Farewell, PopCult Anime Con – Cosplay Gallery Part 3
When I found out on Saturday that I would be unable to attend Sunday of the final iteration of PopCult Anime Con, I was bummed out. For anyone concerned, it was something sudden but not worth worrying about — still, unavoidable. I had a break in the flow of cosplayers to photograph, so I told the head of the Photo Department, WaterDragondesign, and went to tell the convention founder and manager Hemlock Inyx. They took it in stride but noted that it seemed that many things that could have gone wrong that weekend were doing so. I felt bad about piling on, but there was nothing I could do.
Because I wasn’t going to be there Sunday, I decided that I would stay later than I had on previous Saturdays, not packing up until after the Masquerade event, which ran from 6 to 8 p.m. Normally I would start packing up my portable studio right after the Masquerade started, because nearly all attendees would be in the ballroom watching the event, and there would be almost no cosplayers around to photograph. That was also the case this past Saturday and I found myself struggling to stay awake. Luckily there was a few cosplayers still wandering about, and some people stopped by for quick chats.
I was glad I did stay later than normal, because I had seen various members of what was clearly a large Haikyuu group wandering about, and one of them said they would bring the whole group around later for photos. That “later” turned out to be after the group — Weeb Palace and friends — won the award for Best Advanced Masquerade Performance. So, the energy you see in those photos — the penultimate set in the gallery and the featured photo above — is from them still riding the high of performing and winning.
In my first article about this year’s convention, I mentioned how Hemlock decided the challenges were just too great to continue, but I didn’t get any more specific than that. Hemlock’s post from May announcing that this year would be the final PopCult Anime Con went into more detail, citing financial concerns, exacerbated by the pandemic knocking the con’s growth curve for a loop. Health issues among the staff were also an increasing concern, but the biggest problem was finding new staffers who met the goals and objectives the con was founded on — “Local, Low-Cost Entertainment and Accessibility for the Disabled.”
PopCult Anime Con has been one of my favorite small cons since it was launched in 2016, but I admit I had no idea that it was founded on those principals, ones which I also applaud. It’s now even more of a shame that it will no longer be a part of my annual convention schedule. As the characters in an anime might say, otsukare sama deshita and ja ne.
Cosplayers in this final gallery from any PopCult anime Con include lady.lizard.cosplay, kattersiscoming, kaotikal, potatosaurusrx, paradise_kiss.idols, adrianxcosplays, yushicos, silverfalconcosplay, apocalypse.unicorn, miss_lisa_miray, makeupmermaidcos, sundaze_the_lamb, animesuckx, hail_rosequartz, aduarte.96, evil.emu, _goooobz_, hats_cg, polarwildcatstudios, lunarfanged, kiracadabra, oyasubunny, kawaiikaeru, bunsonbunscosplay, taytimecosplay, ultimatepopstar, spacewrecked, mistykristicosplay, and many more.
We use Smugmug to present cosplay photo galleries. To view the entire gallery, just click on the image below. If you are pictured in any of our galleries, feel free to download the images and use them non-commercially on social media, with appropriate credit.
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Also, High-res images for sale is back!
If you are pictured in any of our galleries and want the high-resolution (3200 pixels at its widest by 300dpi) download for yourself, we can make it available via a private Smugmug link, for $10 per image. Just send an email to editor AT nerdcaliber.com. Currently limited to only photos taken by FirstPerson Shooter (aka Rodney Brown).
