Turning Japanese

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...

By Wynter Holden

September 29, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

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 dealer’s 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

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.