Texarkanime draws fans from throughout the area
Officials say it could become an annual event
The first Texarkanime Convention animated about 300 local and area residents to drop by and check out various anime-focused games and vendor products as well as take part in panel discussions.
Little Rock resident Ginger Pearson, who served as the convention’s chairwoman, said the two-day event did pretty well for its first time in Texarkana, adding that it will likely return to the Arkansas Convention Center again next year, depending on scheduling.
“This center has plenty of room and we are looking at being back here next year,” she said. “Our next convention here will also last, probably, about two days again.”
Collectively, Pearson said the center did very well in accommodating the 25 to 30 vendors and artists brought here by the convention.
Although anime, as a pop culture art, has Japanese animation roots that go as far back as the 1970s and 1980s, convention participants said this entertainment may go as far back as 1917—close to the genesis of silent films.
“Unlike animated cartoons created in America, this type of animation is more adult themed because its more about adult challenges and issues and more likely to get a PG-13 rating,” Pearson said. “It seems to appeal mostly to both males and females in the age range of 13 to 35.”
Because of its appeal to older young audiences, she said anime appears more similar to movie scripting rather than cartoon scripting in terms of story lines.
Pearson’s son, Dan Pearson, participated in arranging the convention. He said that just like feature film production, anime has genres such as horror, action-adventure, comedy, drama and of course, science fiction, which is one of its largest commodities.
Dan Pearson added that computer technology, particularly in the area of digital drawing, has influenced anime as much as it has cinema.
“Things that don’t even exist anymore can be drawn into the scenery,” he said.