In Pictures: Inside the fantastical world of an anime convention

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Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Ese Usoro wears blue-checkered contacts in her eyes as part of her costume of Gaara, a character in the Manga series “Naruto,” at the Kawacon Anime and Gaming Convention in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 25. She made her costume and did her own makeup.
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It’s clear from the panel titles that this conference is not like others. On offer: a health and fitness session called “How To Get a Dream Anime Body”; a Jeopardy-style trivia game, Are You Smarter Than a Shonai?; and a cosplay competition.

Welcome to Kawacon, an annual San Antonio convention for anime lovers.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

Anime lovers at a convention in San Antonio, Texas, have realized that as much as they enjoy the genre, it’s the community they create that keeps them coming back.

Anime originated in Japan, but the genre’s popularity internationally has since overtaken domestic viewership. Some 3 billion people watched anime in 2021, according to one estimate. Only crime dramas and sitcoms are more popular right now, one analysis found.

Marissa Diaz travels to conventions year-round selling prints of anime artwork. She’s gotten to know some regular congoers, though sometimes she doesn’t recognize them in costume. “There’s no judgment,” she says. “It’s just a nerdy marketplace.”

Attendees say they enjoy seeing the hand-drawn animation and cosplaying (dressing up) as their favorite characters. But as much as anything else, they enjoy the community.

“I’m shy, but when I dress up, I can be more outgoing because I’m this different person,” says Lisa Jones.

Adds cosplay contestant Ese Usoro, rocking red-dyed hair and electric-blue contact lenses: “It’s just fun.”

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 “Kawacon 2023: 2 to Tango!” 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 on

Anime lovers at a convention in San Antonio, Texas, have realized that as much as they enjoy the genre, it’s the community they create that keeps them coming back.

“You meet so many people,” says Lisa Jones. “I’m shy, but when I dress up, I can be more outgoing because I’m this different person.”

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Attendees, many in cosplay, wait in line to enter Kawacon at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

Marissa Diaz travels to anime conventions year-round selling prints of anime artwork. She’s gotten to know some other regular congoers, although sometimes she doesn’t recognize them in costume. “There’s no judgment,” she says. “It’s just a nerdy marketplace.”

Like any convention, there’s a schedule of smaller sessions. Because this is an anime convention, the sessions include “How To Get a Dream Anime Body,” 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-mâché monster fixed to her back (Yuta from “Jujutsu Kaisen”), knows what she did wrong. “I didn’t talk [with the judges] about everything,” she says. “My voice was shaking. I got nervous.”

Ms. Usoro has yet to go in, but her costume is getting lots of compliments outside the judges’ room. Two yoga balls, covered in papier-mâché, are strapped to her back. Her hair is dyed red. She’s 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’s recent surge in popularity, but Ms. Usoro has her own reasons. “It’s escapism, for me. ... [It] lets you get out of the world you’re in,” she says.

“One, it tests your creative skills,” she adds. “Two, it’s just fun.”

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Three friends help steam out the wrinkles in a long train that adorns Weishi Tsai’s cosplay as Hanamaru Kunikida, a student in the “Love Live!” franchise. The handmade outfit incorporates horsehair, a type of crinoline netting, as a stiffener in the skirt.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Kara Gonzales used duct tape to transform her feet for her cosplay as Agent 8 from the video game Splatoon 3.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Anime figurines are on sale at the convention.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Judges fully immerse themselves in the cosplay spirit, sporting their own costumes (from left) from the animated film “Spirited Away” and video games Genshin Impact and Pokémon.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Artist Sulfur embodies Sukuna from the manga series “Jujutsu Kaisen.”
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
A virtual YouTube screen with the character KoziiChu invites participants to live chat at the convention. VTubing is a form of livestreaming that incorporates motion capture to allow users to manipulate characters using their own bodies.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Participants in “Sailor Moon” cosplay try out a video game in the gaming area of the convention.
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