Last year’s local
celebration of anime, cosplay and related hobbies was so big, the guys and gals
had to move next door to The Centre. And that’s where they’ll be February 6 and
7 for EvilleCon 2010. To get the inside scoop on the event, we connected with
Robert Grimwood, Chief Executive Officer of the Evansville Anime Convention.
N4U: Describe the group: How many participants are
there and how did you get involved in it?
RG: We are a group that started out watching Anime and learning about the
Japanese culture at the [Evansville Central Library Branch]. Our group name is
Otona no Otaku. We meet two to three times a month [there]. We've also
partnered with the youth version called Otaku Anonymous. Some of our group had
the idea to have an Anime convention last year to
help get the word out about our Otaku groups. So we asked the Library if
we could have a mini convention. They said yes and we set the date for February
14, 2009. We did not know how many people we would get so we planned for 200.
Our first con would be one day at the library and it was free. The day of the
con came and over 300 people showed up. The library was full of
Cosplayers and people that love Anime. We decided to do it again but at another
location. Evansville Anime Convention, Inc. was started to by a group of
volunteers interested in keeping an anime convention in Evansville. As for how I got involved, I was
a member of Otona no Otaku but when I heard they were planning the first con
then I really got involved. I helped with the Cosplay contest and guiding
people around the library for the first con.
What exactly happens at Evansville Con?
First off we are going to have a video game room.
Most conventions have video game rooms. And ours is being run by Ebash, so they
are providing all the games and equipment for our game room. We also have a
room that we are going to be playing anime throughout the entire
convention. Most of the Anime is fairly new out of Funimation. We'll have
a panel room where various workshops and debates will take place. Everything
from how to make a Cosplay costume to what are
the greatest first person shooters. EVPL is
sponsoring Jamie Marchi (guest voice actress), who has voiced several
characters in anime such as Witchblade and Black Cat. We have a dealer
room for purchasing anime related items. Also we have an artist's alley, where artists
can come to show off their work and sell it. We will have a Cosplay contest
where people can dress up as their favorite Anime/video game/manga character to
compete for prizes. Judge will rate their costumes and creativity. Also we will
have Cosplay chess – a human size chess game.
The cosplayers are the chess pieces. When one
piece is taken they do a mock battle as their Cosplay characters. We’ll have a
live local band called Gemini and a dance
called Evillebeat with local DJs.
How can someone interested in this get
involved (other than going to the event, obviously).
Go to our website at evillecon.com
and sign up as a volunteer or sign up to register for Eville Con 2010. Or
email evillecon@evillecon.com
Anime is a pretty broad term, as I
understand. What are some of the qualities - other than it being Japanese -
that make it so? What different forms/genres/types of anime are there?
Well that is a hard question to answer because anime is has so many different
genres. Well let's put it this way – Anime is every genre. They are action,
romance, comedy, sports, Sci-Fi, mystery, and every other genre you can think
of. It is like taking everything that Hollywood
and the TV producers have done for the past 20 years and animated it. That
would be Anime. Some Anime is pulled from Manga, which you could similar to
comic books, though there's a different style to them.
In our opinion, what is the appeal of
this art form? The visuals? The stories?
Well I would have to say yes on all of it. Anime and Manga as an art form is
beautiful and eye popping. Some of the artwork they come up with is
breath-taking. As for the visuals they are top of the line. Some of the visuals
are awe-taking. I think everyone should watch Appleseed and Final Fantasy 7.
Appleseed has very beautiful visuals;
you forget that you are watching an animation. As for Final Fantasy 7, the fight scenes are amazing. The storylines in
Anime and Manga are the most unique and inspiring stories I have found.
Every time I watch a new series I get so caught up in the storyline I find
myself watch the whole series in one sitting. I am amazed at the pull some of
these series have. I was watching Arjuna
and I was inspired to start recycling. Let me explain: Arjuna is about a girl that gets in a car wreck and dies. But
before her spirit left this world the Avatar of time appeared and gave her a
choice. To die or become the new Avatar of time and fight Raaja. The Raaja are
destroying the earth. Through the series you find out the Raaja are pollution
from humans. It is a very interesting series. I hope to see everyone at to
Eville Con 2010.
Photo Credits | desktopexchange.com // filmfestivals.com
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