Photographers surround and take upskirt photos of cosplayer at Comiket event, pushing her to tears

While otakus have slowly but steadily been shedding their misunderstood stereotype of being creepy geeks, it only takes one black sheep to tarnish the image of the whole flock.

Comiket 96, Japan's biannual cosplay and doujinshi event (to hawk fan-made merchandise), took place over the past weekend, attracting a record-breaking 730,000 attendees. Considered one of the most prominent cosplay events in Japan, it's no surprise that cosplayers and fans alike flocked to share their love for their characters and craft.

However, what was supposed to be a fun event quickly turned ugly for one particular Chinese cosplayer when she found herself surrounded by a wall of photographers, many of whom had their cameras pointed up her skirt.

The cosplayer, dressed in a mini-cheongsam, was posing in one of the outdoor cosplay areas when a group of photographers gathered in front of her.

[embed]https://twitter.com/rubi0921/status/1160539445168234498[/embed]

In a video taken by an attendee, the cosplayer can be seen trying to walk away from what is essentially a herd of photographers, one of whom even tried to crouch down to take more upskirt photos despite the event staff yelling that the photoshoot was cancelled. The cosplayer can also be heard crying in the background.

[embed]https://twitter.com/rubi0921/status/1160539770562367488[/embed]

Before the event staff could step in to break up the crowd, the cosplayer had resorted to sitting down and covering herself with a notebook in an attempt to ward off prying camera lenses. Even then, it did nothing to deter the voyeurs as they continued to point their cameras down her chest and up her skirt.

The actions of the men in the footage triggered angry reactions from netizens. Said one: "I feel embarrassed as a Japanese."

The cosplayer herself shared the video and tweeted in response.

She wrote: "That's me in the video. I kept saying 'You're too close. Please move further away' but nobody listened. Thank you to the event staff.

"If something like this happens again, I'm going to kick the cameramen's camera (learning boxing now)."

Fortunately, her experience at Comiket did not seem to have been completely ruined, as she later tweeted photos of herself from the event.

rainercheung@asiaone.com