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| October 14, 2004| Send features
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Anime-versary
UTA club marks 10 years of convening
North Texas anime fans
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| The Shorthorn: Sergios Rahmatoulin |
| Anime fans gathered at the 10th annual
ArlingCon anime convention in the University Center and
had the chance to view episodes and movies exclusively
available in Japan. |
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By Jessica
Smith
The Shorthorn Staff
The long-forgotten sounds of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping”
boomed as Mitch Wells and Brittany Mitchell intensely stared at
their digital guides and danced with determination for the title
of ArlingCon’s Dance Dance Revolution champion.
Up for grabs was winner’s choice of anime DVDs, but the two
finalists had to work for it, since neither had ever tried to keep
pace with the tune.
Although Wells ultimately emerged victorious over the Brewer High
School sophomore, he said he nearly lost his footing due to one
problem.
“The [dance] pad sucked,” said the University of North
Texas English senior.
Wells and other North Texas anime fans gathered Saturday in the
University Center for the 10th annual convention. Ordinarily dressed
people mingled with catgirls and convention staff dressed to fit
this year’s theme of “Full Metal Alchemist,” a
Japanese television series that joins the Cartoon Network’s
Adult Swim line-up Nov. 6.
Several voice actors from the show made guest appearances, along
with officials from Funimation, the Dallas-based company that licensed
the cartoon.
Attendees had plenty of activities to choose from, including two
video rooms. One room featured videos from Japanese rock and pop
artists as well as a variety of anime music videos. In the larger
room, the audience enjoyed exclusive showings of the first “Full
Metal Alchemist” episode, the American premiere of Inuyasha:
The Sword of World Conquest, the third movie based on the popular
“Inuyasha” series and the first One Piece movie, exclusively
available in Japan.
Enthusiasts wanting more interaction sang karaoke, tried to identify
obscure anime songs on Anime Name that Tune, joined a Yu-Gi-Oh trading-card
tournament and discussed topics like learning Japanese. People dressed
as anime characters and acted out skits, while many people opted
to vent their aggression on each other with harmless foam swords.
But there hasn’t always been this much to choose from.
Alumna Cheree Hulsman, who graduated in August, remembers her first
convention, held at Nedderman Hall’s Hall of Flags in 1996.
There were no cosplay or panels, and the dealers’ room, or
Anime Garage Sale, as it was called then, was much smaller. About
20 people showed up for the club’s meetings, and ArlingCon
was much smaller.
The convention moved to the UC after university officials continually
forgot to turn on the air conditioning in Nedderman Hall, leading
to problems with a room full of people in costume, Hulsman said.
More than 100 people, mostly from the local community, now attend
meetings and the convention is larger than ever, Anime UTA President
Sophie McNutt said.
“I’d call this [convention] a success because we had
twice as many guests and more people attended,” the marketing
junior said.
Mitchell, one of this year’s attendees, was happy with the
convention and how well she did in the dance tournament.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I would get second place,”
she said. “I thought I would get eliminated in the first round,
but I didn’t, so I’m really happy.”
If this sparks your interest, contact the club at anime@uta.edu.
ArlingCon is held every year on the second floor of the UC, and
Anime UTA is always looking for new members.
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