Karolina Öhman

A Weekend in the Wild World of Cosplay

Geeks from all around Sweden dress up to meet each other in Sweden’s biggest convention for Japanese pop culture. The convention is called ”NärCon” and is held annually in the area around Linköping University in the end of July. It is targeted for people that has an interest in manga, anime, video games and dressing up like their favorite anime or videogame-character, which is called ”cosplay”.

The convention offers you a lot of activities. You can for example go to workshops and make your own drawings and sculptures. If you want some other entertainment, you can play videogames, watch some movies, go to parties, go shopping or just relax and chat with other people.

You will probably be hungry sometime during your stay. The convention has a lot of restaurants that offers many different kinds of food. You can get fresh sushi from the sushi bar, a hamburger from the grill outside, some delicious ramen in the restaurant or just a wrap in the cafeteria. If you rather want something sweet instead, you can take a refreshing milkshake in the juice bar, or a cold ice-cream in the ice-cream bar.

If you want a special experience, you can head to the maidcafé. There you will be served tea, sweets and cookies by staff dressed as butlers and maids.

There is a lot that you can see during the convention. If you want to see some art, you can visit the Artist Alley and see what the talented people have created there. If you rather want to watch some really well done cosplays, you can head to the cosplay-competition. The winner will get a place to participate in the Swedish Championship in Cosplay. If you want to learn something new about the world of cosplay, you can go to one of the lectures they’re arranging. Sometimes a famous person can come and hold one lecture, like this year, when one of the screenwriters of Dr. Who came and talked about the development of their show.

There’s a lot of people around this event. Some people have to cook food while others have to make sure the event is secure for the visitors. They also have a team of medical staff, so if you get injured, you should take contact with them immediately. They will take care of you, help you to recover and call for an ambulance if it’s needed. The head of the Närcon-federation, Tobias Fjellander, regards that the visitors’ health is the most important part if they want a good time at the convention.

Many people like to visit conventions like this. Over 5200 people came to the university during these four days, and there are a lot of different people you can meet, not only cosplayers. Miranda Fondin, a cosplayer, claims that anybody can come and contribute with something special to the convention.

”You don’t have to be a cosplayer to bring something special here, you can just be a dedicated fan and meet other people with the same interest as yourself while you have fun”, she said.

She also states that even if some people like to think that conventions like these are just overwhelming and a bit too much, she has never seen anyone that is not satisfied with their visit during her 7-years as an active cosplayer.