Fans of the Japanese art of anime will be flocking to Davenport this weekend. Anime-zing!, a three-day anime expo, will be returning to the Quad Cities Friday through Sunday. Organizers of this convention hope to duplicate the success of the first convention, which they held in 2010. Last year, the festival drew hundreds of anime lovers, video game players, geeks and nerds, and featured more than 50 different events and activities.
Ryan Kopf, senior convention organizer, said his appreciation for anime started when he was young. “I started watching [anime] on Toonami on Cartoon Network before school every morning. I just thought the stories were so much better — so much more involved than other cartoons, that it really got me hooked,” said Kopf.
Kopf isn’t the only one who feels this way. The Midwest has played host to major anime conventions, such as AnimeIowa, in Coralville, Sogen Con, in Sioux Falls, S.D., Anime Detour, in Bloomington, Minn., Anime Milwaukee, and, notably, Anime Central, in Rosemont, IL, whose attendance reached just over 23,000 people this year.
Anime-zing! got its start when Kopf noticed the success of AnimeIowa’s conventions in the past decade. Online forums became the drawing boards for several “mini-conventions,” which have since grown into “more-than-mini” conventions, Kopf said. This success was also due in part to the success of Anime-zap!, an “instant” convention created after the cancellation of the 2010 Pokettokon convention in Peoria, Ill.
The festival will feature special guest stars throughout the weekend. Robert Axelrod, the convention’s guest of honor, provided the voice for Lord Zedd in the orignal ” Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers,” as well as acting in “Star Trek: Voyager” and the sci-fi remake of “The Blob.” Johnny Yong Bosch, who is appearing with his rock band Eyeshine, played the Black Ranger on “Power Rangers,” and has since voiced many anime show characters (“Trigun,” “Bleach,” “Wolf’s Rain,” “Akira”) and video games characters (“Devil May Cry 4,” “Star Ocean,” “Persona 4″). Other guests include Sonny Strait (who voiced characters in “Dragon Ball Z” and “Fullmetal Alchemist”) Russell Lissau (writer of “The Batman Strikes!”) and Trevor Mueller (creator of “Temple of A Thousand Tears”). Martial arts experts from the Kojokan Dojo will be performing and teaching the combat methods of the most famous warriors in history.
More half of the convention attendees will spend the weekend dressed as their favorite anime characters, participating in photo shoots and contests. Cosplayers, or Costumed Roleplayers, will compete in a masquerade contest Saturday afternoon. Prizes are given to attendees with the most visually stunning costumes, as well as those with the most witty and amusing ones.
Kopf advises those unsure about the costume aspect of the convention to be as creative as they can be. “Pretend it’s Halloween,” he says. “If you come in costume, you’ll make more friends and meet people who like the same shows as you.”
In addition to special guests and costumes, the convention will also feature unique events. Prominent events this year will include workshops. Workshop discussions will include “Cosplaying on a Budget” and “Japanese in an Hour.” A formal ball, complete with formal dance lessons, a video game Q-and-A, an anime screening room and video game tournaments.
Early online registration, which started at $30 per person, has ended, but attendees can register for $45 at the door. The $45 price covers the entire weekend’s admission, and one-day admission is also available for $35. Anime-zing! will be held in both buildings of the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport. Events will start around 3 p.m. on Friday and last until late afternoon Sunday.