Students who have depleted their energy in the pursuit for academic excellence will get a chance to enter a world with no restrictions as Bama SoS Brigade hosts Kami-Con in the Ferguson Center.
Created by Bama SoS Brigade, Kami-Con is an anime convention exclusive to The University of Alabama. The convention draws its name from “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” a light graphic novel created by Nagaru Tanigawa. Unbeknown to her, Haruhi is actually a Kami, which refers to a god-like entity in the Shinto faith.
“The Melancholy of Haruhi is an anime about a guy who gets involved with a girl that is very eccentric,” said Raymond Lenzer, co-chair and founder of Kami-Con. “She introduces herself to her class as a girl who has no interests in normal humans, but wants to meet aliens, time travelers and espers.”
Lenzer said Haruhi then creates a club called the SoS Brigade, which is dedicated to spreading the world with fun.
Bryan Howard, Webmaster of the Kami-Con Web site, said Bama SoS Brigade is supposed to be seen as a sort of subsidiary club to the original, which is fictionally located in Japan.
Lenzer said Haruhi will make an appearance at Kami-Con, revealing that she will start the event. Lenzer said Haruhi will speak to the audience through a pre-prepared video that uses footage from the anime paired with original audio recorded by their staff. Howard added that it will imitate a live feed. Although Bama SoS Brigade is trying to keep most of her appearance a secret, Howard said Haruhi’s visit will include Hare Hare Yukai, the anime’s theme song from the opening credits.
Howard said Haruhi is also featured on the cover of booklets that will be handed out at the con. The cover displays their mascot, Shio-chan, waving cheerfully to the con-goers, with Haruhi striking one of her famous poses in the background.
In addition to featuring Haruhi, Lenzer said Kami-Con will offer attendees many activities, some of which include a gaming tournament, a Rock Band II competition and an anime music video contest. Lenzer said over 25 prizes will be awarded to the victors of each tournament.
Lenzer said one of the biggest tournaments will be the costume role-play contest, which is otherwise known as cosplay. Cosplay refers to those who dress up as their favorite character and perform a skit their character used from the anime TV series. Skits can also be interpretative, allowing cosplayers to act out a scenario they feel best displays their character’s personality.
Not limited to the cast from Haruhi’s anime show, Lenzer said any number of anime can be represented. Lenzer added that competitors will be decided at the Cosplay Pre-Judging, which is scheduled for noon on Saturday.
Bryan said he expects more than 300 people coming to the convention, so he said he hopes many characters will be portrayed. According to their forums, Bryan revealed that some plan to cosplay as Zelda from the Legend of Zelda, Spike from Cowboy Bebop, Zack and Aerith from Final Fantasy VII and Riku from Kingdom Hearts. Lenzer said he also has a few ideas of which characters to expect.
“I'm almost certain we will have a few from the series of ‘Naruto,’ and some from ‘Death Note,’” Lenzer said. “I also hear there might be an Etna cosplay from ‘Disgea.’”
Howard said the cosplay contest will be held at 4 p.m. in the theatre at the Ferguson Center.
Lenzer said another big attraction sure to wow the crowds is the musical performance by anime music singer Stephanie Yanez. Yanez is known for traveling and performing across the globe at various anime conventions, including some from Japan. Yanez has recently produced her first feature-length album, “Sides,” which displays two of the singer’s musical styles. One side exhibits a Japanese electronica style while the other promotes the pop rock genre.
Howard said Kami-Con will also feature two anime screening rooms that will run various anime shows for the duration of the con. One screening room will play a large variety of anime that is mostly new and unheard of in the U.S.
Howard identified the second room as the “History of Anime room,” which will play anime that has been historically significant in some way, starting with the oldest anime and ending with the newest. Howard listed “Black Lagoon,” “Gunbuster,” “Evangelion,” “Slayers,” “Lupin III” and “Space Adventure Cobra” as a few shows included in the screening.
In addition to the performances, tournaments and anime screenings, Lenzer said Kami-Con will also provide refreshments in the Maid Café. Lenzer said the main snack will be pocky, a Japanese delicacy that includes a biscuit stick coated in chocolate. Lenzer said Ramune will serve as the beverage. Ramune is a Japanese soft drink with a taste similar to lemon-lime soda. Lenzer said most of their maids are volunteers who bring their own maid cosplays and most will be “the typical Japanese gothic Lolita style.”
Lenzer said there will also be a Dealer’s Room, where customers can buy anime comics, books and DVDs. Clarifying their location at the Ferguson Center, Howard added that the Maid Café will be in the Anderson Room while the Dealer’s Room is in the Heritage Room.
Of all the forms of entertainment to be provided, Lenzer said he knows of two sure to draw in the crowds.
“The opening ceremonies will have a great performance, so that is a pretty nice attraction,” said Lenzer, who is trying keep some of the details a secret. “The cosplay contest is fairly large, showing off the best cosplays people have to offer, along with entertaining skits.”
Offering something for everyone, Kami-Con is sure to draw a throng of students this weekend. Kami-Con runs April 25-26 at the Ferguson Center. Events such as the Rock Band II tournament and cosplay contest will take place in the theater. Other activities will take place on the third floor.
If you go:
What: Kami-Con anime convention
Where: The Ferguson Center
When: April 25-26
How much: Free
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