The Good, The Bad, And The Just Plain Ugly

I have never been much of a die-hard anime fan, although I do confess to enjoying a good series once in a blue moon. Why I always end up accompanying my friends to anime conventions, therefore, is a bit of a wonder to even myself. But, if nothing else, it certainly is always an interesting experience. With this in mind, I once again found myself at the annual New York Anime Festival, surrounded by an array of… very interesting people, to say the least. For someone like myself — those who aren’t particularly dedicated to the anime fandom — anime conventions might not be particularly appealing, with their seemingly infinite amounts of overpriced goods, strange novelty items, endless panel presentations, and countless (some admittedly strange and frightening) fans. But for me, one of the biggest attractions NYAF has (common to most anime conventions in general) is the costumes — every year, hundreds of people dress themselves up in wacky home-made (and of course some surreptitiously store-bought — but they’re not fooling anyone) outfits of their favorite characters, idols, and styles. You could spend hours just walking around, taking a look at outfits, and snapping hundreds of photos of the best and funniest ones. Some will amaze you with their complexity and the obviously incredible workmanship; others will strike you with their likeness to a character. And still others, unfortunately, will baffle you and leave you wondering just who let them leave their homes that morning. If nothing else, the costumes alone provide enough entertainment to make the experience worth it.