For the eighth consecutive year, the Bama SOS Brigade, an on-campus organization of students who meet weekly to share their love of Japanese culture, will be putting on the Kami-Con festival.
Kami-Con is a three-day event focusing on anime and manga, with cosplay competitions, special guests, official merchandise vendors and anime viewings. Each day offers a multitude of events, with Saturday being one of the largest days for attendees.
“There are a lot of students that had much interest in Japanese culture, manga, video games and such,” said Evan Ware-Mickens, a senior majoring in management information systems and Bama SOS Brigade’s current president. “We attended a lot of conventions and we saw that some were poorly ran and we thought ‘We have some experience in event management, why not run our own?’ “
Kami-Con has existed since 2008. For the first few years, it was hosted in the Ferguson Center. In 2012, the Bama SOS Brigade made the move to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center for more available space and a larger convention.
While the convention is focused on anime, each day is full of events focusing on different categories for attendees who may not be well versed in the “fandom culture” surrounding a series. For those who haven’t watched or read many series, anime viewings will allow attendees to learn about new anime or watch classics for the first time.
“The big thing about Kami-Con is that we’ve been very welcome to anyone. We have different panels and events with descriptions for each one,” Ware-Mickens said. “So you may be someone that’s maybe into ‘Action.’ Well, we may have an event or a video game or an anime showing or something that will tell you about action, and you can go home and research it more and find something you may love.”
The convention also offers a late-night rave and panels intended for adult audiences, as well as a “League of Legends” tournament. Contests will be held for best costume, best animated music video and more.
Kami-Con will feature special guests such as Linda Ballantyne and Toby Proctor, voice actors from the original “Sailor Moon” series.
University of Alabama students primarily run the convention, with some alumni also coming in to ensure everything operates smoothly. During an SOS Brigade meeting, Ware-Mickens had two key points for those working the convention this weekend: “make sure attendees are happy and safe.”
“Anyone who is even partially interested in this, I really urge them to come out and at least try, because there’s really something for everyone, even if you’re not interested in anime,” said Charles Jesse, a freshman majoring in accounting and a Kami-Con Guest Relations member.
Kami-Con will take place March 11-13 at the BJCC. Though the ticket pre-registration period has ended, attendees can purchase tickets at the door, with ticket prices listed on the Kami-Con website, kamicon.net.
