On Saturday, August 5th, I followed a horde of people in cosplay into the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for the second day of Fan Expo Boston, the local equivalent of a Comic-Con. People all around me chattered in excitement as volunteers in yellow shirts and pigtails shouted directions for where to go to sign in and verify our passes. I watched the crowd in silence, only half absorbing my friend’s comments about the Pokémon stuffies she was hoping to buy, trying to take in this social experiment I’d been thrown into.
My ticket to the expo had been a gift from a friend who didn’t want to go alone, a gift which I accepted more so to spend time with my friend than to experience the event. I’ve never been into superheroes or fantasy and the only anime I like is “Rilakkuma and Kaoru:” a stop-motion series about a bear who takes naps all day. It was a true fish out of water experience, if the fish had had several opportunities to go on land, always decided not to, and then followed their friend to the world’s driest desert.
The imposture of my presence continued as I got deeper into the convention and found myself surrounded by booths selling dice for games I didn’t play and collectibles for shows I didn’t watch. I didn’t know what I was doing there. The answer to whether or not I could enjoy the convention was starting to feel like a resounding no.
But as I followed my friend around to various booths with stuffed animals and custom prints, I started to realize something: everything was really beautiful. The Pokémon and Studio Ghibli characters were adorable, the sketches of anime characters were stunning, the jewelry made of spiritual beads and crystals were sparkly and gorgeous, everything was so nice to look at. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know what they were; that didn’t stop me from enjoying the art and beauty of it all. This one room had combined animation, fashion, cinematography, and so many other incredible art forms that I hadn’t gotten to experience before. Maybe I didn’t know what was going on but I knew that I liked whatever I was seeing.
This new appreciation came to a head when I bought a Hello Kitty stuffed animal and a little kid walking past told me how much she loved it. I smiled at her and said thank you, then turned to my friend and said, “Did you see how cute that was?” It was then that I decided it didn’t matter whether or not I was qualified to be there; that child wasn’t the target demographic either. But both of us were there, looking at cute things, and having fun.
I don’t plan on going back to Fan Expo and, honestly, I can’t recommend paying $43 for tickets to someone who’s as out of the culture as I am. But I can say that I’m grateful to have had the experience and that anyone who’s as lucky as I am to be given the chance to go should definitely try it. Maybe you’ll be a little isolated and confused but you’ll also get to learn about and appreciate a whole new culture from people who are so kind and passionate about their interests. You’ll get to discover a whole new section of the world that you’ve never even considered. You’ll get to feel the joy and excitement radiating off of everyone who celebrates conventions like these as a holiday. And who knows? Maybe you’ll get your own cute merch complimented by a sweet kid.
Next year, Fan Expo Boston will be held between June 28 – 30 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center with a special reduced price for tickets purchased before Oct. 27.
