Easter weekend dawned bright and beautiful in Seattle, and I once again headed to the Washington State Convention Center for the Sakuracon anime convention. This was my eighth year in attendance and I was happy to embrace the familiarity of an event that I have enjoyed since my very first (single day) visit. While there were many great moments to be had throughout the three day convention, five in particular gave me the most enjoyment this year.
#1 – The Sakuracon blood drive.
I’m always a fan of giving back, and I love that Sakuracon works with Bloodworks NW each year on a blood drive. I set an appointment for as early as possible on Friday, showed up, signed in, and was watching my blood flow down the tube and into the baggie before I knew it. There were quite a few other people there for appointments or just as walk-ins, which is always heartwarming to see. And after my donation was done I was plied with free manga, lemon snickerdoodles, goldfish crackers, and juice. I chatted happily with other donors for around 20 minutes (while making sure I was okay to venture back out into the con) before meeting back up with my con buddies.
#2 – An abundance of props.
Some years have been leaner for cosplay than others. The first Sakuracon I attended seemed to be full of big, elaborate, crazy costumes. A few years after that it seemed like costumes had been toned way down and cosplayers were going for minimalist chic. This year those big, elaborate costumes made a comeback, with the addition of big, elaborate props. There were giant swords, glowing orbs, glittering hoops, LED lights, musical bags, and more. Even smaller props were in abundance. An Aladdin cosplayer had a stuffed monkey, bag of apples, and loaf of bread to compliment his costume. It was pretty great, and a nice nod to all the things (both little and not so little) that make a character special.
#3 – Surviving the zombie apocalypse with Aaron Dismuke.
I’ll admit, until Sakuracon I didn’t know who Aaron Dismuke was. I’ve seen Fullmetal Alchemist, of which he did a voice, but not much of anything else he’s done voice work for. But I didn’t pick his panel from the schedule because of his voice acting credits. I picked it because it said it was about surviving the zombie apocalypse, and as I was attending the con with someone who works on zombie apocalypse show Z Nation, it seemed like a fitting panel to attend. And I’m ever so glad we did, because it was hilarious. Aaron Dismuke is a funny, charming guy, with a great voice and an interesting perspective on survival. I don’t remember all of his B.R.A.I.N.S. rules, but I do remember the S stood for ‘subtly let others die for you.’ And that was rad. Cause in the zombie apocalypse just about anything goes.
#4 – Learning how to train bonsai.
I am not a particularly patient person, so training bonsai is probably not a great hobby for me. However, I do fully appreciate the time and energy (and patience) that goes into bonsai trees. They’re beautiful and pretty amazing and I love to look at them when I see them. My con buddy has set his sights on moving beyond just looking at bonsai, and instead thinks he has the patience and skill to train his own. So we attended a panel put on by Bill and Jeannine Rakos of the Puget Sound Bonsai Society. And while their bonsai was great, and their tips and tricks for training bonsai were good, it was the Bill and Jeannine Show between the two of them that I really enjoyed. Bill would talk slowly and methodically about bonsai, his wife would remind him of topics to cover and how much time he had left in the panel, and they’d gently tease each other back and forth. It was absolutely adorable.
#5 – Where fanfiction goes to die.
Of all the panels at Sakuracon each year, Where the Fanfic Goes to Die would be the one I consider not-to-be-missed. This late night, mature-audiences-only event features a group of four lovely ladies who scour the internet for the silliest, raunchiest, most ridiculous erotic fanfiction available, and then read it to the enjoyment of the audience. The last few years have actually seen this panel split into two parts – the Oldies But Goodies on Friday night and the New Hotness on Saturday. As I know most of the oldies by heart at this point (plus I was tired from donating all my blood earlier in the day), I skipped on Friday night. But I made sure I was there to hear the new stuff on Saturday. And the panel did not disappoint. Unfortunately I can’t describe any of the stories I heard in this family-friendly blog. You’ll just have to take my word for it that the stories were hilarious, the audience members who acted them out were pretty funny, and staying up til 1am to attend was totally worth it.
While the majority of the con was nothing but great, I have to admit there was one dark cloud that popped up several times to bring down the party. And it’s the one thing that I feel like complaining about in a public forum where hopefully my grievance can be related to and understood.
I enjoy the viewing rooms at Sakuracon. I’ve seen some really fun stuff in them, from remastered Ghost in the Shell (my fave anime) to episodes of new (and reboot) series, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion. This year I was very much looking forward to seeing two Studio Ghibli features – The Tale of Princess Kaguya and When Marnie Was Here – that never played in my area when they made the theatrical rounds.
Seeing the films at Sakuracon didn’t quite work out like I hoped it would. Because, while I can applaud the con throwers for wanting to play the movies in their original language with English subtitles, I think they should reconsider this decision. Not because I don’t like subtitled films, but because in a viewing room setting, with rows of chairs all on the same level and screens that go down pretty low, much of the audience can’t read the subtitles. This happened to me multiple times. First in a showing of Gamera the Brave (which was adorable), when viewers late to the room sat right in front of me during the last 15 minutes of the movie and proceeded to snuggle so I couldn’t see around them. And later at the showing of Princess Kaguya, where the room was full by the time I got into it so I had to sit in the back behind rows and rows of tall people, people in hats, people in wigs, people in hats and wigs, people snuggling, etc.
I couldn’t read any of the dialogue for Princess Kaguya. In fact, I couldn’t see half of what was going on in Princess Kaguya. My friend would lean over and whisper stuff to me when he managed to catch it, but most of the time he couldn’t see anything either. Eventually I got to frustrated to try and enjoy what little of the movie I could make out, so we ended up leaving.
Unfortunately in a setting like Sakuracon we don’t get stadium seating and giant screens. We have to make do with smaller rooms and less comfortable chairs and the possibility that we won’t be able to see around the people in front of us. I think it might behoove the showrunners to play films in English (where available) and find ways to lift up the screens as high as possible, to make it possible for everyone to enjoy the films – not just those sitting in the front row.
And that’s the end of my complaining. Because all-in-all I had a splendid time at Sakuracon this year. I saw old friends, made new acquaintances, gave back to the community, saw some amazing costumes, browsed some fabulous artwork, laughed at hilarious panels, and learned some interesting things. My eighth time at the con was just as enjoyable as my first, and I look forward to next year and the experiences it brings.
