Hundreds of people flocked to 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia last weekend for J-1 Con, the largest anime convention in the city. This convention is “held by nerds for nerds,” wrote Jason Richardson, the president and founder of the comics entertainment company J1 Studios. Samantha Cline, 18, from Bensalem, Pennsylvania, brought a binder of her Yu-Gi-Oh! collection to J-1 Con to share with other players. Visitors of all ages were encouraged to dress as anime characters and meet with other fans. Megan Barbieri, a 2005 Spanish alumna, and her daughter, Angelina, dressed as two of their favorite characters for the convention. The arena featured tables, televisions and monitors for gaming, a microphone for guests to practice script segments and dozens of sales kiosks where guests could purchase comics, jewelry, clothing, Japanese candies and other anime-themed items. J1 Studios hopes to expand J-1 Con into a three-day event in 2018.
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