Megan Paddi, dressed as Hsien-Ko from “Night Warriors,” lays in the grass. Paddi made the costume herself and has been into anime since she was 10.
Jeff Porter

It’s hard to feel out of place dressed as Rukia from Bleach while standing in a line of people ranging from Inuyasha to Kingdom Hearts characters— especially considering most cosplayers were cross-dressers. It was a little after 7 a.m. and I was waiting in the pre-registered l ine to enter Tora-Con, the annual convention held by the RIT Anime Club.

Cosplay was, of course, a huge part of Tora-Con, part of the incentive being a Cosplay Competition. For instance, Sara Jackson, second year Computer Science major, entered herself as Asuka Langely Sohryu from Neon Genesis Evangelion in a maid waitress outfit and wound up winning first place for Craftsmanship. Still, she noted that there were flaws with the contest: “I would try to get the cosplay contest to run more smoothly. I didn’t go to the one last year, so I’m not sure if it’s always like this, but the rehearsal part was very unorganized.”

After opening ceremonies, the Anime Music Video contest began. One that got a lot of attention was a comedic Neon Genesis Evangelion video, which featured the teeth-gritting “I Know A Song That Gets on Everybody’s Nerves.” Everyone eventually ended up singing and it was topped off with a Rickroll, featuring Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

In the section known as the Artist Alley were several artists including Kirsten Canfield, third year International Studies major, who designed the badges worn by everyone at Tora-Con. When asked if she would come to the con again next year, she replied, “If I can get a job in the Rochester area, I’ll definitely attend again. Tora-Con is actually the reason I’m trying to get a job in the Rochester area for spring quarter.”

Another panel that drew a huge amount of attention was that of the MetalWorks Club, RIT’s chainmail club. Several MetalWorks members, joined by Michael Delles, MetalWorks President and second year Computer Engineer, taught people how to make simple designs while Delles stood by dressed in a 16-pound chain-mail vest with two wrist guards. By the end of the workshop, my hands were red and sore, but I had caught on so quickly that I had made a bracelet before most people finished their first inch.

Throughout the day, there were also anime showings. Based on suggestions in the online forum, they arranged a list of shows such as Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Outlaw Star. To top it all off, there were even three gaming tournaments going on upstairs for Brawl, Double Dash, and Guitar Hero 3.

Later that night, the band unicorn table performed a concert and the crowd went wild. Although there were some issues with singing along (almost no one knew Japanese), the energy in the room was overwhelming, and it was a huge hit. At around 1:30 a.m., the crowd began to disperse and the DJ slowed it down. The lights were turned up and tired ravers left to go home and hit the hay.