Followup: subVERSION Anime Fest

The subVERSION Anime Fest played at the Clinton Street Theater this past Sunday, and I was there to check it out, even though, as I wrote about the fest, I'm not into Anime.

Compared to the packed PDX Film Fest, which played the same venue for five days straight two weeks ago, subVERSION's attendees made the Clinton look emaciated.

Attending was a rotating roster of between eight and 15 people, many of them dressed up as characters from their favorite shows and movies. A woman who may have been in a Pokemon costume asked the dedicated crowd trivia questions (Keanu Reeves is starring in a live-action Cowboy Bebop movie, by the way) to pass the time when the projector malfunctioned.

Four young girls, who told me they were actually there for the Cosplay fashion show, came in kitty ears and elaborate dresses.

I watched Princess Arete - a strangely European-set Japanese tale - and Dennou Coil, both of which confirmed my suspicion that Anime is not and never will be something I get. But the fans who showed up were really digging it. One man, a die-hard who stayed for all 12 hours of subVERSION at the Baghdad Theater last year, is eagerly awaiting the Kumoricon Anime Convention at the Hilton downtown this coming Labor Day.

This subculture, scrappy though it may be, is here to stay.