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If anime girls suddenly started appearing in reality, you’d probably expect them to first show up in Japan, right? But as this collection of fan art photo edits proves, they look equally at home in Russia, Portugal, and other parts of Europe.

Earlier this year, we took a look at a series of photos from significant moments in late 19th and early 20th century history with anime characters posing for the camera. However, it now look as though this phenomenon has continued into the modern era.

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Users of imageboard website 4chan recently started a thread asking contributors to “Post cute anime girls in places they are not usually seen.” Real-world Russia definitely qualifies, although we’re not quite sure why it’s become the go-to location for the fan art series.

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Maybe it has something to do with the country’s abundance of austere architecture, which looks like the sort of simple designs that could be easily produced for animation and helps keep the hand-drawn characters from looking out-of-place.

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This snowy scene also works well, since there aren’t any real people out braving the cold who would contrast jarringly with this Love Live! idol.

▼ Wait, you mean Maki Nishikino actually does go for walks in the real world? Maybe this kid was telling the truth after all!

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Some of the artists put impressive amounts of effort into adding environmental details, like the character’s shadows and reflections.

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The thread also contains no small number of anime girls lying or sitting on beds.

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But like with the deserted cityscapes, it seems like most of these bedtop backdrops were chosen because they make for a compact, contained environment to work with, and not just to be suggestive.

▼ With some exceptions — this is an exercise in otaku fantasy, after all.

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Source: 4chan via Jin
Images: 4chan