Japanese Singer Kanna Hashimoto Crowned the Queen of Halloween

Halloween has grown massively in Japan over the past few years. Where it used to be a strange time of the year that only those with foreign friends would celebrate, it’s now a gargantuan psuedo-cosplay holiday that carries with it a giant boom in the costume and accessories industries.

Just like in America, Halloween in Japan is now all about the parties, the costumes, and seeing all your friends dress up as their favorite sexy characters. This is especially true in Tokyo, Japan’s multicultural epicenter, where the Halloween 2015 streets were filled with spooky participants out for a good night of fun.
Many parties and parades had costume contests, in which participants (sometimes friends and sometimes strangers) ‘competed’ against one another to show their creativity and cosplay accumen. For those less competitive, there were parades all around, celebrating a night of tricks and visual treats. The Tokyo streets were full of festive and warm cheer, an Autumn celebration before the winter months begin.
In the Odaiba area of Tokyo, these parades were previewed a few days before actual Halloween. The Japanese “idol” Kanna Hashimoto did a photoshoot, looking her best. She was sporting a pretty bland but ghoulish devil costume: a (plastic?) trident, red horns, and some webs in the middle.
Though we weren’t too impressed by her dress-up, the Japanese internet certainly was — Twitter exploded with compliments and proclamations that Hashimoto was a “once in a lifetime (or millennium) beauty.” The singer was showered in praise, skyrocketing in popularity and online buzz. Known as a master of kawaii dress already, this was firmly cemented this past Halloween.
For those unfamiliar, Kanna is a member of a girl-only pop group Rev. from DVL (レブフロムディーブイエル). Of her bandmates, Kanna is the most popular idol, and has charted a few times on the Oricon Singles Chart, a Japanese music industry standard.
Though she’s clearly talented, we wonder if the title of “once in a millennium beauty” may be a bit exaggerated… but, as a J idol (someone at the forefront of Japanese pop culture — a celebrity who drives fashion, musical trends, media, and defines cute or coolness), Hashimoto is doing a killer job.
What do you think? Is the singer’s costume the cutest one you saw this Halloween? Is the Japanese internet correct or incorrect? You know our vote — now we’re excited to hear yours!