Alaska News

Photos: Cosplayers flock to Senshi-Con

Jane Lee stayed up all night to finish sewing her costume in time for this weekend's Senshi-Con anime convention.

She didn't succeed. At 8 a.m. Saturday, the 20-year-old had to surrender and make her way to Anchorage's Egan Civic and Convention Center.

But her backup costume, a lacy petticoat, a long curling wig and a cloth headband in the Japanese "Lolita" fashion, still attracted plenty of compliments -- and fit in into the wild assortment of furry headpieces, video game and manga characters, homemade swords, wigs, masks and other costumes that descended on the Egan Center on Saturday.

Organizers estimated that more than 2,500 people converged on downtown for Senshi-Con, Alaska's largest anime convention and a loud-and-proud celebration of geekiness and the culture of costume-playing, often shortened to cosplay. This year's attendance estimate far surpassed earlier records for the convention, now in its 10th year.

The line started early Saturday morning, wrapping around the Egan Center and back to Fourth Avenue. Most convention-goers looked to be high school or college age but there were also families and parents with strollers weaving in and out of the crowds.

Once people got inside, the halls were punctuated by shrieks of excitement and the question, "Can I take your picture?"

Read more: Anime fans celebrate 'nerd culture' at Senshi-Con

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