Fanime Convention Takes Over Downtown San Jose

If you walked around this year's "Fanime Con" in downtown San Jose, it is clear that the event has definitely grown in numbers of passionate fans and eye-catching costumes. It's also obvious that it has gained acceptance as a subculture everyone can be part of.

I can remember when the first Fanime Con came to San Jose in 1994 like it was yesterday. I was in the old Martin Luther King Library checking out a book that I read at least once a year, Alice in Wonderland. Looking out of the third floor at the Convention Center, my eyes were filled with people in bright, bizarre, colorful costumes surrounding the fountain. Friends who were with me started cracking jokes immediately for suggesting that we go ask why they were dressed like it was Halloween. So we skated away to go sit around the marble fountains on Second and Santa Clara Street where all the ravers, party people, gangsters, skaters, and bus-hopping tagging crews hung out. Most of us wore the same clothes, just with different accessories. I told my friends I was bored and was going back to the library to talk to a girl. “You don't have to lie to kick it!" they laughed. "Go ahead and check out those geeks and rejects!"

Back at the Convention Center, I realized the people who had captured my attention were dressed up as Anime characters -- from the iconic Akira movie to the Sailor Moon television series. Also, I noticed quite a few Street Fighter II costumes, various other video games, Dungeons & Dragon, card games, and comic book character costumes. Most of the costumes appeared handmade. They ranged from ensembles quickly thrown together to the intricate, precisely detailed costumes with no accessories left out.

I was amazed by this great idea of celebrating what I consider to be works of art and personal style. It was not much different than the scene at the marble fountains where people dressed with styles emulating their neighborhood superheroes combined with their own flare. Contemplating what my peers would think if they saw me dressed up in such attire regrettably made me too insecure to adorn even the "hardest" villain costume, let alone something as cute as Pokémon.

Nevertheless, that never stopped me from going to Fanime Conventions in the following years. I would walk up and down San Carlos St. taking pictures of the ones I really liked such as Tuxedo Mask, Akira, Dhalsim, Sub-Zero, Super Mario Brothers and other characters.

This year, just as previous ones, I went to the Convention Center fountains which is the best spot to pose for pictures and look out for your favorite characters. There were a ton of professional photographers taking pictures of paid models in tailor-made suits, each easily worth thousands of dollars. All were in tip-top physical condition from muscled superheroes to scantily clad vixens. There were “Halo” troops and other first person shooter game characters running around posing with Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow from the 80's cartoon GI Joe.

What really caught my attention was a group of teenagers in what I believed were a mixture of bought costumes altered to look more authentic with their specially made accessories. “Move! Other people are trying to take our pictures!” exclaimed one of them at an over-excited photographer who didn't notice the line of people who also wanted to snap a flick. I was in this line for quite a while to get mine. Quickly getting back into their perfect stances, they would ready themselves for the next shot. It was great to see them giving it all they got without a care in the world about what people thought. They personified to me what being a fan is all about.

All of a sudden a sprinting Princess Mononoke ran past me. I started yelling “Princess Mononoke, please can I take your picture?” No response came from the adopted human princess of the wolf gods. So I recited a line straight from the movie, and she stopped dead in her tracks true to her character and struck the exact pose I wanted.

Making a 180 degree right turn after, I couldn't believe someone was the Cat Bus from “My Neighbor Totoro”, another one of my favorite anime films. Never in my wildest dreams did I think somebody could bring this fantastic concept to reality in a homemade costume. This costume was constructed out of PVC tubing, fabrics, and love. Dumbstruck, I took the picture.

Walking away, I thought about who I could be next year. While thinking about all the costumes I saw a girl dressed as a Rubik's cube, literally a walking riddle. Her outfit made me think back to the riddle Alice was asked at the tea party, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Then it hit me: I will be Agent White from Tekkonkinkreet, a movie about two homeless kids in a rough town. So as my hero Agent White would say, “This is Planet Earth, Agent White. Do you read me, over? Today I kept the peace on this planet. Over? This planet's very peaceful. Be happy, be happy!" Over and out.