Award winning: From the animated film 9, the Number 3 costume that was part of the cosplay contest-winning team. Ikkicon, Jan. 1-3, Austin Hilton Credit: Photo by Richard Whittaker

Ikkicon IV, Austin’s annual Anime convention, wrapped up today, and that means a lot of cosplay costumes go back in the closet.

The Japanese have raised dressing up as pop culture figures to a fine art, and that was continued at Ikkicon with appearances by big-name cosplayers like model Yaya Han, Chronicle interviewee and steampunk siren Meredith Placko and the ingenious artisans at Outland Armour.

Yet cosplay is also about fan passion. There’s nothing like walking into a room to see three homesewn Links from Legend of Zelda, or watching a ghostbuster stood near the assembled Akatsuki from Naruto Shippuden.

Click on the image above to see a gallery of some of the more interesting and elaborate costumes from over the weekend.

This article appears in 2009.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.