Fandoms unite at Anime: Roseville

It's not every day you get to see Khaleesi mother of Dragons engaged in a LARP (Live Action Role Play) battle; a seven-foot Predator urging you to give him a hug or a bumbling Godzilla with his very own theme music. But on Sunday, Roseville's @TheGrounds proudly belonged to the nerds. The inaugural Anime: Roseville convention, presented by SacAnime, turned out better than organizers had originally planned. "The show exceeded our expectations," said Scott Armstrong, SacAnime program director. "Roseville welcomed us with open arms. The fans were amazing. The guests had a great time meeting everyone. We are looking forward to our next Anime: Roseville on April 19, 2020." For anyone familiar with comic book conventions, perhaps the best part is the myriad of costumes. Anime: Roseville did not disappoint. Dressed as a Yiga Blademaster from the "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," Chris Garcia of Roseville spent all but five minutes to reach @The Grounds. A regular of fandom conventions throughout the state, Garcia expressed his desire for the future success of Anime: Roseville. "It's actually pretty cool," Garcia said. "Normally, I will travel an hour or two hours and even eight hours whether it's in Sacramento or L.A. All of a sudden, I see a convention that is five minutes away and I am like 'I really, really hope this grows because I want to go here more.'" For Kristie Carlson, who attends college in Oregon, Sunday's event was special. Not only was the Georgetown native happy to show off her custom "JoJo's Bizarre Adventures" outfit but she was able to reconnect with friends of similar interests. "Sacramento is my home area, so I always go to SacAnime," Carlson said. "I saw that Anime: Roseville was happening and got very excited. This is a chance for me to see friends I normally don't see who came out from all over the Sacramento area. It's just really exciting to go to a convention that is still close to my home." Anime: Roseville also provided a number of local and regional artists with an opportunity to showcase their work. From Japanese-inspired water colors to abstract digital renderings, local artists were able to target their specific audiences more than eager to view their products. Among those with a booth was Sarah Rene Kraft, a fantasy-surrealist illustrator from Sacramento. A veteran of fandom conventions for more than a decade, Kraft shed light on the amount of exposure artists receive at events such as Anime: Roseville. "I started doing SacCon and SacAnime around 2009," Kraft said. "I remember when SacAnime started at the Radisson hotel and I just had a little table in the hallway. I was just selling a couple 8 x 10-inch prints of what I was doing at the time and that really gave me the confidence to keep working on my art. I eventually started to do my own thing and it allowed me to grow and become the artist I am today." A Roseville Comic con is scheduled later this year on Oct. 27, Armstrong said. For more information on SacAnime and upcoming shows, visit sacanime.com.