Anime Conventions & Me


Yes, I go to anime conventions. In fact, I went to one today.

Here are some of the goodies I found (of course there are the standard bobbleheads for collectors). 

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However, it's not how it sounds. I'm a father, and my kid is a big fan of the genre. Knowing my alternative background when I was younger, my kid likes having me around at these events, even if Dad looks a bit dorky walking around normal among all the cosplay and teen-20s geek fan stuff. I was aware of anime decades ago in the 1980s, both those were the days of early movies and Americanized rare treasures like Shogun Warriors and Star Blazers (renamed from Space Battleship Yamamoto).

These days, there's so many different genres, games, video MMPORGs, books, movies and website on anime, I have no clue where to even start. So I don't try. Instead, I just let my kid subject matter expert explain it all to me as we go from one convention stall to the next. I'm quite happy with my own personal hobbies of crypto, gaming and history, but it is fun to go down memory lane with a lot of the older sci-fi/fantasy stuff when it appears.

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Star Wars is still the gold classic, and Star Trek makes a rare appearance in costumes. I saw a Next Generation fan today with his own son in the crowd. I'm disappointed I have yet to see any Farscape fans, but it was show on cable and hard to find if you didn't know anything about it already. On the other hand, far more entrenched shows aren't appearing anymore. My kid and I noted The Walking Dead have pretty much disappeared. 

There were some respectable strong showing of new players today, including Helldivers 2 fans, Genshin Impact costumes, oh, and even if not new there was definite Lorax in the crowd; can't miss the mustache and orange outfit. And in past events I've been impressed with the quality of costume work. 

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The economic impact of anime conventions can't be denied either. At first, my town relegated it to a one-day event, with a lot of giggles in the local press. However, some five years later, the same event happens at least three times a year now and packs in a hefty 20,000+ consumers spending money locally at just about every tourism venue in a 20-mile circle. That's attractive business, even if it comes in a Genshin maid costume or a furry suit. 

I'm a bit too old to be running around in an outfit these days, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the effort people put into making a convention day worth visiting. I hope it continues to grow and expand. It would be a shame to see anime conventions fade off like another trend that only lasts a decade or so when a generation grows out of it.

 

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WinterYeti
WinterYeti

A professional freelance writer for the last 20 years and a budding photographer by hobby.


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