Conventions…the new frontier

There have always been peculiarities between Nerd and Otaku culture and the rest of the known world. For example, when I say ADD, most people think of Attention Deficit Disorder. However, every nerd out there just thought of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Conventions are a lot like that. At times, you could almost believe that you had wondered into an Einsteinian alternate universe; what with the costumes and numerous cultural references. There are some sights, sounds, and feelings that one can only experience at an anime convention. Here are a few that I always seem to notice:

1. Only at a convention can you see a grown man approach a twelve year old girl, ask for photos, and then get a hug without being thrown in jail.
2. Only at a convention will you find six grown men, along with all of their luggage, packed into a single bedroom to save money (just to spend said savings on collectables).
3. Only at a convention can you see an extremely obese man in Cosplay and the first thing you think is, “That is a great Medusa costume.” Rather than, “Why the hell is he dressed as a woman and wearing that!”
4. Only at a convention do they have to remind attendees to bathe themselves.
5. Anime conventions are the only place I’ve ever been where you can buy a plushie, a hotdog, a six-foot katana, and an Airsoft AR-15  assault rifle within feet of each other.
6. Only during conventions will you walk around the inner city alone with no fear of being assaulted or mugged.
7. A convention is the only place where you look out of place if you’re not in a costume.
8. A convention is the only place where you can find adults dropping hundreds of dollars on items that other people would consider “toys”.
9. Nowhere else will you hunt down video games for consoles that haven’t been produced since the 80’s.
10. Only at a convention will you get into an elevator with a guy in a neon green fish net shirt, Batman underwear, ten pounds of fake jewelry, and assorted glow sticks. And both be going to the same destination.

There is no shortage to the sheer amount of obscurity and insanity you will experience at your favorite convention. Just keep in mind that what you probably look as strange to them and they seem to you. Actually, probably not…