On Friday morning, the streets around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center almost looked like a scene out of an anime. A steady stream of cosplayers dressed in intricate costumes, sporting props and long wigs in every shade of the rainbow, occupied the sidewalks around the building.

They posed for photos on the steps of the Apple Carnegie Library and the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. Others crammed onto elevators, squeezing in between their oversize costumes. Among the crowd, commuters on bikes headed to their offices. Charity workers dressed as Ash Ketchum from Pokémon solicited donations.