Cosplay time

Driving past the Convention Center on the way home tonight, I saw banners for the Anime Expo which is holding its press day tomorrow. The show's move from Long Beach to Downtown L.A. is a big deal that signifies a couple things.

First, it indicates how huge manga and anime have become in the U.S. At one time, "Japanimation" was a sideshow at comic-book conventions. Today, comics from Asia probably have a bigger audience than American comics--with more upside and definitely a bigger cool factor. In fact, many anime fans probably wouldn't be caught dead reading a superhero comic. The Anime Expo attendance is arguably more hardcore than that of Comic-Con--decidedly younger and with a way higher rate of dressing up as their favorite characters. There's a lot more interaction (cosplay fans taking pictures of each other, anime theme song karaoke, etc.) and none of the trade show vibe created by movie pavilions and entertainment business poachers, parasites, and suits.

Second, it could be considered a beta test for Comic-Con making a similar move. The institution has already outgrown San Diego and is rumored to go to L.A. or Vegas. Can Downtown L.A did the job for E3 with its nightclubs and strip joints, but will that work for comics? By the time the lease is up in San Diego, the area will be taken over by lofts and the L.A. Live complex will be open with its chain restaurants, souvenir stores, and bowling alley and it will be a much safer--albeit contrived--environment.

But first, there are more pressing questions: Where am I going to park and is there anything in my closet that can be interpreted as cosplay?