The Costumes, Craziness, and Characters of Saboten-Con 2011 [Recap]

There aren’t just a lot of Anime fans at Saboten-Con, there are a lot of costumed Anime fans.

A lot.

The ratio of costume-per-attendee skyrockets at this convention. On my 2nd trip there I decided to attempt at blending in a little by wearing the one and only anime shirt I own – my sweet AKIRA shirt with Tetsuo freaking out with his new  arm.

Emboldened by my new disguise, I ventured out of my comfort zone to meet new people and chat up a few attendees. One gaggle of girls I met in a line told me they were having a blast. When I asked how they’d heard about it, they replied they didn’t know. They just knew it was happening.

They sensed it.

Another guest I forcefully interrogated from Canada told me it was his favorite con, and I even chatted up someone who wasn’t part of the convention but happened to be staying at the hotel. He was fun to talk to as he had no idea why he was currently surrounded by hundreds of teenagers in robes with blue and pink hair.

I did not talk to middle-aged-raver-steampunk-spider-man-guy, however.

Due to personal scheduling restraints,  I wasn’t able to meet with any of Saboten-con’s guests, or go to as many panels or events as I’d originally hoped.

Fortunately, costume photos are usually what people want to see when they read recaps like this. And so, I share with you my photo adventures in Saboten-con, Phoenix’s big ol’  anime convention:

Am I getting older, or are Time Lords getting younger?

Peace and love!

I like turtles!!!

The main floor was always packed, and security roamed – making sure everyone had space.

This guy was VERY excited to find something:

Meow meow! (Inside joke for Daniel Davis.)

I did get to hit up the Steampunk ball, which included Steampunk Captain America, and Steampunk No Face.

(And middle-aged-steampunk-raver-spider-man-guy.)

More costumes:

Ninjas! And a very committed furry:

They caught a Pikachu!

This guy’s dad is a jerk:

This Mario was adorable:

Typical Saboten-con activity:

Cid!

You look different than I remember you, somehow:

A few buildings over, the gaming area was alive and well:

Had fun, and wish I could have stuck around longer.