It was an overcast Saturday morning before 9 o’clock was about to strike. A flowing stream of hundreds of people was approaching the entrance to MCM Comic Con x EGX London 2024. I was swimming inside it and also slightly sleep deprived after my brain had been keeping me awake with excitement. This time the con was a combination of Comic Con that the British all know and love plus EGX — a gaming convention. I had been to both of them before. My plan for this hectic day was relatively simple: socialise with people; learn more about anime, manga and games; and take pictures and videos. However, I also wanted to look for magic.
How can you find magic at a convention? It doesn’t exist! Well, I found it anyway and you can too!
Once the convention doors opened, I started my journey from one corner of the two separate large halls with the aim of doing a systematic walking marathon across each and every stall and exhibit. In the corner of my eye, I had also already spotted a Madoka and Homura duo.
I marched with steadfast intention and attended a few panels related to anime and gaming. Then at around 1:30 PM, I reflected on the event so far. I was actually feeling a bit disappointed.
A Sudden Turn of Events
The truth is that I had actually been to the convention the day prior as well for a couple of hours. A friend was there at the same time. He told me that there were too many shops which gave the impression of being “surrounded by consumerist bullshit”. The week beforehand I was also eating dinner with a friend after we’d watched The Colours Within and he described the convention as corporate. For some reason, I also didn’t feel like taking many pictures of cosplayers.
Maybe the convention wouldn’t be as good as I thought. How can magic be present at a corporate convention? That line of questioning was blown up by a witch’s spell when I suddenly saw an influx of cosplayers that I really wanted to take pictures of. My friend then directed me to the outside of the building where a whole crowd of joyous cosplayers were scurrying around for the next person to nerd out with. I for some reason didn’t even consider the possibility that there would be a lot of people outside. To find magic at conventions, you can bring your friends along to let them show you a new scene you might not have sought out.
Standing on a Stage
The next magical moment occurred at a yosakoi performance helmed by the Yosakoi London Temuzu. Yosakoi is a form of Japanese dance that started in the 1950s and features choreography inspired by traditional Japanese dance, but is timed to modern music. The Yosakoi London Temuzu are a London-based group who have also performed at Japanese yosakoi festivals.
After delighting us with a performance, they invited people to learn yosakoi on stage. I was initially hesitant, but I decided to give it a go. It was fun to try something new with other people as we attempted to follow the movements of our instructors. I say “attempted”, because I definitely didn’t get the leg movements right. But why did I go to this? It’s because yosakoi is featured heavily in the manga and anime Hanayamata. The main character of Hanayamata also didn’t get things right at first either.
It was during this taster session that the host declared we were having a “magical fun time”. That’s literally what he said. But he was right: I came away feeling like a tiny difference in the world was made as I joined other people to validate the passion that the Yosakoi London Temuzu were sharing with me and also as I experienced and learnt something new. I’m also glad that I got another opportunity to empathise a little bit more with an anime character.
Speaking of stages, the cosplay masquerade was next. I felt like the masquerades I’d witnessed in conventions past were more impressive overall, but there were still some good cosplays. Everyone was positively validating the passion of different fandoms here too.
Your Own Ray of Light
My renewed hope for the convention empowered the next day as Sunday greeted everyone with a clear blue sky. That morning is when my favourite magical occurrence took place.
I’d spotted two cosplayers. They were cosplaying as Leon Belmont and Mathias Cronqvist respectively from Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. I was pleased to see this unusual choice as I like the game and they weren’t representing the Netflix series like I would’ve expected. I asked them for a photo together and they told me that I was apparently the first person to recognise the cosplays after multiple conventions. After taking the photo and having a quick chat with them, I wished them a pleasant rest of the day. Then as I was walking away, I heard a squeal of happiness behind me. That’s why when you see a cosplay that might be underappreciated, ask them for a photo right away! You never know if you might brighten someone’s day. It might not have happened if you weren’t there.
Opening Doors
Magic can also happen at conventions when you open new doors for yourself. That’s what the “Opening Doors with Cosplay” panel was about. The guests in order from left to right were Clood — a World Cosplay Summit winner — BeyondBelieving, Funkstercosplay, JustGenCosplay and Kerritcos. They discussed how cosplay brought them to new places abroad; allowed them to form new friendships; and made them participate in special occasions larger than themselves. You should try cosplaying and see what happens. You might let some extra happiness into your life as well if someone recognises the relatively unknown character you’re cosplaying as. Also, from what I observed, it’s easier to go up to a stranger if you’re both cosplaying as characters from the same series.
A solemn highlight of the panel was Funkstercosplay explaining how he conducted visits to hospital kids while he was in cosplay, and that some of the kids eventually passed away due to their illness. He even carried the coffin of one of the kids at the funeral. However, he still felt glad to have been a part of their lives. It was a reminder that you should make the world a better place through your interests while you still can.
Magic Abounds
Gradually, the event came to a close. I’d attended multiple interesting panels; took pictures of and talked with cosplayers both inside and outside the convention hall; watched a competitive Tekken 8 match; practised yosakoi; completed a quest from a World of Warcraft quest giver and received a (chocolate) gold coin as a reward; bought art from TVCHANY; played a demo of Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream; and learnt how to play Weiß Schwarz. The only thing I couldn’t do in time was play some of the indie games.
Like with any convention, it was filled with fun moments relating to my hobbies. I was also reminded that they are social spaces for people to come together and make things happen: whether that be through providing insights into particular topics and teaching others something new; positively asserting the passions of different people; or talking to someone you didn’t know before. Magic doesn’t exist, but you can do all of the above just the same and contribute to people having a great time. You don’t have to go on a globe-trotting adventure if you don’t have the means to. You can just go to the nearest con to you no matter its size. What matters is to prioritise making the most out of the event while you can. I know it might be awkward to talk to strangers and you might not know what to do at first due to the plethora of options. However, you can start by doing just one of bringing a friend; taking a shot at something you don’t know anything or very little about; talking with cosplayers; attending a panel that even slightly interests you; and doing a simple and inexpensive cosplay yourself.
To the Next Destination
At the end of it all, there was one last thing I was thinking about even since the start of the experience: What’s next? Going to conventions I hadn’t been to elsewhere in the U.K. was a given. But I could do more than that. Because wherever a convention is, you can be absolutely certain that it has the potential to be great. So sprint out of your room and rush towards the next magical stage!
Glad to see you had a great time, here’s to next year! Also fwiw some of the shops were decent.
Didn’t take a close look at most of the shops myself, but I’ll take your word for it. Happy I managed to find something cool in the artist alley at least.