Anime Evolution 2010 Spills Virtual into Reality

Friday, 08. 20. 2010  –  The Good Life

Emma Jensen

Last weekend over 6,000 costume-clad fans of anime, manga, video games, film and music gathered at UBC for the eighth annual Anime Evolution Convention - a celebration of popular Asian culture. En route, I imagined the event: a computer-lit room filled with young men quietly discussing their passions for Japanese animation. Even having spent two days on site I’m still not exactly sure what I saw, but it certainly wasn’t quiet.

Off the bus, on my way through campus, I passed a long line up of costumed characters waiting to get into the UBC REC centre. Three Japanese girls sauntered by, wearing tuxedos and presenting elaborate fake cakes, followed by a skipping Sailor Jupiter, a giant teddy bear, and a Stormtrooper.

According to Gregory Neher, communications director for the convention, Anime Evolution is the next stage of anime fandom. “We like to think that we represent the various subcultures that have grown from the appreciation of Japanese pop culture in Vancouver.”

Dressing up is apparently an integral part of that appreciation, and everywhere I looked, there were folks in elaborate, home-made costumes.

“‘Cosplay’ stands for ‘costume play’,” explains Neher. “It’s when people dress up as a favourite character, usually from a Japanese animation or a manga - which is a Japanese comic - but it could also be from a video game, a North American cartoon, or even a live-action film.”

To the left of our trailing storm trooper, young men posed for photos in various battle positions, entering deep into their characters’ psyches. Beneath the shade of some nearby trees, costumed groups relaxed and chatted, their role-playing on hold. I took a seat next to a platoon of blue uniformed characters and scanned the schedule of the day’s events: ”cosplay chess,” was the first item listed, followed by “Team Four Star,” “Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged”, “Carl Horn- Show a Fansabu,” and, a personal favourite: “Robot Unicorn Attack”.

Overwhelmed, I waited for the photographer before approaching the group in the matching blue suits. They informed me that their costumes represented characters from a video game. When asked how they got coordinated, they explained that it was all done over the internet, and brought to life by a few in-person sewing parties. They were all too happy to pose for a picture.

Next, I chatted with an all-female group whose scene came from a video game called Fat Princess, which they informed me was a lot like capture the flag, (with the ‘flag’ replaced by obese royalty).

Reeling, we made our way to the centre of a “cosplay contest” - a glorified talent show for the role-playing, costumed individual. The photographer and I sat, watching closely, as those who looked more accustomed to fighting battles online were given the chance to do so in real life.

“Dressing up in costume and pretending to be a character that you see on television or in a video game - there’s definitely a level of escapism in there,” says Neher. “You get out there and you be a little silly with other people that are a little bit silly and it’s a good break - it’s like a vacation, but you’re still at home.”

Taking a vacation from the cosplay contest madness we headed towards the REC centre where the merchants resided for the weekend. The wares, like the costumes, were not explicitly anime-related; there were wigs, clothes, costumes, magic cards, samurai swords, stuffed animals, chain mail, dragon paraphernalia, and even a man selling a card game of his own invention.

I turned around to see the photographer snapping pictures of a cute, young girl in front of a big brown teddy bear. Upon returning, the photographer informed me that the bear’s name was Pedobear, a pedophilia loving bear, who has his roots on 4chan - an image-based bulletin board where anonymous users post comments and share images.

Neher is keen to distance the convention from 4chan, which is a notoriously racist and sexist website:

“I’d say there are people from that culture that come to anime evolution; we’re no different from the Olympics when it came to Vancouver - Pedobear ended up there, too, right?”

Prepared to put some thought into the meaning of Pedobear at a later time, we walked to the last event of the day: “Team Four Star.” When we arrived five minutes before the event, there was a lineup around three corners. The room was never full; people just wanted the best seats they could get.
Inside, a strange, wrestling-like spectacle ensued, where a man with a belt indicating him as the “Patty-Cake Champion” took the stage, only to be rushed and verbally assaulted by a man with a fiery headband who spat water into the air and threw out inflammatory proclamations of the true nature of the Patty-Cake Champion.

A small, staged shoving-match ensued before the panelists took their seats and the Q and A began. It was scheduled for two hours, but suddenly, feeling that I was intruding on a community I didn’t understand, I felt compelled to leave.

Still trying to come to terms with the past day’s events, I returned to the convention on Sunday. It being the last day of the three-day event, the environment was wholly more subdued. I noticed three young girls who looked somewhat disconcerted, and I asked them how they liked Evolution this year. Miranda, 17, wearing a bright blue wig, said that she’d been to the convention for four years running and that this year hadn’t been very good. Last year’s Anime Evolution was held in Vancouver’s Convention Centre. Candice, 16, and sitting under a tree in a bright yellow dress said the maps were terrible and that it was too hard to get around. I asked the three of them what drew them to the convention every year, and Candice said: “it’s a way of meeting people with similar interests.”

Despite the group’s criticisms, the convention this year was a rousing success. According to Neher, attendance grew from 5,000 last year to 6,150 this year.

Asked why he believes the convention has been so successful, Neher cites the open nature of the community: “What really got me involved with Anime Evolution was, I came to the event as a fan of Japanese animation and recognized that it was a place where pretty much anybody could go and be accepted. Nobody judges - we’re all just going there to have a little bit fun, and like I said, be a little bit silly.

“We’re accepting of pretty much everyone, assuming that it’s safe and friendly for everybody. As long as people are there to have fun and be silly, we’re okay with that.”

Maybe next year I’ll know how to be a little sillier.

Tags: Anime Evolution, cosplay, Gregory Neher, pedobear