Cosplay Madness

The fan base that appreciates anime and manga--the Japanese style of cartoon illustration--isn't the largest subculture in Boise, nor the most apparent, but they are growing. Laura DeLaney, owner of Rediscovered Books, has given Animatics a place to meet and possibly flourish.

"It's really under-served," DeLaney said. "They're often viewed as outsiders, and they really don't need to be. They're just people who are amazingly passionate about the books that they read."

And they aren't really any different from the Jane Austen Society or Harry Potter fans who dress up in costume.

"It's really just about people who love their characters," DeLaney said.

Animatics are unabashedly enthusiastic--the club slogan reads "Where it's OK to be obsessed." In the back of Rediscovered Books, beneath hanging Japanese lanterns with Kanji text, the club meets once a month to discuss manga, plan for cons and create costumes. For the group, numbering some 30 strong and growing, manga and anime are a way of life.

"It's amazingly popular. It has kind of blended into mainstream society and become more recognized and accepted," said one fan, dressed in black clothes with black eyeliner and lipstick, who identifies himself only by the pseudonym Veg, short for Vegan, because of his dietary preferences. "They at least get the references whether or not they give a damn," he said.