By Liz Oakes
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mari Conley (left), as "Dark Chii," and her sister Serena Conley, as "Light Chii," two Chobits characters, shop Saturday at the anime convention at Northern Kentucky Convention Center. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

COVINGTON - In the Cincinnati Marriott parking garage, a green-haired Kyle Hamilton spray-painted Shantell Barker's locks purple behind a Cutlass Supreme, a black cat bobblehead from anime cartoon Trigun perched inside.

Barker, 20, of Dayton, Ohio, still lacked the armor to go over her dress, and Hamilton was missing his cape. But they were already in the spirit of the three-day Sugoi Con, an annual anime convention held this weekend at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

"It's really fun to go hang out with other people who like the same kind of things I do. Sometimes it feels like we're a minority because we're geeky," Barker said.

"It's nice to dress up, but I have my limits," added Hamilton, 21, of Fairfield.

Some fans of anime, a type of Japanese animation that has caught on over the last few years in the United States with the ferocity of a Yu-Gi-Oh card duel might describe themselves that way.

IF YOU GO

What: Sugoi Con Anime convention. When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. today. Where: Northern Kentucky Convention Center, 1 W. Rivercenter Blvd., Covington. Cost: $30. Attendees must register. Registration information: (859) 261-2900.

But anime, convention organizers say, is increasingly mainstream - even "McDonaldized." Dragon Ball Z and a growing number of other shows air on Cartoon Network and WB 64, and parents drive to find the fast-food restaurant offering kids' meals with a Pokemon or Kirby toy inside.

The convention had sold 850 passes Saturday morning, and expected to draw 1,200 people by the time it ends this afternoon from as far away as Missouri and Tennessee, organizers said. That's up from 522 people at Segoi Con's first convention in 2000.

The growth of the Internet and Web comics, as well as videogames, have brought in younger anime fans and crossed gender lines.

The typical person attending Segoi Con a few years ago was a man between 22 and 40, said convention chairman Nate Burk of Norwood. Now those who attend are 60-70 percent female and from age 13 into their early 20s.

Among the events featured at the convention: a game show, music-video contest, costume contest and panels with voice actors.

Elizabeth Tankersley, 13, and Adam Weaver, 14, both of Florence, stood among booths that were hawking items ranging from DVDs and wooden cudgels to Hello Kitty dolls and Japanese roasted hot green peas. Tankersley bought a T-shirt emblazoned with "Evil Leet," a character from megatokyo, a comic on the Internet.

She said she was a Pokemon fan, then began researching it on the Internet, where she found other shows and Japanese pop music. "Now, I'm just really into it."

E-mail loakes@enquirer.com