Anime may have been around for more than forty years, but it has since evolved into a mainstream phenomenon that takes Seattle by storm every Spring for the past seven years.

East really meets West with Sakura-Con, an anime convention put on by the Asia-Northwest Cultural Education Association; a non-profit organization whose goal is to improve westerner's understanding of Asian culture through the use of traditional and contemporary media.

Originally called Baka!-Con in 1998, the name was changed to Sakura-Con in 2000. For the past two years the convention has been held at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle to accommodate the increasing number of participants.

The sheer scale of cosplaying at Sakura-Con is astounding. Anime fans seemed to take over downtown Seattle. Locals couldn't walk down 4th or 5th without seeing someone in costume or carrying a goody bag. This year, the individual memberships totaled more than 11,000, and the total daily attendance was approximately 21,000, who came and went during the three-day event.

Similar to our very own RadCon, Sakura-Con focuses primarily on anime, not necessarily science fiction. Visitors will definitely see the similarities, with many of the same vendors attending both conventions.

One vendor RadCon attendees did not get to see, was VooDooBaby. One piece of cotton or linen thread, about 1-yard in length, is spun into a little figurine of a person by freehand and without wire support. They come in different colors and have different outfits. Like their name says, they are little voodoo dolls that either help ward off certain inconveniences, or put spells on other people.

As creepy as the dolls sound, the manufacturer's state the dolls are not for real, nor do they possess any curse effect whatsoever. Their so-called "curses" and "spells" are actually very practical. For instance, the Sumo voodoobaby description is:

"Tired being picked on? Sumo will give you the strength to stand up to your bullies and to stomp all of your fears away!"

As with most conventions, people tend to dress up as their favorite anime/video game characters, which is called "cosplaying." Since this convention is aimed at anime, the majority of attendees cosplay, making the non-cosplayers the minority. Throughout the large crowds, there were several Naruto's, a couple Ichigo's from Bleach, and a lot of Final Fantasy characters. The amount of time spent on some of the costumes is amazing, and some of the outfits are breathtaking.

People who cosplay oftentimes carry their character's weapons. Many places offer hand-crafted replicas when the cosplayers themselves are not able to make their own. For instance, someone dressed up as Cloud from Final Fantasy VII would typically be carrying a Buster Sword. Majority of the people there carried kitanas, imitation guns, daggers, etc., and accumulate more weapons as the convention goes on.

However, due to increasing safety regulations, many cosplayers were forced to keep their weapons sheathed and even had them zip-tied shut by security. This posed as a problem for pictures and performances, where cosplayers could not display their props.

Yet some didn't even need weapons. One guy dressed as Snake from the hit video game Metal Gear Solid. For those unfamiliar with MGS, the main character can avoid his enemies by hiding underneath a box. This box maneuver has become an unexplained phenomenon that people absolutely love.

Not everyone had a sword or weapon. In fact, not everyone dressed as the same sex.

"Crossplay" is the term for dressing up as a character of the opposite sex, which is gaining popularity. Although there were plenty of women dressed as their favorite male characters, the ones that stood out were the guys dressing drag. Even vendors dressed in drag, promoting crossplay.

One vendor in particular willingly divulged that his grandfather was transgender and that he was wearing his grandfather's fake breasts. He also noted that his wife was dressed up as a male character the day before and that crossplaying has become a natural occurrence at these conventions.

Sakura-Con has developed into a full-fledged anime convention that brings in big contenders, such as Japanese pop artists Lin Clover and MOVE. Performing on the main stage, roughly a thousand people or more attended their private concert. As each group performed their hits from notable anime's, people jumped in the air with excitement, allowing others to feel the floor beneath them flexing.

Webcomic artists fly in from all over the U.S. to attend these types of conventions. This year, big timers Fred Gallagher from Megatokyo and Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik from Penny-Arcade showed up to host panel discussions as well as sign autographs and give free sketches to their fans. Rising artists Jeph Jacques from Questionable Content and Sam Logan from Sam and Fuzzy shared a booth this year, selling their merchandise, handing out free stickers and offering sketches of people's favorite characters.

With next year's Sakura-Con dates already secured for March 28-30th, you can count on people already planning their trek to Seattle's biggest anime convention. Those who were lucky enough to register ahead received a discount at certain hotels within walking distance to the convention center, which is highly recommended to avoid parking garages or the possibility of being towed.

A great location, wonderful people, and amazing costumes. What's not to like? I would go to next year's Sakura-Con and maybe even dress up. When you're around 11,000 people who're cosplaying as Naruto, Zelda, and Mega Man, you honestly don't feel that silly.