Mind the Momos: San Japan 2025
Editor & Photographer: Nick Blevins
It’s a sweltering, late-August weekend in downtown San Antonio. I stepped out from the River Walk parking garage — the one by the Whataburger with the police station attached to it — only to be immediately subsumed by bustling bodies everywhere, all dressed for the heat. Walking past the perennial construction in front of the hotels along Market street however, the fashion began to change. On the approach to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, a fellow in an inflatable capybara costume hobbled by, their bright orange head jiggling jauntily. Sensible, heat-resistant attire gave way to massive, impermeable wigs, full-on suits of armor, and towering heels; It was clear that these folks were here for the love of the game.
San Japan, the city’s largest annual anime and pop culture convention, took over the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center once again, and from the no less than 15 Momo’s I counted, you’d be forgiven for assuming it was a Dan Da Dan con. The food options may have been limited, but inspired attire from every fandom dotted the convention floors, as visitors played video and tabletop games, listened to presenters, and shopped niche wares to their hearts’ content.
Katsuhiro Harada, director of the massively popular, long-running fighting game Tekken 8, made an appearance in multiple panels over the weekend, at one point taking on attendees in-game in one-on-one bouts, and later responding to fan questions in Japanese in a packed Q&A panel, aided by senior game designer and frequent translator Michael Murray. The series, centered around a devastatingly dysfunctional family and the global fallout that ensues, has for years attracted droves of gamers to their nearest couch or arcade to duke it out in increasingly elaborate locales. Opting for a different character every match, Harada challenged a veritable rogue’s gallery of costumed guests, including Ronald McDonald’s best friend, Grimace.
In a fascinating response to an inquiry over why the game has historically centered on antagonistic familial relations, Harada underscored surprising discrepancies between traditional Japanese and American families. As translated by Murray, Harada noted that Japanese families are “almost more of a business relationship,” and assumed that — just like his family — they also took to their tatami rooms to physically battle each other for “duel time.”
The convention wrapped on Sunday evening, as attendees flooded from the Henry B., presumably to prepare their outfits for the next outing. Keep your eyes peeled for news around San Japan 2026, and make sure to hit us up when you see us out there. ◼︎
