(originally posted November 28, 2019)
The second day of Anime NYC would see more Gundam-related festivities, primarily the cosplay meetup I hosted and the American premiere of the first Reconguista in G movie. I also got a chance to see more of NYC itself with some new friends.
In celebration of both the G-Reco movie and the TV series’ 5th anniversary, I decided to bring back my Lt. Kerbes Yoh cosplay that I originally made in 2016. Despite being made three years ago, it remained incomplete until very recently. I ran into trouble with getting into costume yet again as there was a malfunction with one of its newly made accessories, but I ended up making it to the Gundam meetup on time.
Upon seeing a handful of familiar faces among the rapidly growing crowds in the South Concourse, I was both excited and nervous. This was only the third group photoshoot I ever hosted, after Otakon 2018 and 2019, and every group I was a part of since 2014 only managed to get between 10-15 cosplayers to join. I made a better effort to promote the meetup in the months leading up to Anime NYC, wished with all my might that we would get a turnout similar to Otakon 2014’s massive group, and my wish was beyond granted.
There were so many cosplayers that I struggled to shout loud enough for everyone to hear my cues, but several people helped me direct each wonderful shot and we had a blast from beginning to end. I was especially happy to see @duckacrobat‘s Klim Nick cosplay as together we represented the Regild Century among this huge and predominantly Universal Century group. Everyone looked amazing and I still can’t thank them enough for helping to make this one of the biggest Gundam cosplay gatherings ever.
That evening, we were all given another opportunity to see Tomino before the first G-Reco movie was shown. Initially humbled by the crowd’s enthusiasm, Tomino resumed his sassiness from the day before by introducing his new film with a warning that “it’s not Gundam, so if you wanted to watch more Gundam, you might want to go home!” He also continued to insist that G-Reco is intended for children, advising the audience of almost nothing but 20 and 30-somethings to tell our young siblings to watch it.
Jokes aside, Reconguista in G I: Go! Core Fighter does a marvelous job of compiling and smoothing out all the rough edges of the first five episodes of the TV series. It’s been about four years since I last watched G-Reco TV so it was really fun to rewatch the beginning of it along with a sizable audience, some of which had not seen the TV series before. As the movie ended and several of us sang along to the ending theme, people made a mad dash to the microphone for questions. Unfortunately, there was less time to ask questions, and several people squandered this time and had to be reminded to keep them related to G-Reco only. One guy wished Tomino a happy belated birthday, which was nice, and online friend of mine @IchiroAo soothed the pain caused by all the dumb previous questions by asking Tomino about Bellri as a different Gundam protagonist than what we’re used to and what he could teach children through his upbeat personality.
The panel wasn’t quite over for all of us however. Tomino’s interpreter/MC asked for all cosplayers to follow her outside of the panel room to a closed off location…
…for photos with “godfather of Gundam” himself! For years I was under the impression that Tomino would be annoyed by cosplayers, thinking we could be doing better things with our time/money/energy or that we’re all insane for dressing up like his characters specifically. But here he was, happy to spend a few moments with us and to shake our hands. This meant I got to meet the creator of my favorite media twice in the same weekend. I haven’t felt this blessed in such a long time!
The Saturday excitement could have ended there, but it didn’t. By sheer chance I ended up visiting Times Square around midnight with Ichiro, another veteran Tomino fan Stephen (who was also the one who asked/told Tomino how much of an inspiration he is to his fans at the Friday panel) and a few others after we ate dinner. It was so cold and a little scary but it was an otherwise enchanting experience to be in the heart of New York City at this time of night, with people who love Tomino as much as I do.
It was a good thing there were no major events on Sunday, because by this point I had succumbed to the cold I’d been fighting for over a week. The final day of the con would thus be spent casually strolling the Exhibit Hall. My main mission there though was not so much to buy more goods but to say goodbye to several people who helped make this the best convention ever for me. Ichiro was one of them, and Worlynn, who assisted at Rideth_Mochi‘s Artists Alley booth, was another as she was a huge help in reaching people to join my Saturday meetup. Saying goodbye to Feez and his crew when I had to leave NYC sometime later was a bit harder as they’ve become a staple in my congoing experience. I wasn’t so much sad as I was profoundly grateful for getting to spend three days with so many wonderful people. We can thank Anime NYC for inviting Tomino, as his presence brought us all together to one physical place to celebrate our love for his work.
As nice as it would’ve been to talk to Tomino a little more, I chose not to attempt to ask him a question at either of his panels because I have too many questions, nearly all of them superficial, most of them about Turn A and Harry Ord… It was for the best that I spared poor Tomino and everyone else from my fangirl tripe! If I absolutely had to ask him anything, it would be if Harry really loves Kihel or not in the end as there are implications that he doesn’t/can’t (including Tetsu Inada’s account of Tomino telling him that the kiss scene in episode 38 is not as romantic as it seems—Harry kissed Kihel because he was annoyed with her advances!), and are they able to be a couple after Kihel takes on Dianna’s identity permanently? I may be the only person in the world that thinks this, but I’m certain the Queen of the Moon not only being replaced by a lookalike from Earth but also being lovers with her bodyguard (captain of her bodyguards, no less) would make for a massive scandal–and perfect material for a sequel. However, because it’s been 20 years since he worked with these characters and because he’s such a jokester, Tomino probably would have given me a cheeky non-answer like he gave many others at this con!
Content warning: mentions of domestic abuse and suicidal ideation.
Meeting Yoshiyuki Tomino and spending time with other fans of his at this year’s Anime NYC is significant to me for reasons beyond simply being a diehard fan. The anime Tomino directed helped me survive eight years of living with an verbally/emotionally abusive parent and dealing with my own tangled web of mental illness. Cosplaying characters from his shows helped me socialize when I was ashamed to even be alive after dropping out of art school and being unable to live like a healthy, independent adult. Drawing these same characters helped me overcome an artist’s block that persisted throughout the years I struggled to earn a college degree in graphic design (after failing to get one in illustration). Through every traumatic incident in my life since 2011, Turn A kept the idealist in me alive. Space Runaway Ideon, and similar shows like Victory Gundam where its characters are forced to face endless calamities, gave me hope that I could survive my own war against my father and my disability. G-Reco aired during my final two semesters of college and its gorgeous visuals and uplifting tone got me through the most stressful year ever for me. Suffice to say, I like to think Tomino’s work saved my life.
Earlier this decade, I was an unstable person who felt trapped in a hopeless situation with a mind that was beyond repair. After several years of therapy in conjunction with watching Tomino’s shows, I can now better manage my emotions so that I am kinder to others and can take on life’s challenges in spite of my intense fears. Because of this, I’m a bit baffled by Tomino’s answer to the question he received at his Friday panel regarding art and healing. He said he believed art alone cannot heal people, and that is true in the most literal sense, but his art was integral to my own healing as it provided me with solace and inspiration when it felt like my life was over. I wish I was able to express this to him when I met him Friday evening, but it would have been very embarrassing to break down in front of him and his staff. I think he still understood how much I loved his work based on what I said (and maybe my cosplay!). I am content with and endlessly thankful for the fact that I chose to live every time I wanted to end it all so that I could eventually leave my abuser and meet Mr. Tomino while he is still alive.