The Anime Show, an international popculture festival, took place in late March in the Bratislava borough of Ružinov. (source: Jeremy Hill)
The 16th annual Anime Show and Comics Salon was held at the end of March in the Ružinov culture house. It was billed simply as a convention that focuses on “comics, anime, games, Japanese culture, K-Pop, Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror.” However, what I found there was much more than a fandom; it was a melting-pot of cultures that embraced and celebrated their weirdest and most marginalized members.
To be clear, I am not a part of this subculture, and I only rarely consume these genres of entertainment. Nevertheless, I kept an open mind after receiving a recommendation from a new friend and insistence from my teenage daughter that it would be “lit.” So, my daughter and I caught an early train to attend one day of this 3-day event.
We arrived about thirty minutes before doors opened, expecting to find a few diehard fans and a short line. This was just the first of many expectations to be shattered that day. To our surprise, the line already stretched around the building and was receiving dozens more attendees by the minute. As we waited, streams of strange characters ambled up from the street and poured out of city buses. Every single painted, glitter-speckled, and fur-lined face beamed with excitement.
Happily, we breezed down to the entrance. There, we were greeted with a map of the venue and a program of the day’s events. The layout was neatly organized by interests. We made quick work of orienting ourselves and set off on our itinerary.
The plan was to partake in some high-brow discussions like “Isekai anime from the point of view of Japanese religion.” These talks, some of which addressed political and philosophical perspectives, took place in the many office spaces scattered throughout the complex. Unfortunately, these all seemed to be in Slovak and therefore were off-limits for me.
Thankfully, the biggest attractions were available for an international crowd. The K-pop showcase featured a lively dance competition that was truly a crowd pleaser. Cosplayers strutted and stumbled about on stage in the much anticipated costume competition. Even actor Julian Glover, from the Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars films, sat down for a long discussion about his career.
