Your Behavior Makes Them Very Anime-ted

I am working at a food counter at a convention centre in the middle of a large anime event. I am extra happy to work this weekend, as I am an anime geek and I get to tell my customers how much I love their cosplays.

A timid-looking girl in a wheelchair is with her friend and they order some food from me. She is cosplaying as an anime character.

Me: “That’ll be £10.95. By the way, I love your outfit! Tougou Mimori from Yuki Yuna Is A Hero, right?”

With this, the girl suddenly breaks down crying.

Me: “Oh, no! Did I say something wrong? Did I get the wrong cosplay?”

Girl: *Through some tears* “No, you got it right! You’re the first person to get it right!”

Me: *Nervous laughter* “Oh, well, I am sorry to hear that. But it’s a limited-run anime from 2014, so I guess you kinda have to be a fan?”

Girl: “It’s just, she’s the only anime girl in a wheelchair, so I thought I would try her out. She’s such an inspiration to me, and I was getting so upset that not one other person at an anime convention got it. You’ve just made me soooooo happy!”

Her friend then gets a photo of us both to record the happy memory. I say thanks to the photographer, who responds in basic sign language.

Girl: “Oh, yeah, my friend is deaf.”

Me: “Ah. Is that why he’s cosplaying as Bojji from Ranking Of Kings?”

The girl’s eyes go wide, and I look at her friend who has read my lips. His cosplay is based on a deaf anime character, so for me, it was an easy guess.

Girl: “Who are you?!”

I got pics with both of them and shared Instagram details so I could continue to marvel at their amazing cosplays.

I would like to point out that I think those with and without disabilities should both be able to cosplay characters with or without disabilities, but in this particular instance, it was like putting two and two together. This will always be my favourite customer encounter.

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