This time around I *should* be able to make it,
(assuming that we are done counting AMV ballots by then!!)
We may be swamped, though.
I will hit 50 this November.
It's also a little hard to find anime characters who are
adult-aged. Some seniors and geezers; Miyazaki OVAs
almost always have a grandparently-aged person who is
significant to the lead characters, and often in a positive way.
There are often some older-looking no-name side characters
in military fiction animes, especially naval settings. We can
all be bemused if not a little tired of of the 14- or 16- year
old FOUR-STRIPER who has to LEAVE THE BRIDGE (and
take a helicopter to the mainland?) to study for
HER HIGHSCHOOL TESTS... :-P
But lotsa times you will find nearby some unnamed or
barely present charactar who gets maybe 5 lines in the
whole show, who is the XO or a Master Chief. Non-coms
really don't get much glory but the unseen truth is that
THEY are the gang who really makes the boat go...
For cosplay, they often get equally handsome uniforms
as the main character, so people might recognize the
uniform and go "Oh, you're from [that show.]"
I would LOVE to see an anime episode in which the main
character is some young, strapping Lt. JG right out of some
preppy officers' school who STANDS on his authority and gives
a DIRECT ORDER to a high-ranking warrant officer...
Add a couple of those famous anime "plus sign" vein bulges,
just for a SECOND - then they go away... and BOY is our
n00b gonna get his wagon fixed right. I would -SO- enjoy
waiting to see what they would have planned for him...