Who is Sarawakian Hakken and Why Did Thousands of Fans Attend Their Fan-Meet at Pavilion

Hakken is known for accurately portraying cosplay characters such as Gojo Satoru from the manga Jujutsu Kaisen–among many other characters.

Also known as Hakken Ryou, the Malaysian cosplayer and model has amassed more than 5 million fans on social media including 3.6 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million followers on Facebook. Although Hakken may appear to have a male appearance, they identify as agender and is in fact biologically female. Known as ‘cosplay royalty’, Hakken is signed to Philippine esports and entertainment brand Tier One Entertainment.

The crowds came in droves to see Hakken at Pavilion KL as there was an event in conjunction with the 11th anniversary of Pavilion KL’s Tokyo Street. There were numerous Japanese-themed activities held on 30 & 31 July 2022 including AniManGaki which is Malaysia’s largest animation, comics, and games convention.

While one might expect some interest around the activities, casual shoppers, however, would have been astonished to see large crowds chasing after someone flanked by bodyguards walking through the mall. We counted at least ten bodyguards protecting them while fans rushed for the opportunity to catch a glimpse or take a photo of them.

@daussempoi94 Replying to @daussempoi94 ♬ Это любовь - Амирчик

It was none other than Hakken, who was in town for a meet-and-greet event with fans. While the concourse area of Pavilion has been graced by the likes of Korean celebrities such as Park Bo Gum and Song Joong-ki in the past, the area was again filled with thousands of fans who were there for the event.

Clad in a chic all-black outfit for the second day of the fanmeeting, Hakken smiled and waved to the screams of adoring fans.

[30 - 31/07/2022] Hakken Tokyo Street Anniversary 2022 Special Appearance@HakkenRyou My weekend were so wonderful!Despite didn't got the chance to grab m&g slots but so lucky enough to watch Hakken from this close ?❤️see u next time!#HakkenAtPavilionKL #Hakken #HakkenRyou pic.twitter.com/EKtxKEkHTJ

— Siew AMI (@SiewAmi) July 31, 2022

Fans were extremely excited to see Hakken after a drought of activities due to the pandemic and several fans shared photos and videos online of their encounter with them. Hakken also recently appeared during the Anime Fest! at Paradigm Mall in May.

[?] 220730 Hakken Ryou at #AniManGaki x Tokyo Street's 11th Anniversary, Pavilion KL.What a beauty... ???#HakkenRyou #八犬 #HakkenCoser #Hakken #AMG2022 #PavilionKL #RoadToAniManGaki #TokyoStreet #TokyoStreet11thAnniversary @HakkenRyou @animangaki @Pavilion_KL pic.twitter.com/hB1NCym3tb

— ☔ (@littlelottae) July 30, 2022

This lucky fan even managed to find out from Hakken that they might be holding a solo fanmeeting this year or early next year.

@line201196 Hakken Meet and Greet @ Animaki Event Pavilion ❤️. I even had a conversation with hakken about Solo Fanmeeting!!! #hakkencoser #animaki #animetiktok #cosplayer ♬ Sunroof - Nicky Youre & dazy

It's clear that Malaysia does not lack fans of the iconic cosplayer and it's all the more astonishing that a Malaysian is able to break gender barriers and gain such fandom. Congrats on your success Hakken!