ChiiSai Con ChiiSai

Creating community through animation

Born and raised in Walterboro, Lashonda Linder says it wasn’t always easy being a young adult with a love of Japanese animation and culture. Now, serving as Colleton County Memorial Library’s Young Adult library and system administrator, Lashonda explains how her love of anime and manga helps her connect with local youth.

“I ended up finding a lot of kids that wanted to go to anime and manga conventions, but parents couldn't take them because we don't have anything local,” she says. Lashonda asked herself, “Why don't I do an anime convention for my teenagers?”

Anime and manga captured her interest when she was young, Lashonda says. The spark came after she glimpsed ‘Sailor Moon,’ an anime television series that originally aired in the 1990s.

“My mom used to drop us off at school, and I used to watch ‘Golden Girls’ on TNT early in the morning. After ‘Golden Girls,’ bright colors, sparkles and three long-haired girls flying through the air appeared on the screen — ‘Sailor Moon.’” After the title sequence, it was time to leave. One morning, Lashonda pretended to be sick to watch a full episode and discovered how much she loved the show.

“I used to rant and rave about it to the point where I got my best friend from elementary school into anime,” Lashonda says.

Honoring Anime

In March 2022, Lashonda hosted the first ChiiSai Con, a mini anime and manga convention at Colleton County Memorial Library in Walterboro. Many people don’t know that the library boasts the largest collection of manga in SCLENDS, a consortium of about 20 libraries in the state.

Popular shows like “Pokémon,” “Naruto” and “Sailor Moon” are all examples of anime, a Japanese animation style popular with adults and children. Manga refers to Japanese comics and graphic novels illustrated in a similar style. “When I was growing up, we used to get bullied for this,” Lashonda says.

Because of her experience, Lashonda wants the younger generations to feel self-confident. “I’m comfortable in my own skin, and that’s the biggest thing for these babies to understand — to be comfortable in their own skin,” she says.

Lashonda and other artists held a panel discussion at the first ChiiSai Con. “We told them about how to be confident about things they loved,” she says.

She points out that while the emphasis of ChiiSai Con is young adults, everyone is welcome. “Because I’m a young adult librarian, my main focus is teenagers, but I am trying to share the love. Anime and manga are for all ages, all walks of life,” she says.

Moreover, mothers and fathers have shown their appreciation. “Parents were happy that they now know what their child is watching,” she says.

Lashonda plans the event and creates all the merchandise for ChiiSai Con. “I based it on my experience of going to a convention,” she says.

Artist Alley, a place for artists to sell their work and interact with attendees, is a prominent part of anime and manga conventions, including ChiiSai Con. The convention also features movie screenings, a panel discussion, bingo, door prizes and cosplay, when participants dress in costume.

Social Media

Many of the first ChiiSai Con’s 200 attendees used the library’s PRTC internet service to capture their experiences.

“A lot of people were livestreaming on Facebook and Twitch, and I was posting on my TikTok. I was posting on our Instagram,” Lashonda says. “Everybody can get on at once and not have to worry about service declining.” last year’s ChiiSai Con event,

Lashonda says her goal for future ChiiSai Con events is to empower teenagers to take a more active role in the event, whether that be through selling their art or illustrating the convention’s mascot and Lashonda’s original character, Luneth.

For the past few years, Lashonda managed the young adult and teen programs at the library. “Before ChiiSai Con, I never really got any real participation,” she says. “After hosting the convention, I had, like, 16 teens, and when I go to the middle school, they’re like, ‘Oh, Miss Shonda!’”

She’s grateful for ChiiSai Con’s positive impact on the community, which hit home when one teenager asked her, “Did you know you saved a lot of teens’ lives by just allowing them to be themselves?” she says. “I feel like this is my calling in my life. I want to continue to do this as long as I’m here.”

About this year’s event:

ChiiSai Con will take place March 25 at the Colleton County Memorial Library at 600 Hampton St., Walterboro.

The convention is free and open to the public.

Follow chiisaicon on Facebook for updates.

If anyone has ideas for young adult programming, contact Lashonda at llinder@colletoncounty.org or 843-549-5621, ext. 8.