NekoCon, a gathering of anime aficionados

HAMPTON

Fanboys and fangirls, cos-players and LARPers - is that even a word? - get ready to get your anime on at this weekend's NekoCon 14, a celebration of Japanese animation.

The con will feature four - count 'em, four - North American premieres of anime shows, including "Chaos Head," "Heaven's Lost Property," "Squid Girl" and "Bakuman."

The titles alone should give you some idea of what to expect from the 4,000 or so fans expected at the Hampton Roads Convention Center Friday through Sunday for art shows, fantastic costumes, role playing, vendors, amazing costumes, dances, karaoke contests, panels and workshops - and did we say costumes?

Deborah Gaynor, one of NekoCon 14's volunteer organizers, has four costumes ready for the weekend, including the character James from Team Rocket of TV's popular "Pokemon." You might reasonably also expect to see various iterations of cat costumes.

"Neko is the Japanese word for cat," said Gaynor, director of personnel for NekoCon 14. "That's why our mascots are four cat people."

The concept of "cat people" gets right to the heart of anime, which combines fantasy, sci-fi and art. Think "Sailor Moon," with its talking cats and transforming warrior/schoolgirls, or "Pokemon."

Carrying on the theme of combination is the concept of cosplay, which merges "costume" and "play," meaning fantastic costumes will be worn by many attendees. Prizes will be awarded for costumes and for craftsmanship during competitions, and even to stage-shy people just walking around the convention hall in their fabulous costumes.

"We have thousands of cos-players," Gaynor said. "We've got a giant masquerade where people perform their own skits. We've got a Japanese band coming in called Born. They are huge in Japan. We've got musical acts from the godfather of nerdcore, MC Frontalot."

Nerdcore, she said, is sort of a combination of hip-hop and rap on nerdy topics, for example,

"Star Wars" or other sci-fi.

The annual art show and sale, plus a separate "artist's alley," is a big draw, no pun intended. Other highlights include a kimono/tea ceremony workshop, a fashion show, tabletop games, card game tournaments, autograph sessions, a music video contest and sessions that range from writing for anime to the business of voice acting to movement for actors.

Special guests at NekoCon 14 include voice actors Kyle Hebert, Jerry Jewell, Chris Rager and Leah Clark, and producer/directors Toshifumi Yoshida, Trish Ledoux, Taku Otsuka and David Williams.

Continuing in the combination vein, NekoCon 14 is both family friendly and educational, Gaynor said.

"A lot of our programming with panels is educational. We've got one that is about the physics of anime. Everything is PG up to and including the skits. We do not allow overly risque things. Adult content is labeled as such."

Note that the costume policy on the NekoCon website strictly forbids "naughty" or overly revealing outfits. Dance parties will go on until 2 a.m., and participants can watch all-night video programming, some of which is restricted to ages 18 and up.

Gaynor has attended every NekoCon since No. 3, and she started working as an organizer beginning with NekoCon 8, after being drawn to anime by "Sailor Moon," she said.

"I was just like, 'Wow, this is really cool.' This is awesome.

"I grew to love it."

Diane Tennant, (757) 446-2478, diane.tennant@pilotonline.com