Con Games

If anime lore is to be believed, the origins of anime fandom in this country were a select few true believers with friends in or connections to Japan who were able to acquire VHS recordings from actual Japanese television. Several steps before this would morph into corporate conglomerates broadcasting Naruto...

By Jonathan McNamara

April 9, 2009

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If anime lore is to be believed, the origins of anime fandom in this country were a select few true believers with friends in or connections to Japan who were able to acquire VHS recordings from actual Japanese television. Several steps before this would morph into corporate conglomerates broadcasting Naruto and Code Geass in HD on cable, a strange phenomenon helped bring anime to the masses: the anime convention.

Now Phoenix has its own anime con in the form of AniZona 2009. Yes, the time-honored tradition of watching anime in hotel ball rooms while dressed as your favorite celluloid hero has made its way to the great American desert. Also in store for con-goers will be an anime music-video contest, an "artists alley" featuring works from Arizona’s finest, and Ouran High School Host Club: The Musical.

Thu., April 9, 7 p.m.-midnight; Fri., April 10, 10-2 a.m.; Sat., April 11, 10-2 a.m.; Sun., April 12, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 2009

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