Last week I drove back home along Martin Luther King Blvd. from a meeting and saw numerous colorful and strangely dressed humans rushing towards the Convention Center. You know me. Curiosity has its way, always. So I found a parking garage and asked the first person I saw, what was going on.

Kumoricon! By her looks she must have thought I was an extraterrestrial, since I indicated that I had no clue what she was referring to. The annual celebration of all things Japanese pop culture and anime, which apparently has a large fan base in the Pacific Northwest, was slated for this weekend.

Off I went, and had the nicest encounters with strangely decked out, creatively clad, distinctively painted beings from a different universe. It helped that I am a patient woman – many had to get the gear in order, get rid of bowls of miso soup, stash away the iPhones, get out cardboard weapons, flick the wigs’ curls, don the gloves and assume the correct pose.

Honestly, there was so much laughter, excitement and joy around that it was infectious. I floated from sight to sight, although I declined to go to the heart of the action: the admissions price was a steep $70 at the door. No clue how these youngsters have breathing room for such an expenditure. True fans, I guess.

And not only youngsters. There were quite a few fans across generations. And lest you think it is all fantasy and escapism – or are, like this ancient mother, stuck in the ice-age defined by your kids’ Pokémon cards – I learn that there is reason to believe that manga and anime provide a forum for crucial and subversive thought in Japan. And that there is an ongoing controversy around issues of feminist thought and general issues inclusivity.

I know, truly, nothing about it, nor do I, honestly, care. I was just thrilled to see so many young people be creatively involved, telling me how they made their costumes or got their fake contact lenses, having a good time. As was I.

Did I mention I l o v e living in Portland???

Music today is NOT an expression of my taste, but in honor of all of these characters ….a song from Howl’s Moving Castle which I actually saw with the kids some 15 or so years ago. Now why that kind of music is matched with Japanese story telling is a mystery to me. Then so is much of the rest the world….