On March 14, WeebMart, a pop-up for second-hand anime goods, and HamuFest, an event series hosted by Japanese YouTuber and cosplayer Hamu Cotton, held an event to celebrate Hamu Cotton’s birthday through a series of live performances, minigames and giveaways at a warehouse in the Los Angeles Arts District. It was also a day for collectors to set up booths and sell items from their personal collections.
WeebMart is a branch of Anime Market Place, a group that produces events for anime fans, cosplayers and artists. AMP has previously hosted events such as Idol Matsuri, AniMarket Place, and Little Tokyo Zine Fest.
The event, titled WeebMart X HamuFest, was just one day of Hamu Cotton’s birthday celebration. The cosplay influencer, known for her energetic dance covers on her YouTube channel, hamu_cotton, performs at various anime conventions, such as MetroCon, Anime Expo and Animarketplace. She has generated a fanbase that includes more than 348,000 subscribers on YouTube.
“When we heard it was Hamu’s birthday, we thought, ‘Where can we give her a place for her to be able to celebrate, and we can have an event at the same time?’ It brings the community together all in one, and it’s a really fun time,” said Giselle Sanchez, chairman of WeebMart.
“I really enjoy seeing my fans and talking to my fans, because I know that they’re also fans of the character that I’m cosplaying,” Hamu Cotton said. “It’s like an instant fangirl moment.”
Hamu’s cover dances were one of many in a lineup of talented cosplayers and performers. Fans gathered to see their oshi, a Japanese term used in idol culture for a fan’s favorite idol, performer, celebrity or character, to cheer them on.
During WeebMart X HamuFest, Hamu Cotton was in a cosplay of one of her oshis, Kana Arima, from the anime “Oshi no ko.” She greeted everyone in cosplay and danced to a song from the anime as the crowd performed chants and waved lightsticks in return.
“Idol culture is also mixed in, so it also makes it very unique and interesting,” Hamu said. “When they tell me that they like me for my character, the cosplays, it makes me happy, because then it tells me, ‘Oh, I’m representing the characters well … I love them so much, I gotta give them justice.’”
FranKapella, a musician and songwriter known for playing the electric guitar and playing songs inspired by J-Rock and J-Pop, was also featured in the performance lineup. While most of the artists in the lineup, such as niccodilly and vinvin played covers, FranKapella performed his own original music.
“I feel like I don’t belong because I don’t do any covers … but again, the community is just very, very welcoming, so it makes me feel a part of it,” FranKapella said.
Among the attendees, some appeared to be seasoned fans of cosplay performers, arriving with merchandise of Hamu Cotton, other idols and anime characters. However, there was a beginner-friendly wotagei workshop led by YAKKAI SOUL. Wotagei is a type of high-energy and expressive choreography that fans of idols perform with lightsticks or glowsticks to cheer them on.
Alongside the idol performances, the event featured a host of second-hand vendors. These vendors sold merchandise from their personal collection, often at a lower price than retailers.
“You’ll see a lot of different things here and there. Who is it for? For people like me who are struggling sometimes financially, may not be able to import, maybe have imported a little too much and need to sell, people who have their garages and closets spoiled to the brim,” Sanchez said. “This event is for them and for the community to get together, almost like a low-cost trading bartering system, because a lot of these vendors do trade as well. It’s a whole system in itself.”