Anime and drag are two colossal subcultures that at first glance might not seem to have much overlap. But visit any convention floor, and cosplayers will be dressed as their favorite characters, regardless of gender, often in homemade costumes. These convention spaces have historically offered refuge for LGBTQIA+ people to congregate and explore their self-expression.

Take Oriana Perón, who between cosplaying and performing in drag has almost two decades of experience. Perón, alongside a cast of drag superstars, held a two-night extravaganza at Sakura-Con 2025 in April. Each with their own stellar performances, the group collectively tore down the house, showcasing the similarities between the two art forms of anime and drag.

“A lot of people will come to conventions and cosplay as their favorite character as a way to practice their own gender euphoria and to dip their toe into their own transness,” Perón told the SGN.

In 2006, Perón began cosplaying as female characters. Growing up in Indiana, it wasn’t until she was 19 that she learned what an anime convention was, through friends, who explained how people go dressed up as their favorite characters. “Sailor Moon, done!,” she told her friends after immediately being sold on the idea.

Perón, whose love of anime and manga started with Sailor Moon, she said she flipped through manga pages late at night with her cousin while on family trips.
Perón was overwhelmed during her first convention, Anime Central in Chicago, but it was an informative memory for her.

“I was so enthralled with the other cosplayers, and just with the vibe that was happening in the area,” Perón said.

From there, Perón did six years of female cosplay at cons, performing more as Sailor Moon and Disney princesses like Cinderella. She also had interest in exploring drag during those years, but her partner at the time was heavily dismissive of it, pressuring her to stick to just cosplaying.

“It’s alright — he is out of my life,” Perón said with a sigh, while laughing it off.

After ditching the ex and moving back to Bloomington, Indiana, for college in 2012, Perón officially launched her drag career after being approached by the owner of a new bar in town to create a Disney-themed drag show. The learning curve was steep, including how to shave and do drag makeup properly.

After hosting the Sailor’s Man drag race panel at Collision Con that year, she has continued her signature drag and cosplay hybrid style to the current day.

Perón also highlighted the importance of cons as affirming environments for LGBTQIA+ people. In her many years of attending cons across the country, she’s observed how people often use cosplay as an excuse to experiment with gender presentation and identity.

She admitted to crying after getting the call to headline at Sakura-Con 2025. The prospect of performing in Seattle was particularly exciting because of how accepting the city is toward LGBTQIA+ people— a contrast to Indiana, where she still lives.

Perón and other performing members delivered messages of Queer upliftment and encouragement at Sakura-Con. Drag king Verna Vendetta highlighted the plight of Trans healthcare in Indiana, telling others to “survive out of spite, because that’s all we have sometimes.”

Perón’s parting words during her last performance took a more playful and subversive tone, encouraging others to live authentically:
“Be queer, be autistic, be ADHD, eat your avocado toast, and never buy a house!”