Adventures in Tokyo, OK: 2024 Wrap-up
Although we’ve been attending Tokyo, OK for the past few years, I can’t remember a time feeling more hyped for Tulsa’s best anime convention other than our first experience attending a con. We always love going, but the change in venue this year brought the festivities to Marriott Southern Hills, the hotel that usually hosts another one of our favorite Tulsa conventions, Tails & Tornadoes. Moving from a downtown convention spread across several venues and downtown city blocks not only made the event much safer for attendees — many of whom are neurodivergent minors — but also made it much more pleasant to navigate in the oppressive Oklahoma summer heat.
If you’re not familiar with Tokyo, OK, it’s a three-day anime and Japanese pop culture celebration. When you pull up to the convention, you always know you’re in the right place by the dozens of folks you’ll find milling about the parking lot dressed up as their favorite anime or pop culture characters. Even though the convention is generally loaded with cool panels and events, one of the highlights for most attendees is simply getting to check out the other fantastic cosplays or even show off their own.
While I admit I’m not as anime-educated as my teenagers, I do have a few favorite anime like Danganronpa, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Sword Art Online. And like most geeky gen-x girls, I adore Sanrio. But for me, the best part about Tokyo, OK is always getting to see my kids totally geek out over their love of anime while vibing with the pure, wholesome energy of sharing their favorite things with a crowd of folks who love the same things.
This year, we had the chance to introduce a new friend to the world of anime conventions, which amplified the fun for all of us. Here’s a breakdown of our crew’s favorite things at Tokyo, OK 2024.
Murder Mystery Game With Junko and Mukuro
Although we didn’t get a chance to check out many panels this year, we did get to sit in on a murder mystery game that turned out to be an absolute riot hosted by two characters from Danganronpa. The game, which I believe was a variation on the card game Mafia, involved taking volunteers from the audience, and there were enough rounds that anyone who wanted to play had the chance to — in some cases twice. Every volunteer was given a card that designated whether they were a doctor, detective, mafia member, and so forth, and the group would have to work together to figure out who the killers were. Since most of the players were dressed in cosplay, many chose to play “in character,” adding to the fun.
I’ve seen a few game panels through my years of convention adventures, and this was decidedly the most engaging and fun for everyone, even audience members. I also loved that it provided an opportunity for attendees to interact with some other folks from the convention.
Cosplay Competition
As with most cons, the cosplay competition is always the big event at Tokyo, OK. If you’ve never been, cosplayers can compete according to their level of experience, with a panel of judges critiquing them on things like the level of detail and types of materials used in a cosplay. There’s also a segment for cosplay skits — stage performances where cosplayers generally dance, lip sync, and/or act out a scene from an anime.
It’s always a blast to see all of the hard work that goes into some of the more professional cosplays and performances, and some of them can be especially impressive (My personal favorite cosplay was the Going Merry from One Piece — the cosplayer was dressed as a detailed pirate ship). While sometimes, the cosplay competition at conventions can seem to drag a bit in places, it really seemed like things ran like clockwork thanks to the incredible hosts. And the performers did an outstanding job — some of the skits were so good we couldn’t stop buzzing about them for the rest of the evening (I’m looking at you, Pinkie Pie).
The Vendors and Artists
All of the artists and vendors were set up in a huge event space next door to the main convention space, and as usual, it was a chance to get up close and personal with some of the coolest art and handcrafted goods you might have to dig really hard on Etsy to find. Many attendees will save up their hard-earned cash throughout the year to spend it on some of the fantastic artisan wares brought in by creatives from around the country. But I also love picking up a list of online shops to visit when the holidays come around. When you’ve got teens with a long list of obscure interests, this can be a lifesaver when it’s time to buy Christmas gifts.
Console Gaming
Usually, we try to spend some time in both the console gaming and board game rooms at Tokyo, OK. While I didn’t have enough time this year for games (sad face), Arthur and his good friend Jaylan carved out some time to check out the Super Smash Bros. tournament, with Jaylan even competing for a few rounds. Since some of the Xbox consoles were loaded with Game Pass, they also spent some time battling it out on one of Arthur’s favorite games, Spider Heck.
When I asked Arthur what he loved about the gaming room, he told me, “It’s a really cool opportunity to interact with other gamers in your community. It’s just a cool way to hang out face-to-face with other gamers in real life.” As far as competing with other gamers, Jaylan told me, “It’s awesome. Good to get my skills up.”
For my part, I think the best thing about Tokyo, OK and other pop culture events like it is the opportunity to get out in the world and connect with other folks who share the same interests — particularly important for teenagers and young adults immersed in a digital world that can feel isolating at times. And as always, the promoters of Tokyo, OK did an outstanding job creating a safe, welcoming space that was packed with fun events all weekend long.
