Granted, when I was preparing to go, I wasn't taking things seriously.
For me and a bunch of others around here, it was there, so why not go to
Katsucon? Dave calls it "Obli-con: Because it's there." A couple
weeks before the con while after an AnimeUSA meeting, when I met the Katsucon
chairman himself, and he was quite helpful, friendly, and informative.
This got things off on the right foot for me, and already gave the upcoming
event some good vibes. So, as many of my friends weren't able to
go, I was flying solo to Katsucon. The only upside of having no passengers
was that I didn't have to clean out my car. That would have required
another day of preparation, and in the month of February, that isn't a
pleasant task. Suffice to say, I wanted to go to Katsucon, so without
further ado...
Preparations? What for? Oh yeah...
Forgot when I woke up. I dunno, I just kinda drifted awake. Ah well, there's a con goin' on today, so I better start packing. I take my time doing so, since there's no one waiting for me to pick them up or vice versa. Finally left the house around 10:30. Rainy, rainy, rainy outside. But I'm not scared. I just hope it won't be as rainy if I have to use "Option H."
Well, I'll be... I made it to Katsucon!
After 2 hours and couple stops for gas and stuff, including buying a 3 hour camcorder tape for an almost unholy price, I get to the hotel. Parking is easy but pricey, but it's in the parking garage nearby and not the valet parking. Now for the con stuff. The line for registration is an easy wait, a few minutes later, and I'm ready to go. Not too far away, is the dealers room. Guess I might as well start waiting in line now...
With all due regards to Chef Boyardee
What the... No line. People going in and out. They're already open. No large crowds downstairs waiting to go in. Thusly, I go in. Within moments, I find the gang from York hawking their latest fanzine, Chojin Sentai Otaku, featuring my AnimeUSA report. Looking for a few odds and ends, I find Mike. Been hanging around with him and Corey since then. Managed to get some crash space with them, which means I won't have to rely on "Option H" or wander around like a zombie the whole weekend, like at Anime Central last year. Say, the Otakon table got their t-shirts in... Time to take care of some Otakon stuff. Anyway, we checked out opening ceremonies and the music video contest after getting something to eat at McDonalds. Hey, it's the only affordable place that sells food-like substances within walking distance of this hotel. I could have brought my cooler with me, or relied on instant foods, but that would have required more preparation than I was willing to make. With the hotel restaurants, there's not much chance of Hyatt putting in microwave ovens and stuff like that.
The music video contest: I still can't condone the use of Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears' music. Doesn't matter by who or why or to what. I just can't. Something that's just... wrong about that. Still, there's a few gems in there, like the "Log" jingle from Ren and Stimpy to Tekken footage and the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme to Eva. Something about those that makes me laugh out loud.
Time to unwind
Got my stuff unloaded into the room. Viva la handtruck! I'm gonna have floor patrol, but I'm not complaining. Suddenly, I'm losing my voice. The flu from last week isn't done with me yet. Checked out a party that was on the same floor, but Corey and I didn't find anyone we knew, so we bailed out and I decided to call it a night. Used a chair cushion as a pillow. Compared to sleep deprivation, this floor is mighty comfortable.
In regards to the day: Things are looking up this year.
It helped that there were friends all over the place. Almost everywhere
I turned, there was someone I knew. It was good to see Mike and Corey
again, and they had crash space when I needed it.
What a way to start the day
Woke up after having a couple odd dreams about seeing a documentary about the successes of my life then getting gunned down, and then a dream about picking something out of a river and poking at it with a stick. Dreams like that are the ones that make me wonder why I go to sleep in the first place. But sleep is good anyway. A shower is in order.
Stuff.
Hanging out and wandering and stuff for a couple hours. Discovered Eric can't attend at all. That sucks, really. Plus the Final Fantasy 8 rings are proving very difficult to find.
Unexpected! A mid afternoon outing
Went with the AnimeUSA gang to get party munchies and soda, followed by pizza. CostCo was definitely a fun experience. Nevertheless, there are reasons I don't go to places like that and Sam's club anymore. There's just something about those places that doesn't tickle my fancy. Something to do with patience and my lack of it towards overcrowded retail stores, and having to pay to get in them. But I digress. Found out the crushed red pepper topping packets did more for my stuffy nose than most cold medicines could hope to do, so I grabbed a bunch of them. I can almost talk normally, too! It's cold out, and I left my coat in the room... I can handle it.
Run, run, run
Ran into the dealers room for another Sakura plushy. Whatever Katsu staff did to alleviate the line problem from last year, I hope they share with other cons. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the room feels smaller than last year. Then I ran downstairs to help with some preparations for the AUSA party, which I'm not able to go to after all. Gotta tape a cosplay.
Some thoughts before the cosplay.
Here I wait, all set up. There was a sign up sheet for this announced right after opening ceremonies, which I took care of promptly yesterday. It helped me get in faster and with less wait. This is a good innovation, and I hope to see other cons do the same. I think I'm ready. My battery is fully charged, and my 3 hour camcorder tape is ready.
After:
Despite my slightly crappy angle, it was a good cosplay after all, with the 30 acts running less than 2 hours. At first, I was a bit cheesed about that, since I paid good money on the tape. But with the half-time show and judging, the extra expense was justified. So far, I haven't watched much anime here, aside from the Gestalt that Mike played on his laptop's DVD drive. To be honest, I saw the schedule before the con itself, and it didn't impress me much then, either. There was one thing I wanted to see, but that was shown during the cosplay.
Wait a minute... 30 acts, at a convention this size, and AnimeUSA had about 15, and they were less than 1/10th the size... Looks like Katsu's cosplay restrictions really did their trick. I recall before the con, there was a lot of griping among costumers about the new rules. Hey, we all want to show off our work. Nothing wrong with that at all. However, something to keep in mind is that not everyone wants to sit in the same chair for over five hours through 70,000 skits, no matter how funny or well-crafted they are. The AWA '99 cosplay, while I didn't attend it, was best described as three and a half hours of LONG. So for majority of the audience, the new rules were an improvement, and a tribute to preserving sanity.
To quote from Sam and Max: "I must get up. I've been sitting in a nest of graham crackers and jelly for the past three hours."
Don't expect me to actually DANCE.
After helping Liz and Omar move some TAS stuff to their room, I check out the dance. I don't go to actually dance, but just to soak up the vibes. Some can dance, and others can't. I could get a groove going, but if my knees had a face of their own, they'd frown on it. So I go, just to feel the beat, and being around people enjoying themselves acts positively on me as well. Tired. Falling asleep as I write this. I'd like to go back out again, but I should sleep. Perhaps I should call it a night.
So far, it's been a good weekend for me. What helped a lot was
being able to hang around with Mike and Corey, and still go at my own pace.
And even when I wasn't around them, there were still friends nearby.
Maybe this con won't produce any life changing revelations like Otakon
'95 or AnimeUSA did, but it's keeping me going.
Ah, Sunday already...
Sunday is finally here. Since Mike and Corey aren't leaving until tomorrow, it lets me take my time in packing. Didn't buy as much stuff as I wanted to. Yeah, got a few things like Otakon pre-reg and t-shirts, and the Sakura plushies taken care of. But the import DVDs and CDs I were looking for just weren't there. Granted, if I were truly inclined to get them, I could go online and get them there. There's also a lot of stuff that I can get from stores in the region. If I come away from this with even a CD, I'll be surprised.
I can't drive home without music!
Decided to get a CD after all. Dunno what anime it's from, but it sounds cool. Something about an anime called Visitor. The music reminds me of Aphex Twin. Found it interesting that I tend to get a healthier amount of sleep at conventions than during the week. Saw Dave and Meg maybe a total of five minutes.
The show's over... but not the weekend
Went to closing ceremonies, which told me that attendance was around 5000. Then from there, went to see the last bit of Takeshi's Castle, which is like Double Dare, but much more physical and sadistic. That show is insane. Of the 150,000 contestants that got on the show, only one ever got all the way to the end to win. Hung around the room for a bit, then we went out to eat at McDonald's again. Again, not my personal favorite choice of eateries, but it works in a pinch. Digestible in reasonable quantities. We sat and talked about the glory days of con-going, hentai doujinshi, and a myriad of other things like we had the whole building to ourselves, with no regard to who listened. After that was done, Corey and I filled in some blanks on my cosplay tape. Somewhere around 8 in the evening, I bid them farewell, and started on my mildly mundane drive home. As I drove, I thought about the weekend and it's events, and decided, hey, I had fun. Guys, you made my weekend, and for this, I thank you.
All in all, Katsucon was good... for anyone that went to hang out with friends. Ironically enough, the money I saved from not having to get my own room was money that I could have used to spend in the dealers room, if they actually had something I wanted to spend money on right away. Turns out most of the stuff that I wanted to get was available online anyway.
As far as events go, it was rather dull. The Cosplay was above average, and the music video contest had its share of yawners and gems, but for me personally, the video rooms left a lot to be desired. Most of this stuff I had already seen. The few shows I wanted to see, I was unable to see due to prior plans. Many of the panels also weren't anything to phone home about, either. But, what made all the difference in the world, were the friends that were there, making it a worthwhile event for me.
It also marks the last time an anime convention will be in this particular hotel for awhile. Apparently this Hyatt and anime conventions don't get along well, despite having hosted four cons. It'll also mark the last time Katsucon is in the DC area. Born in Virginia Beach, raised in DC, and moving to Baltimore next year. I wonder how that is going to turn out...?
Technical stuff and gibberish:
Main sustenance: (for those that wondered what I actually survive
on at these things)
McDonald's, pizza, various munchies that I had stashed in my car for
the past couple months and decided it was time to either eat them or throw
them away. I'm sure that Nutter Butters have a limited life span,
even though my car was like a refrigerator most of the time.
Stuff that Katsucon staff did that other cons should take note of: Security folks wore bright, orange vests that made them visible from anywhere, and emergency folks wore blue vests that did the same. No mistaking there. Plus, the sign up sheet for the cosplay is a good start. It just needs to be more accessible and better known. I only knew about it because I was there for opening ceremonies. Anyway, knowing about it saved me a lot of hassle and wait. So while there are things they need to improve on, there are always new innovations that should be kept in mind. However, their method of using time/event codes left me with just a vague idea of when it was on. It could work out great, but it needs some work. Too much cross referencing required for it to work as it is. But I'm impressed that they put back in summaries of the shows.
The definition of "Option H": It's my term for the option of going home instead of staying at the hotel. It has been used before, and I'll likely use it again before my conventioneering days are over.
Anyway, that's all for Katsucon 7. Up next... Animazement 4!