In Pictures: Inside the fantastical world of an anime convention
| San Antonio, Texas
Welcome to Kawacon, an annual San Antonio convention for anime lovers celebrating the genre and cosplaying (dressing up) as their favorite characters.
The genre originated in Japan, but anime viewership internationally has since overtaken viewership there. Upward of 3 billion people watched in 2021, according to one estimate. Only crime dramas and sitcoms are more popular right now, one analysis found.
Fans at 鈥淜awacon 2023: 2 to Tango!鈥� say they enjoy the hand-drawn animation; they enjoy the long, compelling plots and the complex characters. But as much as anything else, fans say, they enjoy the community.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onAnime lovers at a convention in San Antonio, Texas, have realized that as much as they enjoy the genre, it鈥檚 the community they create that keeps them coming back.
鈥淵ou meet so many people,鈥� says Lisa Jones. 鈥淚鈥檓 shy, but when I dress up, I can be more outgoing because I鈥檓 this different person.鈥�
Marissa Diaz travels to anime conventions year-round selling prints of anime artwork. She鈥檚 gotten to know some other regular congoers, although sometimes she doesn鈥檛 recognize them in costume. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no judgment,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a nerdy marketplace.鈥�
Like any convention, there鈥檚 a schedule of smaller sessions. Because this is an anime convention, the sessions include 鈥淗ow To Get a Dream Anime Body,鈥� a panel on health and fitness; Jeopardy-style trivia game Are You Smarter Than a Shonai?; and a cosplay competition.
Ese Usoro and Isa Florendo are here competing in their first cosplay contest. Ms. Florendo, in a white costume with a white papier-m芒ch茅 monster fixed to her back (Yuta from 鈥淛ujutsu Kaisen鈥�), knows what she did wrong. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 talk [with the judges] about everything,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y voice was shaking. I got nervous.鈥�
Ms. Usoro has yet to go in, but her costume is getting lots of compliments outside the judges鈥� room. Two yoga balls, covered in papier-m芒ch茅, are strapped to her back. Her hair is dyed red. She鈥檚 wearing electric blue contact lenses.
Their characters, like pretty much every character in anime, deal with trauma. A globally traumatic few years may be a factor in anime鈥檚 recent surge in popularity, but Ms. Usoro has her own reasons. 鈥淚t鈥檚 escapism, for me. ... [It] lets you get out of the world you鈥檙e in,鈥� she says.
鈥淥ne, it tests your creative skills,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭wo, it鈥檚 just fun.鈥�
