Animated

My kids watch a lot of anime.  As in a concerning amount.  Even with filtering out the more questionable shows (roughly 98% of all existing anime), they watch enough that I wouldn't be surprised if they started speaking Japanese over breakfast one day.

Okay, so maybe that's a bit hyperbolic.  A bit.  At any rate, when they heard there was an anime festival at a local mall, I knew how I'd be spending my Saturday.

They were planning to go in full costume, but since General Conference (a particular group of church meetings) was going on that same weekend, they didn't have the time and had to settle for fan-gear. 

The mall thoroughfares were lined with vendor booths selling everything from dice and artwork to character-scented nail oil and official costumes.  A makeshift theater had been set up that was streaming Studio Ghibli movies all day.  A Pokémon GO tournament was in full swing.  A costume contest was scheduled for later in the afternoon, and, judging by the sheer number of cosplayers, it was going to be a doozy.

The girls were in heaven, inspecting every booth, geeking out over every character they recognized and spewing excited compliments. Honestly, one of the things I love about anime and other nerdfests is how welcoming they are.  Yes, there are always some toxic die-hard toolbags in any fandom, but generally people at these things are just fantastic.  If someone puts effort into dressing up, the crowd doesn't care.  Naruto, Inuyasha, Spy X Family, Dragon Ball Z, Ghibli, The Last Airbender, Sailor Moon, Bleach, Tails from Sonic, Star Wars, the odd Jurassic Park guy with a velociraptor and so many more I didn't recognize...It was fabulous.

Everyone left satisfied.  Bren got to flirt with the Dark Side, Echo got called out by a stormtrooper as likely to go Dark, Leah got to stop by the kitty café, the smalls all enjoyed their Pokémon mystery boxes (complete with snacks and Pokémon swag).  Most importantly, we got to leave the house.  All in all, a pretty good day.