Hi all!
I’m interrupting the flow a bit to share all the neat stuff I picked up at the anime convention I love attending each spring!
While I have a blast at the con every year, this year in particular shaped up to be one of my favorites. One of those reasons is the special guest interactions I was fortunate enough to be a part of (as you will notice with the signed art below, heh heh). The other major reason was my cosplay choices. Yes, I DO cosplay at cons! You can check out my insta @ takutoac for all my recent cosplay photos. After enduring the huge pandemic slump, this con was able to jumpstart my love for cosplay. I really hope to return to prop making so that I’ll be able to get into character even more next year.
To no one’s surprise, the big obsession this year was Genshin Impact. Cosplaying as Gaming (or Ga Ming) was like having pretty privilege ISTG. If you were cosplaying as any Genshin character, I guarantee you would’ve been showered with kind words and cute freebies!! In the photo below, the Pyro Vision keychain, Genshin Wish pin, and Yun-Jin sticker were all gifts bestowed upon me by fellow Genshin cosplayers (the last of which also came with mora that I earned from completing a Katheryne cosplayer’s commission, AKA a set of jumping jacks :P). Fans can be so creative and supportive when they put their minds and spirits to it!
If you’re unfamiliar with Genshin, Gaming is a fairly recent character (from February, I believe . . .) which meant that virtually no one had art of him yet. You can only imagine my sheer delight when I stumbled upon THE ONE and only Gaming art—a small acrylic charm that is now a crystallization of my cosplay memories. (Did I mention that many attendees told me that I was the only Gaming cosplayer at the con and the first they’d ever seen IRL? I was shocked at such an honor.)
In the vendor’s hall, I came across a Place Promised in Our Early Days art book that I needed to fill out my Shinkai art book collection. And of course, never does a con go by where I don’t pick up Evangelion art—I love the expressions and vibrant color tones in this Misato and Ritsuko print.
The greatest catch of the con, though, was meeting with two of my favorite voice actors: Anne Yatco and Amanda C. Miller. Oddly enough, I had signature requests for two game characters rather than anime characters this time. Meeting THE Raiden Shogun was truly electrifying. After all, it was the Shogun’s launch trailer for Inazuma (uploaded almost three years ago now) that got me into the game! Anne is the sweetest person ever, and we talked about her recent roles in GKIDS dubs, too.
Later, Amanda and I shared A JUICY TEN-MINUTE CONVERSATION about Danganronpa, Sailor Moon, and hobbies in general. I invited her to scribble on my imported Danganronpa art book as if Junko Enoshima herself was signing a student yearbook, and Y’ALL, she delivered. Amanda is just as cool as the Sailor Guardian of thunder she voices. I can’t recommend the work of these two artists enough. Absolutely inspiring people to get to meet.
And that was pretty much Naka-Kon 2024 for me in a nutshell! Easily one of the best con experiences I’ve ever had. Go check out those cosplay pics (and photos of the special guests) on IG if you haven’t yet! Thanks for reading, and ‘til next time!
– Takuto
Takuto's Anime Cafe 