The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Nominate-best-2010

Out: Saturday Dance at Anime Boston


Bespa Kumamero

Every year, teenage otaku from all over New England swarm the Hynes Convention Center for Anime Boston, an orgy of Japanese anime, manga, and video games (or pretty much anything involving adorable characters with enormous leaky eyes) that prides itself on being the largest anime convention in the Northeast. (Check out Maddy Myers's trip report here, complete with a video of the madness.)

On Saturday, I arrive just in time for the “Informal Dance,” a sweaty PG rave in the adjoining Sheraton Grand Ballroom. On stage, DJs ILP and Binary spin DnB and psy-trance, flanked by two gigantic screens showing swirling yin-yangs. As I scope out a cluster of kids in fluffy yeti boots swinging glowsticks and LED batons, I feel as if I’ve stumbled into a wormhole to an alternate-universe ’90s. A grey-bearded dude saunters past; he’s sporting a Pikachu hat with pathetically wilted ears and brandishing a digital camera. It’s disturbing to watch Uncle Creepy–san film the heaving sea of gyrating kids on the dance floor, but at least it means I’m not the oldest person in the room.

From the periphery, I glimpse a pink-wigged girl freak-dancing with a guy wearing a Naruto robe and a huge shit-eating grin while two ectomorphs in Guy Fawkes masks stomp along to a happy hardcore track. A mom wanders in with her daughter, who can’t be more than eight years old; the girl is utterly mesmerized. Nearby, a gaggle of corseted girls bust out some kind of elaborate Chinese-jump-rope-style dance move. Admiring their chops, a kid next to me advises his pal, “When in doubt, DDR.”

Suddenly, the lights on stage flash red and out come Bespa Kumamero — an industrial techno duo “all the way from Tokyo, Japan.” The crowd goes apeshit. As hundreds of fist-pumping anime fans pogo along to “Girl & Bunny” (which sounds a little like a mash-up of Madonna and the Aladdin video-game soundtrack), I swear I can feel the floor sway.

The energy is infectious, and the rubbernecking’s top-notch, but gawking at high-schoolers from the sidelines and scribbling furtive notes about them is starting to make me feel like a narc. Right around the time Creepy-san switches out his Pikachu cap for little green satin cat ears, I decide it’s time to bounce. The lobby outside the ballroom is littered with messenger bags, plushie backpacks, and cheerfully bedraggled congoers — the hallmarks of another successful Anime Boston.


  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article

1 Comments

  • char said:

    I was gonna go, but I was busy : (

    May 30, 2009 11:49 AM

Leave a Comment

Login | Not a member yet? Click here to Join
Follow the Phoenix
  • newsletter
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube
  • rss
All Blogs
Related Articles

Boston Phoenix
VIDEO: Arctic Monkeys at the House of Blues
Published 12/17/2009 by Alexandra Cavallo
Arctic Monkeys perform "My Propeller." See a gallery of Derek Kouyoumjian's live show photos hereJust five months after they last touched down on Boston, mop-topped...

Boston Phoenix
Review: Dashboard Confessional and New Found Glory at the Middle East Downstairs
Published 12/15/2009 by Alexandra Cavallo
Dashboard Confessional performs "Don't Wait." See a gallery of Jerome Eno's live show photos here. Chris Carrabba has a lot of feelings, and he doesn't...

more by Shaula Clark
Dear John | February 05, 2010
PODCAST: The Great Poe Debate [MP3] | January 21, 2010
Review: Sundance Shorts 2009 | January 15, 2010
PODCAST: America's Test Kitchen's 2010 season preview [MP3] | January 09, 2010
Review: In Search of Beethoven | January 08, 2010

 See all articles by: Shaula Clark

ADVERTISEMENT
Latest Video
OTD Categories
Out
VIDEO: Arctic Monkeys at the House of Blues
Rare Frequencies
Rare Frequencies: Trouble and treble
Playlists
Lady Lee's Lion's Den Playlist
MP3 of the Week
HOMEWORK: Assignment #2: D-Tension
Hot Tix
Ticket On-Sale Alert: Muse, Mariah Carey, Black Eyed...
Latest Comments
The Touching Tale Of Labor And Scott Brown - Blocking nominations is a time honored tradition that both parties partake in, most recently by Barry...

By Fake Name on 02-06-2010 in Talking Politics

MP3 of the Week: Vikesh Kapoor, "Newspress Scare" - stream the 7" here: vikeshkapoor.bandcamp.com/.../newspress-scare-7-2 tickets to the show here:...

By hootenanny on 02-05-2010 in On The Download

Dear Rush Limbaugh: Please Drop Dead. Love, Twitter - Shows the kind of exemplary trash that festers under the banner of the Democrat party. Wishing ANYONE...

By pirogue on 02-05-2010 in Phlog

The Touching Tale Of Labor And Scott Brown - Want a real conversation about the Massachusetts gubernatorial race? Watch Basic Black live TONIGHT ...

By saltzmas on 02-04-2010 in Talking Politics

Thugs and goons: Howie Carr explains--updated! - Oh, he got it from the comments! Nice job, Howie. So, according to Mr. Carr, it is the New York Times...

By Farnkoff on 02-04-2010 in Dont Quote Me

Latest Comments from On The Download
Most Viewed
Julian Casablancas on what's wrong with his solo record. Plus: the 76th bullshit Britney story of 2009
HOMEWORK: Assignment #4: Ryan Walsh of Hallelujah the Hills
MP3: Casey Dienel goes Gaga on White Hinterland's new Kairos
MP3 of the Week: Conservative Man, "The Heist"
Together at last: Amanda Palmer and Kay Hanley duet at Lizard Lounge [video]
Photos and Video: Julian Casablancas at the Paradise Rock Club, and live on WFNX
Ticket On-Sale Alert: The Thermals, Trey Anastasio, Spoon, Jay-Z, Xiu Xiu, and more
Most Viewed from On The Download
Search Blogs
 
Links
Bradley’s Almanac - Lower Allston blogging and bootlegging since 2001
Band in Boston -
Basstown -
Wayne&Wax -
Aurgasm -
Onward Charles -
Compound 440r -
Anti-Gravity Bunny -
Clicky Clicky -
Soul Clap -
Lemmingtrail -
WMBR -
WFNX -
Beginning To See the Light -
Jump the Turnstyle -
Heads Up Boston -
Loaded Gun -
Enough Cowbell -
Vanyaland -
On The Download Archives
Sunday, February 07, 2010  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
thePhoenix.com
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Copyright © 2010 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group