Five things we had to have at Nan Desu Kan

By Susan Froyd Mon., Sep. 17 2012 at 6:50 AM

Nan Desu Kan is a world unto itself, and the culture of that world sucks you in. It's something akin to jumping headlong into a manga book, and you begin to see things in terms of that skewed universe: Pink and blue locks, tails, huge eyes and supernaturally spiky hair are the norm, not the anomaly, at NDK. And you begin to feel like maybe you really need these things and their pop-culture accoutrements back out in the real world, as we did over the weekend.

That's why the the dealer room and Artist Alley at NDK can sometimes be packed chest-to-back with a conga line of costumed fanatics looking for the latest in J-pop treasures and keepsakes. That's what NDK is ultimately about, and if you don't leave the con loaded down with product, perhaps you have missed the point.

Here are few of our favorite things we spotted at this weekend's NDK:

Ponycatures by Stan Yan.

Local cartoonist Stan Yan is well-known in these parts for his trademark zombicatures. But in August at the Denver County Fair, he found a number of clients at his caricature booth asking for something less grisly, like unicorns.

At NDK, he tweaked the idea in deference to cosplay's Bronie culture -- boys who dress up in My Little Pony getups. He even had a Brooonie T-shirt for sale. BTW, Yan says that the ponycatures outsold zombie likenesses at the con.

Continue reading for more must-have items at NDK