This is the fun in con. Acceptance. These kids are the ones that don't quite fit. Here they have a place to let their freak flag fly. Isolated in small cities and suburbs maybe they have two people who are genuinely interested in Japanese culture, anime , manga or video games. This place is a tower full of them. For three days its an orgy of immersion. Real live Zeldas, Links, and Natsus everywhere. Some subcultures are unrelated, Whovians, and steam punksters abound. All are nerds and trivia experts of their chosen fetish. The video game rooms are dark, murky swamps of male bonding. The atrium is a Colosseum for people watchers. The hallways are the catwalks of cosplay. The dealer room is where we buy totems to recall the experience. I love the entire awkward lot of them.
It gets bigger every year. As it grows the haters start hatin' . People expect this polished, shiny well oiled convention experience. Those of us who have been going for years know it's anything but. We remember when glomping was ok, and you could be authentic with your L costume. (This means you could go barefoot). We remember the year there were only three elevators! So we are grateful for the four. Everyone needs to step back and remember why we were lured there in the first place. A weekend to go all in and follow your impulses with people a lot like you. Most panels are late, and sometimes are not very good. But did you meet someone in line? Bond with someone over how much this sucks? Did you have a story to tell people when you got home? If you can answer yes to just one. You won the weekend. Call it good and we will see you next year.
