Arielle Busetto, JAPAN Forward

Unfazed by the suddenly cold and damp weather in Japan’s capital on Friday, November 22, VIPs and thousands of visitors made their way to the opening day of Tokyo Comic Con 2019 (TCC2019) Makuhari Messe halls 9,10, 11 in Chiba.

A highlight of the comic and pop culture extravaganza, now on its 4th year in Tokyo, is Tadanobu Asano as event ambassador. A very versatile and diverse artist who also dabbles in music (he also plays in his own band Souda!), Asano is much-admired at home and abroad for his appearance in the Marvel series Thor.

Asano greeted the press and the fans shortly after noon and was a major presence at the opening ceremony.

He pleased his fans by explaining that he had come back from filming in Australia for the film Mortal Kombat just for this event. “I told them, ‘I don’t want to miss this,’ so I came back just for that! I had been waiting for this day, there are these crazy amazing people, get excited!” He said.

Later in the event, Asano told the audience that he planned to enjoy the enthusiastic atmosphere, look at the booths, and enjoy all the Marvel-related cosplay.

One after another, Marvel and Harry Potter series and pop culture superstars came on stage, making what sounded like a predominantly female audience swoon.

Perhaps the funniest moment was when Daniel Logan came onstage and said: “Konnichiwa, Tokyo Comic Con! Genki desuka? (Hello, how are you doing).”

Then the star officially melted the hearts of those present with “Tadaima!” — an expression quite close to “I’m home!” The gleeful women shouted back, “Okaeri!” (Welcome home!)

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