Sakura-Con 2010

by Tom Good

This year’s Sakura-Con was the largest ever, with an attendance of just over 18,000 people at the Seattle Convention Center. The convention provides an amazing variety of things to do, combining educational and cultural events with pure fun and entertainment. Fans can learn how to waltz or learn to dance ParaPara, learn to sew costumes or learn to draw comics, go to a martial arts demonstration or a video game tournament. And just walking around between events is enjoyable in itself, because there are so many great costumes to see.

The Seattle Sheraton was filled with anime fans, but also hosted an Air Force ROTC convention going on at the same time as Sakura-Con.

This provided some interesting visuals when men and women in real military uniforms shared hallways and elevators with cosplayers dressed in fantasy costumes (including fictional military uniforms). And speaking of elevators, at least one ride seemed to last about as long as my typical commute to work, with a stop at every floor so that more officers and/or Pikachus could attempt to squeeze onto the already-full elevator.

There are high-energy, loud, active events like the rock concerts and Club Sakura dance parties. But those in a quieter mood can go to mellow panel discussions that feel more like a bunch of people hanging out and talking in a friend’s living room.

One such event was a fan panel about Star Wars, a panel with fabulous prizes that were introduced with the qualification, “I’m not gonna lie, I’m kinda re-gifting some of these.” People tried to answer all kinds of Star Wars questions, including absurdly difficult trivia questions like “how many segments of a bantha’s horn grow each year?” The audience posed other questions that were more open to interpretation, such as “when was the definitive moment when George Lucas went batshit insane?” (The creation of Jar Jar Binks was offered as a possibility, as was the casting of Christopher Lee.)

I learned here that nobody knows what species Yoda belongs to, and that the reason Obi-Wan Kenobi seems to have aged so much between episodes III and IV is because “those twin suns of Tattooine must be hell on your skin.”

When asked to name the best fan-created Star Wars material, the group mentioned Chad Vader and the Red Letter Media reviews of the Star Wars prequels. [Warning: the Red Letter Media reviews are funny and make some good points, but they also contain foul language, pointless violence and disturbing scenes.]

At one point, a man in the crowd asked the panel leader if she was just “some random person,” to which she replied “no . . .” Then another fan piped in with “But I am!” And yet another answered: “Me too! Nice to meet you!” This little exchange captured a lot of the flavor of Sakura-Con: it’s informal, fun, friendly, with lots of audience participation and people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

I also attended a panel called Anime Art Basics: Inking, part of a series of art lessons during the weekend. The panel covered subjects like drawing software, graphics tablets, pens, line and shading techniques. I’d recommend the art panels even to non-artists, because they offer a step-by-step look at how anime art is created.

One of my favorite events of the weekend was a lecture called “Hidden Away by Gods – Folklore in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.” This was so packed with interesting information that it was like taking a college class in anime. I loved Spirited Away but assumed that a lot of the unusual visuals simply came straight from the artists’ imaginations. This panel explained how most of the imagery comes from specific characters and ideas in Japanese folklore. Not only did the lecture impress me, but I was also struck by how well-informed the audience was. People discussed Buddhist and Shinto imagery and debated the best English translations for various Japanese words.

The presenter, “Lady Librarian” also writes fan fiction based on Spirited Away. Slides and notes from this presentation are available online.

The Folklore lecture also mentioned that Miyazaki had been influenced by Alice in Wonderland. This was fitting, because this year’s Sakura-Con had quite a few cosplayers dressed as characters from Alice.

As Sakura-Con grows, it also keeps getting more technologically sophisticated. This year the video camera work during the cosplay contest was impressive, including some overhead camera shots of the sort sometimes used in professional sports coverage.

Fans carried plenty of digital cameras and more unusual digital devices like pokewalkers, but I was surprised at the relatively small online presence during the convention. A few people posted updates to Twitter and Flickr, but not nearly the number I’d expect in a crowd so large. It seems that most people wait until after they get home from the convention to write about it online.

Sakura-Con is more than a set of organized activities, it is also a meeting place for a great subculture. The formally arranged events are an important aspect to the fun, but the convention also benefits from a self-reinforcing feedback loop, where Sakura-Con is fun because you get to be around the type of person who goes there.

The convention culture changes a little each year. Last year a lot of people high-fived strangers on the escalators, and publicly played The Game. This year during an escalator ride someone commented that those things weren’t happening much any more. But there were other bits of fun going on. A small group of people stood between the sets of escalators, just off to the side of the flow of pedestrian traffic, and announced “We love hugs! Free hugs!” Any passer-by could choose to go over and get a hug from each person.

I thought this was a very sweet thing to do, and it also probably took some courage to offer hugs to strangers. Naturally I wanted free hugs and I went through the line. Though a saw quite a few people stop for hugs, they were a small percentage of the crowd. I expected more people to do it, but on the other hand it probably would have created a horrible traffic jam if everyone had stopped for free hugs. (I told this story to a friend, who said, “Aren’t all hugs free? Do you pay for hugs elsewhere?” Good point. I guess “free” refers not so much to the price, but more to the lack of rules and restrictions.)

After I left the rave on Saturday night, I spotted a guy wearing a black Mad Hatter style outfit who was leading a line of people around and telling everyone to “Join The Line!” I joined, and noticed that some people would immediately join without question. Others asked, “where is it going?” to which he would reply “everywhere!”

The Line paraded around the convention center, and every so often the leader would see people and compliment them with proclamations like, “This guy is awesome, look at his hair, it is great!” Then The Line would cheer. It was like the opposite of a riot — a mob of people going around being nice. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

The Line high-fived lots of people on the escalators, and got many amused but puzzled looks in return from people who had never done the escalator high-five before. A few smiled in recognition of the tradition. Eventually The Line was asked to disperse, and everyone went their separate ways.

Of course, standing in lines is an unavoidable part of conventions, so The Line also served as a clever parody, where being in the line is the whole activity, not a prerequisite for something else. Being in The Line was kind of like getting caught up in a live Monty Python skit.

Sakura-Con is reliably great. I plan to go again next year, and you should go too.

Tips for next year:

Pre-register. The registration line is huge and the wait can be long.

If possible, plan to stay for all of Sunday. In previous years, Sunday seemed pretty quiet with not a lot going on, especially later in the day. So I planned to leave early in the afternoon, which turned out to be a big mistake. There were plenty of cool things to do on Sunday including the Lolita Fashion Show, and a concert that I couldn’t stay for. I’ll know next year to stay later on Sunday.

Plan out your schedule. Download the event schedule a day or two before the convention and spend some time deciding which things you’ll want to do. The smaller rooms can fill up fast, so it’s good to know ahead of time where you’re going next.

More Sakura-Con photos:

• Sakura-con cosplay photo set
• Sakura-Con cosplay contest photo set
• Friday dance photo set
• Saturday dance photo set
• Lolita Fashion Show photo set

(Please note: all photos in the above photo sets may be freely used by the people depicted and by Sakura-Con.)

I’m in Seattle to cover this year’s Sakuracon. I’ll have a full convention report later, but for now enjoy some photos from the convention:

• Cosplay photos
• Friday Dance photos
• Cosplay Contest photos – behind the scenes
• Saturday Dance Photos
• Lolita Fashion Show photos

You can also follow @jlhls on Twitter for my live convention coverage, or #sakuracon for a broader view.

“I like getting to hug people.” That’s how one young woman answered the question, “what do you like best about Sakura-Con?”

“What is it about an anime convention that allows you to hug people?” I asked.

“It feels like we’re all one big family,” she said.

The convention keeps growing, with this year’s member count at 16,586 — up from 13,600 last year — and a “turnstile” count of 45,560 for the weekend. Can 16,000 people really feel like a family? Yes, at Sakura-Con they can. The convention takes its name from the Japanese word for cherry blossoms, which fits well with the blossoming anime subculture.

More than just the rising numbers, Sakura-Con showcases the growing sophistication and maturity of the anime scene. As a subculture presents itself with more and more confidence, poise, and artistry, its members start to look like ambassadors for a set of ideals that outsiders have not yet achieved.

“This is better than a show,” said a man in a nearby restaurant. “Watching these people, this is great!” Another woman said she “felt like a tourist in her own town today.” I think this meant that the anime fans seemed like the ones who were the comfortable, confident native inhabitants.

Indeed, the convention-goers quickly took over the “normal” role and made everyone else seem, if not out of place, then at least lacking in imagination. When several people in swimsuits stepped into the hotel elevator at the Sheraton, for a split second I wondered which characters they were supposed to be, then realized they were really just on the way to the pool.

Some costumes were funny, others just gorgeous, with new surprises around every corner.

High-Five Monogatari, or The Night of 1001 High-Fives

After the 20th consecutive high-five from a stranger, it started to become a mind-altering experience. It all began when I stood by the entrance to the dance on Saturday night, to take some photos of people walking in. But as soon as the line started to move, a couple of guys said, “Dude! High-five!” and gave me a high-five as they walked past. Seeing that, a few more people behind them did the same thing. I looked out at the giant line snaking off into the distance, and wondered: if I kept my hand up, would I get to high-five every person in line? As it turned out, most people were up for it, and even enthusiastic.

(The custom of high-fiving strangers at Sakura-Con began before this incident. Last year some people did it on the convention center’s escalators, for example. And this year one participant identified herself online as “high five girl.”)

I got hundreds and hundreds of high-fives that night, which is a very funny and wonderful feeling. Some people went all out with a firm smack, others lightly patted my palm, and one person even head-butted my hand. By the end my arm ached from holding it aloft for so long, but by then I couldn’t consider giving up before the last person went by. I had more high-fives that night than in the whole rest of my life combined. If more people realized how much fun this is, there would be high-fivers at every line at every event. Now the secret is out.

Dancing

There were lightstick twirlers, breakdancers, shufflers, giant conga lines, and at one point a group started a limbo dance and even a high jump.

(See more of our Sakura-Con dance pictures at Flickr: Photoset 1 | Photoset 2)

Concert: Hangry & Angry

Concert: Smile.dk

Concert: Myuji

Concert: girugamesh

Concert: The Slants

Roland Kelts

Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded The U.S., hosted a panel about Japanese pop culture. He talked about how the “misreadings” of one culture by another can increase the attraction between the two, and noted that an artful or beautiful misreading is not necessarily a bad thing. As an example, he explained that the largest anime convention in Tokyo does not allow amateur cosplay, and only the professional models hired by the exhibiting companies are allowed to attend in costume. But in America, he said, a rule like that would be disastrous for an anime convention.

He mentioned that Sakuracon had set an attendance record this year, but that almost every anime convention he goes to in the U.S. has had increasing attendance. Meanwhile, the sales of actual anime DVDs have fallen, so increased interest does not necessarily translate into increased sales.

Yoshitoshi Abe

Anime creator Yoshitoshi Abe, who has been involved with projects such as Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze, explained that he is working on a new video game for the Nintendo Wii called Martyr to Duty, which will be released in Japan within the year, and he hopes for a U.S. release to follow. The player takes the role of a policeman who gets killed in the line of duty. It is designed as kind of parody of a popular drama in Japan.

Apparently in this game there is no way to avoid dying, instead the question is whether or not your character’s death accomplishes something worthwhile. When your “fate meter” decreases to a certain point, you have to use the Wii remote to take out the criminal with your last strength. If you “die well,” your remaining power will move on to your partner, and in this way you can progress through a series of 12 characters.

The Costumes
Naruto and Death Note remained popular for cosplay this year, but there is so much variety that no single anime dominates the costumes. I was excited to see a bunch of Sgt. Frog cosplayers and a cool Hellsing “shadow arm” costume. The cosplay contest featured a lot of dancing, including a nice ballet sequence; it was great to see the diversity of talent.

(See more of our cosplay photos on Flickr: Photoset 1 | Photoset 2 | Photoset 3 )

Changes This Year

The organizers made some clever changes this time around. The large fourth floor hall that held the exhibitor booths last year became the main concert and dance venue this year. In previous years when the concerts and dances were up on the sixth floor, the whole floor sometimes shook and bounced under the weight of all the energetic fans. Exciting, yet a bit scary. The fourth floor hall felt more solid and secure during the big events. This year also featured more spots to buy food and drinks. Several temporary “mini-restaurants” were added to the convention center for Sakuracon, and the fans appreciated it.

The new location for the exhibitors was a large hall across the street, but still connected to the rest of the convention by a wide skybridge. The independent artists’ area was actually within the skybridge, which, made the “artists’ alley” feel like a very cool place. It put the artists in a prominent spot, while the main exhibitor hall felt as busy as ever, so it felt like a win-win situation.

Allison Theus

I always like discovering artists I didn’t know about before at conventions, and this year’s find was Allison Theus and her book, A Book of Mostly Creatures. Her amazing illustrations can be found at OblivionUnleashed.com and on her deviantART page.

Conclusions

Sakura-Con 2009 proved that the convention can grow while still keeping the qualities that make it special, in fact it can grow and improve at the same time. It has become the type of giant cheerful party that exists mainly in the movies, and is only rarely seen in real life. If you have a chance to go to the next one, even if it’s your first-ever anime convention, it’s an opportunity that you shouldn’t miss. And between now and then, I’ll look forward to seeing some of you at Kumoricon in Portland.

(All the Flickr Sets are here: Page 1 | Page 2)

Wow. Convention report on the way, more pictures here. I like this one, too.

Updating throughout the weekend!

April 10, 2009
10:17AM
“On the train now with Gregor. Fun ride!”

5:39PM
“Wow they put artist alley at the very front before you even get to other exhibitors, that is so cool, it makes them seem like the stars.”

6:27PM
“In the artists area at Sakuracon, I discovered an artist named Allison Theus who has a book of illustrations called ‘A Book of Mostly Creatures.’ I instantly liked the style of the art — it reminded me of old 17th century illustrations of animals, only these are fantastic creatures from her imagination. I talked to her about how she came up with this. She said she was inspired by being really interested in dinosaurs and also in anatomy, and wondering how the various pieces of animals could go together in new ways to create a new creature. I bought the book and she autographed it.

“She has a web site at www.oblivionunleashed.com where you can see her work.

“Another good change this year is that they put the line for registration off in an out-of-the way hall, so that the registration line doesn’t make the main area of the convention feel overcrowded. I’ve only been here a few hours but already things seem better organized than ever (not that it was bad in the past, but they have continued to improve it).”

April 11, 2009
10:49AM

“Flickr stuff, more to come.”

Photos!

3:11PM

More photos!