By By Ryan Broderick, News Editor

The New York Anime Festival (NYAF), held at The Jacob K. Javits Center, was a strange event, left unnoticed by anyone with a mainstream sensibility. The people seemed odd and their costumes were even more bizarre. But for 21,388 people, 16% more than last year, it was a place to dress up as your favorite cartoon charac¬ter and immerse yourself in your favorite shows, movies and comic books.
Possibly the strangest thing about The NYAF was the variety of people attending. The attend¬ees came from all walks of life and whether they were costumed or not, they were there to spend the day buying Japanese comic books, toys, models, DVDs or post¬ers. The sheer amount of swag housed inside of The Javits Center was the first thing your eye meets after adjusting to the eccentric guests.
Throughout the day, Anime fans played video games, watched movies, and listened to and met their favorite writ¬ers, directors and voice actors. On Sunday night, there were even con¬certs, one with AKB48 and the other a Far East to East Showcase featur¬ing Kokusyoku Sumire, Swinging Popsicle, Echostream and Gelatine.
And aside from the pos¬sibility of seeing a few weirdos at Penn Station and maybe a few on their way back coming through the Hempstead LIRR Branch, most of these enthusiastic fans would probably go fairly unnoticed.
But how do they view themselves? Are they proud of their eccentric weekends dressed up as fanciful characters? Most of them are pretty unapologetic about it. One mother with her kids was excited about the oppor¬tunity to let them express themselves. “I think it’s really cool. I think it’s really nice that everyone’s dressed up. You know, I bring my own kids, they’re dressed up.” The convention-experienced mom continued, “I think it’s great that they’re expressing themselves.”
But the talk of the con¬vention this year was how next year they’re combin¬ing Comic Con and The New York Anime Festival. It’s hard to imagine the nerd quotient doubling, but imagining streets littered with capes and swords and spiky hair has got to be a fan’s dream.