By William Hong
Out of all the anime conventions I've been to in California, Fanime is easily my favorite. Situated in downtown San Jose, the con originated in the mid 1990s as a gathering for Bay Area anime clubs. It eventually grew to become the largest anime con in Northern California. Unlike Anime Expo, which also started as a gathering for anime clubs and grew into America's largest anime con, Fanime stayed closer to its humble fan-centric origins.
It's also the most accessible, in a practical sense. Fanime reminds me of Anime Expo's peak years, when it was held at the Anaheim Convention Center. Just like the ACC, the San Jose McEnery Convention Center is very close (and physically connected) to two of the three major hotels, the Marriot and the Hilton, in the vicinity. That's always a huge plus for a con that runs 24 hours. The convention center is just the right size, with all the events, halls, and panels within short walking distance. In comparison, it takes forever to trek around Anime Expo's current venue, the massive Los Angeles Convention Center. The nearest hotels are several blocks away.
It was also a little depressing walking around the Exhibit Hall at Anime Expo last year. There were fewer companies in attendance, the booths weren't as extravagant, and it will probably be smaller this year with more companies, distributors (Broccoli International USA), and anime magazines (Anime Insider, Shoujo Beat) folding this past year. But Fanime, which never really drew corporate sponsorships, didn’t shrink at all this year. The Artist Alley, where fans can peddle their anime-related art and home-made crafts grew more. Unlike downtown LA, downtown San Jose is a very nice place to wander about. There's a good selection of markets and affordable restaurants conveniently nearby, too. I felt safe walking around downtown in costume looking for food at 3AM, something I'd never do in LA.
One thing I've noticed over the years is that con attendees are becoming increasingly younger. There are also more people that cosplay, or dress up as characters from anime and video game series. It probably helps that it's easy to buy popular costumes on eBay or stores like Suncoast now. Of course you still have your old hat attendees (there was even a panel called Anime Fans over 30), but the days of anime cons comprised exclusively of college students and older hardcore enthusiastic is long gone. While anime probably won't ever hit the mainstream in America, cons are easily accessible to anyone with a passing interesting anime, video games, and Asian pop culture. There has always been the perception that people who attend conventions are all crazy, socially inept nerds. When I go, I just see a diverse set of regular people enjoying a break from everyday reality.
At Anime Expo last year I overheard this conversation between an African American blogger and a Caucasian woman. The blogger noted that anime fans don't discriminate, unlike fans in other subcultures. You don't have to be from any particular race or background to be accepted at con. Aside from one infamous incident with the notorious Man-Faye, I've never seen any kind of fan discrimination at a con. Anime fandom comes in all sorts of colors, shapes, sizes, and expression. Of course there'll always be elitist fans and conceited cosplayers, but they won't go out of their way to ruin the experience for everyone. To fully enjoy a con like Fanime you have to be open-minded when it comes to what you see and who you meet. And of course, participate. Outside of cons and similar gatherings, anime fandom is largely a passive experience, so being active is key at a con. I used to attend Anime Expo with friends that just came to shop in the Exhibit Hall. That was a fast track to boredom. You don't have to be a cosplayer to participate, either. You can have discussions at panels, learn how to make crafts at workshops, interact with the cons' Guests of Honor, and of course, there's karaoke. Fanime was packed to the gill with such activities. There was even a formal black and white ball.
Fanime, like most cons nowadays, increasingly caters towards cosplayers. In the past, people attended conventions to catch the latest anime series and films. Now that it's easier to access anime through the Internet, the focus has shifted towards fan participation. The media has often poked fun of cosplayers and other costumers, stereotyping them as fat, overweight, and unattractive 30-year-olds that live in their parents' basement. That’s hardly the case at these youth-orientated cons. Of course, you'll always have fat hairy guys cosplaying as Sailor Moon, but that's pretty much something you expect to see at every con. People often ask if it's mandatory to cosplay at anime conventions. No, but it certainly makes it more fun. It's like going to a Halloween party...it's more fun if you're in costume. It's even more fun if you're representing a character you like and relate to. Being in costume encourages people to be a bit more uninhibited. Likewise, it's also easier to approach a person in costume, since cosplayers want the attention, and discuss their love for the character and series. One of my favorite moments of the con was just simply taking pictures in cosplay with friends, trying to capture the essence of the characters and memorable moments from our favorite shows. The cosplay gatherings, where cosplayers from the same series gather to take pictures together, were slightly smaller at Fanime this year, a reminder of the economic climate.
Every anime con always features Guests of Honors from the anime, gaming, and pop music industry. Aside from the usual American voice actors, the prominent Guests this year were Gainax Executive Director Hiroyuki Yamaga and pop idol-blogger Halko Mamoi, who was also a middle card GOH at Anime Expo 07. Fanime rarely attracts the superstars like Anime Expo, but that was the never the objective of a con that prides itself on focusing on the fans rather than drawing media attention. Unfortunately, the con did draw some unwanted, but not unexpected, attention.
On Saturday a Christian church group came out to protest and condemn the convention. Yes, the same hell fire and brimstone variety that calls Pokemon and Harry Potter satanic. They had all sorts of interesting signs, including one that read "Rebellious women be damned!" What could have escalated into a tense standoff between overzealous Christians and hardcore otakus amounted to a rather mild exchange. It felt silly that they'd go through so much trouble to protest something so trivial, so the attendees didn't take them seriously at all. Some had their own signs and there was even some humorous banter between certain cosplayers and the protestors. The appearance of the popular Raptor Jesus (as pictured above) cosplayer added to the hilarity. Jesus freaks vs Jesus cosplayers. In this confrontation everyone sins or wins, depending on your personal preference. I had the feeling that the protestors were secretly enjoying themselves, despite their damning accusations. The police eventually forced the group to leave for obstructing traffic on the sidewalk. They'll probably be back again year, but the attendees pretty much know how to properly respond: by not taking it seriously.
The signature event of every anime convention is the Masquerade. It more or less embodies the essence of the con. It's a collection of skits, dances, and displays put together by cosplayers. A show put on by the fans for the fans. More often than not, the skits are usually the equivalent of an inside joke: if you're familiar with the series, you'll get more of it. This year’s masquerade drew a record attendance, though that didn't account for the large groups of people trickling in and out, depending on their level of tolerance for awkward skits and bad inside jokes. Outside of drawing prominent Guests of Honor, The Masquerade is probably the other main category where Anime Expo is decisively better than Fanime, since it has a more rigorous screening process. Regardless, the audience always remains enthusiastic and supportive. Other notable festivities include the music festival, mostly comprised of local bands that perform J-rock inspired tunes, and the Anime Music Video contest, which showcased fans' music videos made of clips from anime series or movies set to songs.
Another neat fan-oriented feature at the con is Stage Zero, a mini stage set up in the middle of the con for anyone to use. It was great area to sit back, relax, and watch random fans do their thing: maids from the Fanamaid Cafe were singing and dancing, others showed movies using the stage projector, and one guy even used it to show off his skills in an old Sega Genesis game. People on the stage enjoyed themselves. Just like the Masquerade, the people onstage and the audience always fed off each others' energy. That sort of happiness is infectious.
Programming-wise, Fanime again differs from Anime Expo. The latter screens series that have officially been licensed for distribution in America, whereas Fanime screens fansubs, series that haven't been picked up by any company. Even though there's less of an incentive to watch anime at cons, I always enjoy stepping in the video rooms to soak in the atmosphere. Watching anime is usually a solitary activity. You wait for your torrent to complete and then watch it on your computer. In contrast, watching your favorite show on a projector screen in a room full of fellow fans is always a fun and lively experience. I watched an episode of Bleach in a packed room; we all laughed and groaned at the same time.
Surprisingly, Fanime also had great live action programming. The selections weren't limited to mediocre live action anime adaptations, but movies that have made the rounds at film festivals like The Good, the Bad, and the Weird, The Equation of Love and Death, The Chaser, and even Tokyo Gore Police. The signature fan favorite at Fanime is the AMV Hell room. It's a project made by fans for fans, a collection of comical live action and animated clips from a variety of sources like the Onion, Robot Chicken, crazy Japanese game shows, fan-made cartoons, and more.
Following AMV Hell, I made the mistake of asking my friends if they wanted to check out the late night 18+ programming. It was another AMV Hell program, but with hentai (porno) anime this time. Imagine a room was full of raucous adolescents and adults laughing at an endless montage of absurdly exaggerated animated pornography synced to pop songs. Easily the most disturbing things I've seen in anime. I think the best comment I heard was "Did a chicken egg just come out of her vagina!?" The ironic thing was that I sat next to a girl cosplaying as a nun (Rosette from Chrono Crusade, to be precise); a few minutes later, there was a clip of a several horny nuns whacking off to the tune of Divinyl's "I Touch Myself." The "nun" left a few moments later. I had truly reached the nadir of anime subculture. It was disgusting, obscene, and probably justified what those Christian protestors were clamoring about.
I laughed anyways.
Even though the guests and events were relatively low key, the con still manages to hit all the right notes for this jaded attendee. It had the right size and scope, but without the stress of long lines, huge crowds, and uptight attendees. Couple that with surprisingly cool weather, most of the attendees looked like they were in good spirits. For a long time fanimanic like myself, the weekend I spent at Fanime was a blissful slice of nerdvana.