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Photographs by Thomas Crone
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Having attended Archon at Collinsville’s Gateway Conference Center on a few occasions, it wasn’t a complete surprise to come across the scenes unspooling at the same venue this past Saturday. Anime St. Louis was in the house, and the hallways were filled (primarily) with tweens, teens and 20-somethings, geared up in a thematically wide variety of styles, and taking part in a convention that’s squarely aimed at those who’ve grown up around Anime and Manga.
Archon appeals to everybody in the fantasy/sci-fi realm, from Trekkies to furries to comic artists, whereas Anime St. Louis has a somewhat refined approach, with much more of an emphasis (as you might guess from the name) on Anime. Plenty of the expected activities take place. There’s a darkened room, filled with dozens of video game players. There’s a masquerade, allowing those with a penchant for pageantry to show off their elaborately constructed gear; and what’s a masquerade without a dance? There’re workshops dedicated to costume design, wigs and makeup. There’s even “Doki Doki speed dating,” allowing con attendees a chance to meet that special someone in a fast-moving setting.
The action’s centered inside the halls, of course, but there’s activity that spills out into the surrounding, exterior areas. Light saber battles might break out in an open field. Amusing, always, is to see a car pull out and out of the driver’s side emerges a comic book character, in full regalia. The main entry to the Center is always a meeting point, with various things happening at any time, usually involving hula hoops and lots of excited screams.
Not being devoted to the full con experience means a couple of things. For one, there’s no sense of what’s actually happening in some quarters. The person-to-person games taking place, involving chants and handclaps, are vaguely mysterious. Equally unknown is the Anime being watched by dozens of fervent devotees, dressed to the nines in their cosplay finery. There’s a somewhat disconnected feel in specific exchanges, which is best captured when someone asks you if you know the character that they’re portraying; the pause for an “um” or “er” is a tell-tale sign of ignorance, though people are usually happy to fill you in on what you’re missing, giving you the background with just a hint of sass.
The flipside is that there’s no need to be tied to a schedule. You can float up and down the hall without time worries, and there’s lots to see just in those halls. While Archon seems to pack in vendors into every nook and cranny of the GCC, Anime St. Louis had a somewhat-smaller vendor base, especially in the primary hallway, allowing little social areas to crop up all over the place. Best of all is that none of these people have one ounce of self-consciousness about being photographed; in asking about three dozen people for a snap, there wasn’t a single turn-down, and most come ready with a pose or glance.
With every visit to a con, I curse myself for not allowing enough time. Saturday’s trip took place in the span of only about three hours, while the event ran for three days. Next time, there’s no doubt that some more time needs to be built in, including some hours for the inevitable party scene that occurs in the nearby hotels, particularly the Doubletree.
If you’ve never been to a con, you’re missing out. There’s no happier, joyous place to be.
Photographs by Thomas Crone
