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Three-and-a-half minutes of nervous laughter, awkward silence and some flirty banter, everything was what is expected at a typical speed dating event -- besides the fact that most participants were decked out in costumes and the conversations were mostly geared toward one topic: their love for anime.
But pretty much anything goes at this informal and vibrant event that's cheekily named Geeky Speed Dating by its two organizers, Diana Peragine and Jessica Maxwell, who are Ph.D. students at the University of Toronto.
It's all part of the pair's psychology research on speed dating that first sparked the project three years ago. Maxwell said the convention, which brings in tens of thousands of people to celebrate the culture of anime with hundreds of cosplay events, competitions and more, was the perfect place to do it.
"It's a unique way to find people who have common interests all in the same place," explained Maxwell. "So we wanted to see how that played into some of the more normal attraction patterns that we're more used to seeing in psychology."
Some of the things they're focusing on is looking into people who believe in soul mates and seeing how that plays into getting a match with someone they're interested in, and also measuring people's ability to read another person.
"Are they interested in you? How socially competent are you and does that play into how attractive you are as a person right? Obviously there's two sides to it right? Selectivity, how sort of picky you are and how attractive you are to someone else," said Peragine. "There's a ton of different measures you can be looking at here."
Costumes and topics of conversation aside, Peragine said, even the atmosphere is different from the norm.
"Here the motivation just seems to be: I just want to find someone that likes what I like," she said. "So it's really fun to watch the speed daters go at it here versus at a depressing bar when they're just scared about being single forever."
It's a win-win situation. The speed dating event not only helps the pair with their research, but also gives anime fans a much-needed service included in the price of their ticket. It's only in its second year at the convention, but the event's popularity is undeniable.
With only roughly 200 spots to fill this year, the event got more than 1,500 signups online alone.
"We have lineups, people waiting for two-and-a-half hours just to get a chance to speed date, so it's pretty crazy," said Maxwell.
The convention may be swarming with like-minded people, but Peragine said their event makes it much easier for them to connect.
Some of the singles who managed to grab a spot this year engaged in some flirty chitchat with 13 people of the opposite sex over an hour-long session.
It's not the most conventional venue for a speed dating event, but many who signed up said it was worth a try since it's not always easy to find someone who shares their passion for anime outside of the convention.
"I come from a really small town where no one likes anime except forfive people, and those five people -- two of which are male -- are all my best friends and it's like, 'I can't date you, you're like a brother to me,'" said Oasis Kauppila, a participant.
For hardcore fans like Kauppila, a love for anime isn't an option.
"If they hated anime I don't think we'd be able to live together because I watch a lot of it and read a lot of the comics and manga, so they'd hate me and I'd hate them," she said.
And while the organizers have yet to track the event's success rate in matching couples, the pair said they've witnessed it first hand many times.
"Every now and then you'll be at a Con and you'll have like a couple come and go: 'Oh thanks so much, me and my boyfriend, we met like two years ago or one year ago at your event,'" said Peragine. "Yeah this happens every now and then and it's pretty sweet."
