giggling through the news station’s story as videos of the governor and mayor pan across the screen.
Hopefully next year the two will go the classic route and cosplay as characters from Akira, if only to help get Warner Bros. and Taika Waititi’s live-action Akira remake in production again.
[Via Sora News 24]