Tokyo in Tulsa

I got back from my weekend at the anime convention Tokyo in Tulsa this afternoon.  I always aim to post in my blog once a week, and I was going to skip this time around because of the convention.  But while I was hanging around the place I thought, "How about why I go to these crazy things?"

So, for anyone who might be curious, here are:
3 Reasons I like anime
3 Reasons I attend anime conventions
and
3 Reasons I dress up for conventions

Anime:
1. Whatever it is you like, there's an app for that anime for that.  Anime is made for all ages: little kids, older kids, teens, and adults; and there seems to be a lot of it that isn't really very age specific.  Kids and adults could both watch and appreciate.  Anime also seems to come in every genre imaginable: fantasy, sci-fi, drama, comedy, historical, heck, even sports, and some shows that I don't even know how to categorize.  I once watched an anime version of "The Count of Monte Cristo"... sci-fi edition.

2. Anime is a window into Japanese culture.  And Japanese culture is a whole different world from American culture.  You'll see things that are distinctly Japanese, and they can be as small as how one character addresses another, or as big as a fantasy creature that stems from Japanese mythology.  The deeper you get into anime, the more you get to learn about Japan.  And the more you learn about Japan, the more you'll appreciate the things you see in the anime.  It's a spiral of awesome.  And learning about other countries, other cultures, and other ways of thinking is always a good thing.

3.  This is something that probably applies more to me personally than it does to other people, but I think one of the reasons I like anime is that I like animation.  Maybe it's because I'm an artist and like drawing.  I don't know.  But to me, animation is just as legitimate a way of telling a story as live action, and I appreciate the chance to see a TV show with a serious and complex storyline presented in that medium.  I also think there's some freedom to animation.  The special effects can go as crazy as you like, while in live action, how much and how good the special effects are is linked directly to the budget.

Conventions:
1. It's an excuse to hang out with friends.  We're all so busy with our own lives, sometimes it seems like we need a date set months ahead of time in order to actually get together.  Conventions give us a time and a place, and it also gives us something really interesting to do once we're together.

2. It's an escape.  For a few days, you get to leave behind the "real world" and live entirely in a world that revolves around something you love and that's populated by people who love it, too.  A job?  What's that?  I'm sorry, I forgot anything else existed besides those "Doctor Who" dalek plushies.

3. It's the only place I can find myself in large crowds without feeling uncomfortable.  I'm introverted, and I find crowds exceptionally awkward.  At cons we're all geeks, and we all know we're all geeks, so we're all friends here.  I suspect that as geeks we're all used to being judged, or worrying about being judged, and so when we go to conventions we look around at the crowds and think, "Yes!  I'm surrounded by people who understand!"  (Besides, when you're in a place where adults are dressing as pokemon, it's hard to feel self-conscious.)

Cosplaying:
1.  Making costumes is fun.  Planning out how the costume is going to go together, busting out the sewing machine, scouring the internet for the right accessories, building props, and, of course, putting the whole thing together in the end and thinking, "Hey... I did pretty good!"  It's just fun.  That's just all there is to it.  It's fun.

2.  It's a confidence booster.  Cosplays take a lot of work to put together.  Sometimes, they take a lot lot of work.  Then you hear, "I like your cosplay!  You look great!"  "Can I have a picture of you?"  "Wow, did you make that yourself?  Awesome!"

3.  It's a chance to express myself.  I'm used to getting really into to things that everyone else either hasn't heard of, or doesn't get; and often the worry of one or the other keeps me from talking about it or doing things that openly show my love for it.  Cosplaying is a way of openly showing my love for something.  And on top of that, I get to connect with other people who like the same thing I do, even if it's just briefly enough to give me a compliment.  When someone says, "I like your cosplay!" what I hear is, "You know that thing you're too afraid to talk about because people will think you're a dork, even though you really love it?  I love it, too."

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By the way, here's my friends and I in our My Little Pony costumes.  This is the best picture I have showing the full costumes of all three of us, although I think the picture is pretty hilarious because Twilight (purple) looks like she's about to go postal on Pinkie Pie (pink).

 Here's Twilight and Pinkie Pie for reference.

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Okay, done rambling.  Peace out!