So, let me set the scene for you – Valentine’s Weekend, Gaylord Hotel & Conference Center, National Harbor. Outside? Frigid temperatures, cutting winds, & 5-foot mounds of snow left over from Snowmaggedon DC 2010! Inside, soaring glass ceilings, restaurants, retail shops & a spa, gorgeous trees & fountains, 2,000 luxurious rooms, and literally thousands of people milling about. As it turns out, there was more than one conference going on simultaneously under 1 roof this weekend, and the contrast was evident.

My husband and I were there to attend a Family Life (FL) Conference (A Weekend to Remember – W2R) – along with about 2,500 other couples with expectations of strengthening their marriages & families. (Family Life’s mission is to effectively develop Godly marriages & families, stressing that family and life are inseparable; hence, FamilyLife).

The speaker began, “Love is blind; but marriage is an eye-opener!” And as we all got a great laugh from that statement, the irony to come was even funnier -- the weekend would be an eye-opener, as well! And not just for our marriages.

The diversity of the groups sharing the space was surreal. A clash of cultures? You might say! And the pictures (above & below) DO NOT begin to tell it all. You see, also in attendance were about 6,000 kids attending Katsucon – one of many Anime conferences held throughout the year internationally, as well as in the US. Ranging in age from as young as 12 to as old as 60 (median age was clearly 13-17), these kids strolled through the conference center dressed as characters from Japanese anime, manga, TV shows and video games.

So as the 2 groups emerged from their sessions, they were entwined throughout the weekend. The conservative (most of which “Christian”), mature, married adults, merging with the kids dressed as other-worldly (some creepy) fantasy creatures; many scantily-clad, portraying humans with animal features, animals with human features, mutant species; many of them cross-dressing, or in drag, and/or androgynous. It was a colorful group, with bright (or jet black) fabrics & neon-colored wigs -- purple, white, pink, orange, green; and lots of interesting make-up. Accessories also included fake eyes, blood-covered clothing, bright-colored wigs, bows, horns, tails, elf or animal ears, high-heeled shoes, platform shoes (think Elton John in the 70s), capes, wings, & weapons.

Seeking to learn more about this obviously bizarre event, I talked to many of them, took photos & later reached out to my on-line friends to see who might know more about Katsucan. I have since found several friends whose kids are into Anime; one whose daughters actually attended and wondered who all the couples at the center were! She explained that her girls have been into Anime since elementary school. So with the help of her daughter, they checked out the photos I posted on Facebook, and identified the Anime characters being portrayed – from Japanese comic strips, to TV shows, movies, games, etc. I understand that gender is a flexible concept in Anime, which is normal and acceptable in Japanese culture & therefore the costumes reflect that. Many of the characters are androgynous, gay and/or cross-dress, which explains much of what we observed.

The most innocent costumes we observed were 2 power rangers & a 12-year-old-girl from Virginia Beach (attending her first Anime conference) dressed as a Pokemon character, accompanied by a girl dressed as gothic Lolita (I looked this one up). And others let it all hang out – as a lot of Anime is known for depicting women with large-breasts, over-sized eyes, & bearing a lot of skin.

We identified Elfen Lied (one of the creepiest outfits I saw, & reinforced by the description on Wikipedia – “themes: identity, revenge, child abuse, jealousy, etc.; “employs graphic violence & nudity”) Depicted in other photos are: Tsubassa of Resovoir Chronicles; Suu from Clover; and Chi from Chobits - all Clamp mangas (comics drawn by all female illustrators); characters from Trinity Blood; Hetalia: Axis Powers; and Cloud of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Anime has varying ratings, and has a huge adult following, rated H (known as HENTEI), basically cartoon hard-core pornography. (See The Anime Explosion: The What? Why? Wow! of Japanese animation by Patrick Drazen, Stonebridge Press.) My research of this category was extremely limited, but I learned more than I cared to know about this perverted “adult” version.

The Anime industry is huge internationally and growing in the US. The “cons” are big money and the largest on the East Coast is Otakon, held in Baltimore, MD. (In previous years, Katsucon was hosted in Crystal City & at the Omni Shoreham, DC; and is scheduled for the next 3 years at the Gaylord, National Harbor.)

As you can imagine, some of our fellow W2R attendees were not only confused, but horrified. Not understanding this culture, and what was going on created a disconcerting feeling in your gut. And now that I’ve done further research, I have to say I better understand the appeal, but remain concerned.

As for the staff of Family Life, you may be surprised to learn that Dennis Rainey & his wife (who founded FL) encouraged the W2R attendees to engage with these kids, ask what’s going on, & show them love, rather than judgmental looks. After all, they are the generation of the future!?

To further point out the contrast, I summarize some key points of the conference:

- Invest in the next generation!
- The average child today uses 7.5 hours of media per day. So, who do you want to influence your kids? The media?
- Our culture seduces us to develop misperceptions of reality, so we begin to compare our expectations and fantasies to real life. (Hello? Reality TV? Anime?) And we begin to ask questions about reality and not our fantasies.
- Children learn their identity from parents – am I loved/am I a boy/a ogirl/am I good/bad/ am I valuable/worthless?
- Leave a Godly legacy
- As parents, our role is to prepare our kids for a life of purpose/responsibility.
- Love extravagantly.
- Involvement is at the heart of teaching and training our kids.
- Children learn unconditional love as parents demonstrate that kind of love in the home

If you want to learn more about Anime & the Cons, which are big business, I'd suggest you check in with your kids, first, and also go to Wikipedia, for starters! And if you want to learn more about what I learned at the FL conference, check back in as my next blog will summarize much of what we unpacked & were encouraged to apply. "Marriage does not need to be a 3-Ring Circus: First is the Engagement Ring, then the Wedding Ring, and then Suffering."