Memorial Day usually calls for a barbecue with friends, but seniors Stuart Ashford and Mingwei Samuel had a different idea: one that involves anime and cosplay.
Ashford and Samuel attended the four-day FanimeCon convention from May 27 to 30. Ashford, who had been twice before and cosplayed both times, spent about four weeks making his costume. Senior Tom Jara, a first time attendee, said that cosplaying is a lot like Halloween because everyone dresses up like their favorite characters.
“I try to put in a few hours every week but inevitably it comes down to the last few days,” Ashford said.
After researching online, Ashford sat down to recreate Achilles, a character from “Fate/Apocrypha,” a Japanese novel. He used foam, PVC pipe, Worbla, which is an adhesive and malleable plastic, and anything else he could find. Jara, who went as the robot in “Fooly Cooly” who bursts out of the main character’s head, assembled his cosplay from an old Mac computer, spray paint, hockey gear and Worbla.
He plans to make improvements on the costume each year, but because the parts are so heavy, he will make a lighter costume of a different character.
“You put a lot of time into it,” Jara said. “If you love the character enough and if you love your cosplay enough, you get connected to it because you know you made it.”
Jara was surprised and excited by how many people approached him to take photos.
“Every time someone asks to take a picture, it’s like the most rewarding thing ever because you know that what you made is good,” Jara said.
Prior to the anime convention, Samuel did not know what to expect. Similar to Jara, this was Samuel’s first year attending the event.
The itinerary included a cosplay contest, merchandise markets, speed dating, presentations by animators from Japan and a Japanese boy band, most of which are a mystery, Samuel said.
Anime is very similar to regular television in that there are genres within it.
“I think anime is just a different medium,” Samuel said. “I don’t think it’s that special.”
Year after year, the convention provides an environment Ashford can only describe as “weird,” but not in a bad way.
“You have zero to lose and you’re kind of expected to make a fool of yourself in a way, and that’s why it’s so fun,” Ashford said.
This year, Jara spent most of the weekend trying to see all of the attractions, and next year he hopes to connect with and meet more people.
“It’s just a blast,” Ashford said “It’s this crazy time when you go with friends and all you do is have a good time.”