Beyond Seguin Borders: The Magic of Cosplay at San Japan 2025

This past Labor Day weekend, I took a mini-vacation with my sister Cat (as I do each year) and attended the San Japan Anime and Gaming Convention in downtown San Antonio. Hosted at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, the three-day anime convention boasted shopping, panels, gaming, and much more.

This year’s event was bigger than ever, with over 31,000 attendees. This was reflected in long lines to access the Artist Alley and Dealer’s Rooms, along with intense traffic in the downtown area, especially on Saturday. There was also a bomb threat made by an influencer, which we didn’t even learn about until returning home Sunday afternoon.

Despite all this, the event itself was a fabulous time filled with exactly as much fun as promised.

My sister is a seasoned cosplayer, and getting dressed up at these events is one of her favorite hobbies.  Each time I help her get into costume or photograph a project she’s built, I’m reminded of the effort that goes into creating these outfits. Wigs, circle lens contacts, plus jewelry pieces, and more all go into bringing these beloved characters to life.

This year, Cat cosplayed Hiccup from ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ a 1950s-inspired Sailor Moon –– complete with a poodle skirt, and a character from the anime ‘Delicious in Dungeon’ named Marcille.

“I came up with my costumes this year based on things I love,” she said. “’How to Train Your Dragon’ is one of my favorite movies, and with the live action being out this year, it felt like a good time to bring Hiccup to the convention. The 1950s-inspired Sailor Moon, I came up with it because lots of people like doing punk sailor scouts, and I thought why not have a Pink Ladies-inspired look with a poodle skirt.”

Cat and our mom worked on the Sailor Moon cosplay together, sewing the skirt from scratch. Once the skirt was done, Cat got to work with glitter paint to create the Sailor Moon emblem on the skirt as a finishing detail.

“Mom sewed the poodle skirt for me,” she said. “But I decided I wanted Sailor Moon’s moon rod on the skirt instead of a poodle. I originally used an iron transfer, but it didn’t really show up on the color of the skirt, so I went out and got glitter and glue and put that on it to make it pop out more.”

While out and about at the con, Cat got compliments almost constantly on her costumes. More than that, though, while in her ‘Delicious in Dungeon’ cosplay, she was frequently asked for photos as though she was some kind of convention celebrity. And I think that’s what makes cosplaying so fun. When you put on one of those costumes, you are given permission to sort of become that character, and when people see you out and about, they get excited to see the characters they love.

Another cosplayer, who goes by the name Mama Terra, spoke with me about her costume, which was completely crafted by hand.

“Over the course of two years, I bought cheap wedding veils off of Amazon,” Mama Terra said. “If you buy the cathedral length, you get quite a lot of fabric to work with. So what you’re seeing here is all hand-stitched, all hand-laid with the rhinestones. The fabric is satin, and everything you’re seeing was hand-stitched down with an embroidery hoop. I’ve been cosplaying 13 years, and I’m disabled –– specifically, my hands don’t work right, so this project is the result of sheer ferocity against my disability.”

I came out of the weekend with a newfound respect for the time and effort that goes into cosplay. Even when made of thrifted or found pieces, these costumes require effort and creativity to pull together. And without them, the convention atmosphere just wouldn’t be the same. Walking around and attending convention events while seeing these characters brought to life is what makes San Japan so magical.

On the way home from the convention, my sister reflected on what it was like to bring so many costumes for one weekend, telling me it was fun, but also a lot of work.

“I’d definitely do fewer cosplays next year,” Cat laughed. “I planned for two a day this year, and I’m just too old for that now. I think next year we should do a cosplay together, and then I’ll bring back Marcille to fit next year’s theme, and who knows from there.”

As this year’s convention becomes a fond memory, my sister and other cosplayers like her are already making big plans for next year’s event, which will return in 2026. Next year’s theme of ‘Food’ has already been announced, giving con-goers and cosplayers plenty of time to plan and prepare for their next getaway at San Japan. And maybe, just maybe, next year I’ll spend a day walking in a cosplayer’s shoes.