The Seattle Kite Descends on the 10th Annual Sakura-Con, Promptly Crashes and Burns, Only to Rise like the Phoenix!
Sunday April 15, 2007 by Allen Keene and "Slap" Jackson
On Saturday, April 7th, 2007, the Seattle Kite descended on Seattle’s 10th annual Sakura-Con, the Northwest’s largest Asian Culture Convention. They say Asian Culture Convention, but in reality it’s a virtual smorgasbord of nerdom, with the primary, secondary, and tertiary foci being anime and manga, video games, and J-Pop music. We showed up around noon, camera, pen and paper in hand, with a solid four hours to roam the booths, watch new anime, try out some free video game demos, and maybe catch a little karaoke. Little did we know, our plans would be immediately thwarted.
We made our way through the Seattle Convention Center, where Sakura-Con moved in 2006 from the Seattle Airport Hilton and Marriott Hotels. Clearly, it needed the room to grow. In fact, the convention had bounced through a slue of hotels from Tukwila to Everett before it found its rightful home in the city proper.
Traversing the maze of escalators and stairwells, amid a throng of finely costumed and grinning fans, we finally found the registration booth. Attached to the registration booth, though, was perhaps the longest line of people I have ever seen in my entire life. It wound back through the lobby of the fourth floor and into a convention room the size of a football field. From there it snaked around the edge of the room, not once, but twice, doubling back on itself between carefully placed velvet ropes. We walked all the way down the line, gaping at our crumbling prospects for Sakura-Con coverage. We then made our way back to the front of the line, where a young Inuyasha informed us that he’d been waiting in line for nearly three hours. Our day was ruined. Or so we thought.
It dawned on us: our article wouldn’t be about the convention itself, but about the people. We had the perfect opportunity. Hundreds, no, thousands of people were standing in line, completely unable to escape our inquisitive and curious eyes. Furthermore, elaborately costumed teenagers crowded every available space both inside the lobby and around the Convention Center itself, happily posing for photos from all angles. All we had to do was ask, and when we did, we found that people were overwhelmingly eager to please. They loved having their photos taken! They loved answering our questions! And perhaps most heart-warming, they loved being in a community full of people with the same passion for Japanese culture as themselves.
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Allen
I was upset at first, because I really do love Japanese culture and I genuinely wanted to go to the convention. I play Final Fantasy, I watch a lot of anime, I’m learning Japanese, and my favorite manga is Death Note. However, when I realized that we didn’t have the time to stand in line, I was excited to meet lots of other fans, as well as save myself $35.
Slap
Being new to the scene, I didn’t really mind not going in, so I was excited just to see what was going on and talk to people and observe a culture that’s very foreign to me. In the end, though, it won me over.
Allen
It was fun for me to point stuff out to you, like I was a tour guide. You didn’t even know what cosplay was.
Slap
Is that like LARPing… don’t ask me why I know what that is.
Allen
We still got to see some cool stuff besides all the people. There was a big screen showing anime clips set to music, like footage from Neon Genesis Evangelion, one of my all-time favorites, set to a remix of “I Want Candy” by Bow-Wow. They also had a mash up of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Family Guy that was funny, the South Park theme with Naruto characters, and a fuzzy and cute rendition of the Smurf’s theme set to the opening sequence of Interstella 5555.
Slap
These movies were hilarious, even for someone who didn’t recognize 80% of the references. They also had rooms dedicated to various card games, miniature collecting, and a manga library for quiet time, which seemed pretty genius.
Allen
I especially liked the Piece Bonding Booth, which was a place you could come to fix your costume if it started to fall apart. They had everything from super-glue to scotch tape and paper clips.
Slap
The most interesting aspects, of course, were the people and their costumes. Coming into it with a bit of a cynical mindset, I guess I expected to half-chuckle at everyone.
Allen
But people take themselves so seriously and are so comfortable with themselves there that it’s hard to be a dick about it.
Slap
Exactly. Which is why by the end I was talking about coming back next year dressed as my favorite character from Berserk, (Griffith) one anime that I am familiar with.
Allen
I love Berserk SO MUCH. If you dress up as Griffith, I’ll be Corkus and talk shit to everybody.
Slap
I couldn’t help but notice firstly, the number of girls at Sakura-Con (rough estimate, almost two-to-one, girls-to-guys) and secondly, the fact that a fair number of these girls were probably under eighteen and dressed pretty inappropriately. This sketched me out because there was a startling contingent of middle aged men snapping photos of them with their cell phones. I don’t want to make any assumptions; I’m just reporting what I saw.
Allen
And good of you to do so. Yes, there were some sketchy elements to the convention.
Slap
But there’s nothing sketchy about a thirty year old woman dressed like that chick from Cowboy Bebop.
Allen
Her name’s Faye Valentine. Did somebody say Fan Service?
Slap
You’re bad. Let’s get to the interviews.
Allen
Okay. So basically we walked around, told people we were from the Seattle Kite, and asked if we could take some pictures and interview them.
Slap
Everybody was so willing to help us out.
Allen
Except for that weird thirty-something couple. They totally ignored me when I tried to talk to them, like I was crazy or something.
Slap
Yeah, they were weird. The woman just stared at you.
Allen
And I wanted to interview them because they were so far out of the demographic. Oh well.
Slap
All in all, it was very uplifting.
Allen
True. Anyway, here are some of the interviews and photos.
Interview 1
The Kite
Who are you?
Mysterious spectacled girl
You mean our cosplay, or our real names?
The Kite
Both.
Tall and imposing stranger
I’m Brian, and I’m Mochizuki Jirou from Black Blood Brothers.
Mysterious spectacled girl
I’m Megan, and I’m Ran from Harukanaru Toki no Naka de.
The Kite
Could you spell that for us?
Megan/Ran
It’s written right here, (she points to a large scheduling board).
The Kite
Thanks. Is this your first Sakura-Con?
Megan/Ran
No, my fifth.
Brian/Jirou
This is my second.
The Kite
Wow. How has Sakura-Con changed over the years?
Megan/Ran
It’s gotten huge.
The Kite
Do you guys live in Seattle?
Megan/Ran
I live in Snohomish.
Brian/Jirou
I’m from Monroe.
The Kite
What’s you favorite anime?
Megan/Ran
Brian/Jirou
The Kite
If you had to pick one thing, what would you say is your least favorite thing about anime?
Megan/Ran
Anything dubbed.
Brian/Jirou
Yeah, definitely anything dubbed.
The Kite
Thanks guys! Have a good time.
Interview 2
Rowdy teens
How’s it goin’?
The Kite
Just great. How are you?
Rowdy teens
Good.
The Kite
We’re with the Seattle Kite. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?
Rowdy teens
Are you serious?
The Kite
Yup.
Rowdy teens
Cool.
The Kite
How long have you been waiting in line?
Rowdy teens
About an hour and a half.
The Kite
What are your names?
Teen #1
I’m Brandon.
Teen #2
And I’m Kasey.
The Kite
Is that with a C or a K?
Kasey
K.
The Kite
Ok. Is this your first Sakura-Con?
Brandon
Yeah.
Kasey
Yeah, mine too.
The Kite
Where are you guys from?
Brandon
Aurora, well, Marion County, Oregon.
The Kite
So this is your first time; what are you most looking forward to today?
Kasey
Cool stuff to buy, and the women.
The Kite
There are a surprising amount of girls here, aren’t there?
Kasey
Yeah, but I’m taken, (he gestures towards who we assume to be his girlfriend, standing just out of earshot).
Interview 3
The Kite
Can we take your picture?
Dashing Maiden
Sure!
The Kite
Thanks. Who are you dressed as today?
Dashing Maiden
The Kite
Cool. How long have you been waiting in line?
Princess Ai
Um, an hour and a half, I guess.
The Kite
What is your least favorite anime?
Princess Ai
Full Metal Alchemist. I hate Full Metal Alchemist.
Interview 4
The Kite
What is the most lost thing at Sakura-Con?
Lost-and-Found Volunteer
Badges.
The Kite
What is the most found thing at Sakura-Con?
Lost-and-Found Volunteer
Badges.
Interview 5
The Kite
How many people are at Sakura-Con this year?
Sakura-Con Employee
We expect over 10,000 today alone.
The Kite
How big was last year?
Sakura-Con Employee
The biggest day last year saw around 7,000 people.
Interview 6
The Kite
Hey guys, how’s it going?
Black Clad Figures
Good.
The Kite
Who are you dressed as today?
Black Clad Figures
(indecipherable names) from Naruto.
*note from Allen Keene: At this point I thought “Wow, Japanese names sound crazy when three people say different ones all at once. One of them said ‘Tobi.’ I heard Naruto, too. I’ve heard of that. I’ll use the vast and awesome power of the internet to find out who they’re dressed as later. For now I’ll smile and nod and pretend to write something down.” Click here to see how impossible my task proved to be. I should have just asked them to repeat themselves.
The Kite
Very cool. Where are you guys from?
Black Clad Figures
Redmond.
The Kite
How long have you been standing in line?
Black Clad Figures
Two and half, maybe three hours.
The Kite
What are you most looking forward to once you get inside?
A Black Clad Figure
Better questions.
Another Black Clad Figure
I just want to buy stuff.
The Kite
What’s your favorite anime?
Black Clad Figures
Interview 7
“Slap” Jackson
Hi. Do you mind if we take your picture and ask you some questions?
Gun Toting Femme
Not at all.
Slap
Who are you dressed as?
Allen Keene
Come on, dude. She’s Irvine, from Final Fantasy VIII.
Irvine
Yeah, I’m Irvine Kinneas.
Allen
Is this your first Sakura-Con?
Irvine
No, I’ve been a few times.
Slap
We see you already have a badge. How long did you wait in line?
Irvine
Yesterday I waited for an hour and a half, but now I’m registered for the whole weekend.
Allen
What’s your favorite anime?
Irvine
Slap
Least favorite?
Irvine
Allen
Really? That’s one of my favorites. How come you don’t like it?
Irvine
Because they take little kids and make them assassins and that’s horrible.
Allen
I never really thought about it like that.
Slap
That’s funny. You’re kind of a gun slinging girl yourself.
Irvine
Yeah, I guess I am.
Allen
What’s different from previous years, and what is your all time favorite thing about Sakura-Con?
Irvine
There are a lot more people this year. Sakura-Con is really friendly. It’s a really nice place to go to. You just meet a whole lot of friendly people.
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We could say more, but Irvine said it all. Sakura-Con is, indeed, all about the people. It’s a nexus of nerdom, beautiful, sweet nerdom. We’ll see you next year.
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