Batman, Maleficent On Nairobi's Streets

It is quite out of the ordinary to see Batman, Maleficent and Bellatrix Lestrange walking the streets of capital Nairobi.



Saturday was an exception when Kenya hosted the second edition of the Nairobi's Comic Convention with fans flocking to Sarit Center, a famous shopping mall where the event was being held.



People came out in the hundreds dressed up as their favorite characters from movies, comic books, video games and Japanese animated movies.



"It is good to see that pop culture here in Kenya is really upping their game," Jaba Ashiana, one of the organizers, told The Anadolu Agency.



"I was at Last year's event and the turnout wasn't that great," she said, noting that this year's event has been really good.



"The turnout is amazing and the traffic is wonderful," asserted Ashiana. "So far we have registered around 600 people and we are expecting around 1,000 more."



The pathways were filled with people dressed in various costumes.



Some had horns growing on their heads while others had their hair dyed with different colors.



Many wore Japanese traditional clothing while wielding wooden swords and plastic guns.



Jeron Adhiambo was dressed as Bellatrix Lestrange, a witch from the famous Harry Potter books.



"The event is amazing; most of us who have cosplayed are not breaking character," she told AA.



"When you meet someone from your universe, we talk to them as if we were characters in the books and animations, we act natural," added Adhiambo.



"I have met some of my sworn enemies here today," she joked, referring to other characters in the Potter series.



"For now they are lucky as I am being interviewed, after this I will have to chase them down and make them pay," added Adhiambo, waving her magical wand in the air.



Njeri Wagaca, also an organizer, dressed as Zatana Zatara, the daughter of Doctor Zatara, a character who uses magic from a popular American comic book.



"You don't even have to cosplay (dress as a fictional character)," she told AA.



"We have people who just came here to see their super heroes and villains in the flesh," she added. "You know such events bring them to life."



Wagaca asserted that the event had attracted participants from across the globe.



"There are people from as Europe and India who booked tickets to attend this event," she told AA.



One of them is Sayuri Abhaya who she had flown all the way from India for the comic convection.



"I live in Mumbai" she told AA. "I have travelled here for the comic convention and it's amazing."



"I have seen Batman, Dead Pool and even Maleficent," said Abhaya, referring to famous comic characters. "I did not expect that."



Most of the participants, like Shreeta Patel, said they had spent less than $20 on their costumes.



She cosplayed "Rorornoa Zoro," a swordsman from a Japanese animation called One Piece.



"I made this costume myself, it's only the material for the clothes that I am wearing that was a little bit expensive, and the rest were not," Patel told AA.



"We make our guns and swords using wood or plastic, anything that would make us resemble the characters that we are playing," she explained.



"I have also been to make up artists who have added blood effects to my face," she added.



Patel spent her time walking around the venue taking pictures with all her favorite characters.



Many Kenyans also had the chance to see some of their favorite characters.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Nayrobi