The Japanese may be responsible for the toilet paper hat and the umbrella tie, but we can overlook those ridiculous inventions considering they also gave us sushi, hybrid cars, and anime, the adult-friendly genre that made Saturday morning cartoons worth watching again.
Get your fill of manga, anime, and import video games when Saboten Con hits the Hilton Squaw Peak Resort. The three-day festival features such events as a Hetalia tea party, steampunk ball, and masquerade with voice actor Sam Reigel and Japanese rock band Eyeshine.
The hotel will be crawling with cosplayers dressed as characters from popular series like Death Note and Full Metal Alchemist, and guests can catch workshops on subjects ranging from special effects makeup to making furry animal jumpsuits (shudder). After getting your fill of tabletop gaming and swag from the dealers room, stack some glow bracelets onto your Dragonball Z costume and sway to the pumping DJ beats at themed raves on Friday and Saturday night.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 10:30 a.m., 2011