Alice and the Mad Hatter were wandering around Grand Wayne Center on Sunday afternoon. The Cheshire Cat and Queen of Hearts were close behind.
Neytiri, the Na’vi princess from “Avatar,” made an appearance earlier in the weekend, while hot pink wigs, cat ears and flowing capes disappeared around corners.
The 2010 Ikasucon infiltrated the convention center Friday through Sunday for the fourth year. The three-day event dedicated to Japanese anime and culture brought in about 1,000 registered guests last year and comparable numbers this year.
They’re 6-year-olds and 70-year-olds. Students, writers, and businessmen travel from as far as New Hampshire or as close as Carroll High School to fill the convention center. Some quietly walk the halls or settle down in the gaming room for hours. Others parade around in handmade costumes with complex makeup and accessories that took 70 hours to make.
One carries a business card labeled “Gentleman Adventurer” – writer, editor, reviewer, photographer, videographer, programmer, commentator, philosopher and “Knower of Stuff.”
The demographics vary, but they all harbor the same passion for Japanese animation and culture.
Cosplay, a mix of costumes and play-acting, is the main convention event. Game shows, dances, gaming and panels flesh out the convention schedule as people show off their intricate Cosplay costumes in the hallways.
At one convention, there was a Chewbacca costume – on stilts, according to staff members. Another had a working human-sized Game Boy that people could play Tetris on.
“It’s like Halloween for three days straight,” said programming director Nicole Buchanan, 28.
They bring in guest speakers and voice actors. Panels range from “How to build a PC” to “Zombie Survival 101.” There’s really something for everyone, Buchanan said.
“It’s nice just being around other nerds,” said staff member Krissy Nunnemaker, 20. “I was like, ‘Yeah! People like me.’ ”
Nunnemaker went to her first “con” – the slang abbreviation for a convention – when she and her friends saw something online a few years ago. This is her sixth year at the Ikasucon Japanese Anime Convention.
Tristan Carter, 20, used to walk a mile and half to the local comic book store to find his favorite anime. He was 7. His passion for the genre continued to grow and he now works as a con staff member.
“The real draw here is getting together with a bunch of like-minded people who enjoy your hobbies,” said board of directors’ member Nick Russel, 28.
However they became interested in anime and conventions, Ikasucon is a place for fans to gather and learn more about the hobby. It also provides a social element sometimes lacking outside of conventions.
“I spent a lot of time being an anime fan by myself,” said Ryan Macy, 21. “It’s definitely a vacation from work and working with normal people to come and see all of my friends.”
For those who never watched anime, it’s hard to understand the concept of the convention. The con-goers field a lot of questions from friends. Why are they giving up three days of their summer to go to Fort Wayne for an anime gathering? What exactly do they do there? Do they really watch cartoons?
“I call it my nerd gatherings,” said Nunnemaker, who works in a salon and sometimes has to explain conventions to clients. “That’s a little hard for some people to grasp because they think of cartoons and Disney.”
The staff says it’s one of the best years for the convention, with less tech issues and a more laid-back atmosphere. Originating through the anime club at University of Cincinnati in 2003, the group moved to Fort Wayne in 2007 after touring the convention center.
“They wanted us here,” Russel said. “That was the deciding factor, a whole lot of support from the people of Fort Wayne.”
