Cosplayer in Japan has to cancel handshake event when no one shows up
A Japanese cosplayer was left heartbroken after having to cancel her own handshake event when not a single person turned up.
Awa Minami, who styles herself as “this era’s Doraemon”, shared the painful experience on X on 23 Dec, apologising publicly for calling off the event she had planned at a pachinko parlour.
Prepared venue, but no attendees
Despite having close to 200,000 followers on X, Ms Minami arrived at the venue to find an empty space.
In photos attached to her post, queue barriers were neatly set up, with a large LED screen behind her — but there were zero fans in sight.
Source: @miiitan_n on X
She wrote a short apology, saying she was sorry for cancelling the handshake session as nobody had come.
While the in-person turnout was nonexistent, the online reaction was anything but.
Her post quickly went viral, racking up over 23 million views, more than 75,000 likes, and 3,000 shares, with Japanese netizens flooding the comments section.
Netizens offer sympathy, jokes and advice
Many commenters expressed sympathy, saying the post itself was how they discovered her.
One user encouraged her to stay positive, suggesting the incident had inadvertently given her massive exposure and could help her grow her fanbase.
Others were less gentle. One commenter joked, “Did you eat them all?”, poking fun at both the empty venue and her appearance.
Ms Minami took it in stride, replying, “I’m not a ghoul!”
She has previously been open about her weight, sharing earlier this year that she lost over 20kg before later regaining around 6kg after binge eating.
Translation: Comment 1 – Did you eat them all?
Comment 2 – I’m not a ghoul!
Source: @miiitan_n on X
One netizen offered more practical advice, suggesting she needed greater recognition before attempting an in-person handshake event.
They noted that fans usually attend such events to hear the person speak, with the handshake being secondary.
Ms Minami replied that she would work harder to raise her profile.
The commenter responded with encouragement, saying they looked forward to seeing her grow beyond her current niche and develop further as a creator.
Also read: 17-year-old idol trainee in Japan fired after netizens spot reflection of man on drink in her photo
17-year-old idol trainee in Japan fired after netizens spot reflection of man on drink in her photo
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Featured image adapted from @miiitan_n on X.
