New York Anime Festival 2009 (Part 1)

(This has been taking too long to post, so I will post what I have and get to the next topic later)

The New York Anime Festival (NYAF), run by Reed Exhibitions, ran at the Jacob Javits Center in midtown Manhattan from September 25–27, 2009.

This year, as in the other two years of its existance, it was a cosplay bonanza. Everything from well-known anime characters to less well-known video game characters to girls with cat ears. It was almost more than the eye could take in and gave a person a reason to pause and just look at everything in their own time. The costumes were elaborate or just thrown together, hand-made or bought off ebay or off the racks of the NYAF exhibit hall. The attendees for the NYAF Masquerade/Yume Cosplay Cup and the Cosplay Hall was as varied as the entrants.

If you don’t know what cosplay is, allow me to give you a short explanation. Cosplay is the Japanese term for people dressing up in costumes or other bits of fancy frillery. A person who is wearing otherwise normal clothes, but then also cat ears would be in cosplay. A person who is dressed like their favorite anime or video game character would also be considered a cosplayer. A person dressed like a Victorian Goth doll or Maid would also be cosplaying. The types of cosplayers range from the lazy (like me!) people who just add bits to their normal comfortable clothing, to the people who put thought and care into ever tiny detail. From finding professionally made bits for their costumes to handmaking every part. You can find more information about cosplay by visiting http://www.cosplay.com/ and other websites that cater to similar interests.

It’s entertaining to be amongst the crowds at the fest. You never know when atendees will turn into their characters and interact with other cosplayers. I was following someone cosplaying a warrior character as we were weaving between stalls in the exhibit hall, when suddenly he stopped his weaving and pulled his “special attack” on an unsuspecting, but fully participating cosplayer from the same story. Cameras clicked. Movement continued. This scenario repeated itself multiple times throughout the convention at any given time. Groups of people broke into dancing at random intervals. Stepping aside for power glomping was also an activity one could get used to. A glomp is when someone almost knocks over someone else by jumping to give them a hug.

The exhibit hall was a place I never wanted to leave. The stalls ranged from quiet unassuming gold mines to loud dance music booming visual attractions selling everything a cosplayer or otaku can dream. Swords of various types were sold next to the artists supplies, specific character costumes and merchandise being sold next to walls of manga, cosplay dancers and singers next to racks of games ranging from early 80s to the present. Everywhere the eye looked, something new caught its attention. To me, the most entertaining locations were where characters mixed. Such as a transformer or other robot holding up a pikachu in the pose of Rafiki (The Lion King) holding up a baby Simba. I imagine the metallic voice calling out “Pikachu! I’ve got you!” with the phrase “Gotta’ catch ‘em all!” running in the background.