Of all the conventions I've been to, I've been to Otakon the most.
I've started with Otakon, and each year, I go to Otakon. Why?
Because I've always felt it was worth going to, that it was THE event to
go to, if anything. Other cons come and go, but Otakon is one con
I make it mandatory for me to attend. Even the lack of employment
failed to stop me this year! I was prepared for some pretty drastic
measures to go, but fortunately I didn't have to stoop to sleeping in my
car and relying on handouts and fat reserves. I had enough cash saved,
plans made, preregistration taken care of, yada yada yada. Nevertheless,
going to Otakon nowadays requires significant effort, as opposed to much
smaller cons. And so, I shall begin.
It's morningAAHHH!!!
Sometime around 8 AM, I wake up. Didn't really want to. But Otakon awaits! Hm, if it were just me going, I'd sleep in. Sleeeep... Running on four hours of sleep sucks, but it's better than nothing. Kevin stops by, and after putting his luggage in my car, we proceed to pick up Rusty.
We're on our way to OtakonAAHHH!!!
Aside from literally scaring other cars off the road, and facing sudden traffic jams sending our speed from 90 to 0, it was an ok trip. We pick a parking garage somewhat close to the Renaissance hotel.
Where dey at?
We were supposed to meet a couple of guys that needed crash space. Nope, though we waited around for them. Then it came to a time that it was decided to seek out our registrations.
The Legend of the Burning Arches.
So... much... walking... I never thought that walking from the Renaissance to the BCC would take so much. Looping around through buildings, and when we finally make it to the BCC, we walk around the building a couple times before coming across the registration area. Hm, slightly smaller selection of badges. Eight as opposed to twelve from previous years. As soon as we get badges, sitting down is the first order. I had to take my shoes off to get their temperature down to 150 degrees. From there, to the art show. Meeting up with the AUSA crew, we found they had just set up shop. No word on the crash space yet. It was decided to shift the locale from the Renaissance to the Sheraton, on account of savings and distance. This was also due to the absence of the fellows we were supposed to meet. The AUSA table was in need of 1 and 5 dollar bills, so I bolted to a nearby bank and took care of one of those pesky 100 dollar bills. Returning, it was time to eat. Am I ever going to sit down again?
The program guide: While the Pocket Program gains a few pages for information about the shows, the actual book loses a few points. It looked kind of "eh." Nifty artwork, but the whole thing didn't have the kind of oomph that I'm accustomed to getting from an Otakon Program Guide. C'mon, at the rate this con was going over the past few years, I would have almost thought there would be a hard-bound version available before long.
Snarf, snarf
Sitting down finally, I gobble down Burger King's finest. From there, we returned to the art show and finally secure the room for the weekend. Hm, I was supposed to meet someone in the artists alley. Again, nothing comes of that meeting.
No rest for feet
Going from there, I head back to my car. Worn out, I eat a banana. Upon exiting the garage, it's raining. Hard. Ugh. And the walking doesn't stop. Ugh. I find I can see better without my glasses in the rain on account of all the raindrops. I'm soaked, head to toe.
Big Dog Ass Dealers Room.
Twice as big as last year's and four times as crazy. My main mission: Miyamu CDs and LDs. Since they didn't have any LDs, I'll say it was mostly a success. But I got a lead that there was more stuff that they didn't bring. The Miyamu CDs I found were ones I had been looking for, and for how much I wanted them, I would have easily paid about $40 for each of them. But no. I look at the price, and they're fifteen bucks each for legitimate imports. Fifteen bucks! Cripes, domestic CDs usually cost more than that anymore. Anyway, this is why I still go into the dealers room, and why I bring money there.
Miyamu: Yuko Miyamura, voice actress and jpop singer. My interest in her began with "My Dear Marie" and the theme song "Hello Strange Days". Found the CD with the song about three years ago and I'm still finding stuff by her.
Ok, time to set up the temporary home base.
I find Kevin, and Rusty shortly afterwards. Since it stopped raining, we get all the stuff out of Ai-chan. Somehow, we manage to get it all to the room in one trip. Rusty took it hard, juggling a bunch of things. When we all get to the room, I lie down for some rest. Juggling keys is a mess. Most hotels have long since gone to using magnetic swipe cards, but the Sheraton in Inner Harbor uses an old and inefficient key system of using keys with punch holes. I dunno if it's because there's a convention going on and their staff is stretched thin, but the service was kinda blah.
Big Dog Ass Ballroom.
I pick up some strength with some fruit-like juice substance, then head out to MAT3K. While getting in line, I happen across Joe, so we wait in what we thought was the right line. Wrong. The crowds shift, so we follow. Lo and behold, there are more from the York club, so we join them and wait as one big happy group. No room to sit, much to the dismay of my feet. And then, it was time for seating. The ballroom is quite... big.
May the heckling begin.
In the room, there are three projectors set up: Center, left, and right, for the benefit of those on the extreme edges of the room. Cool. And the anime used? “Samurai Showdown”, which was a “yet another anime made from a fighting game”. I once heard it described years ago as “let's make an anime of this and be done with it”. Very true. They even heckled the ADV promos for Nuku Nuku and Sol Bianca, but the real bile was reserved for the main event.
Whoa, deja vu...
I'm watching the music videos! Hm, I saw some of these last month. But what's important is that my socks are almost dry, finally. Anyway, quite a few of them are good. There's still a few that make me wonder how they got past the initial screening.
Oyasumi nasai.
Finally, after that's all done, I head back to find everyone asleep. Just as well.
So what has Otakon become? Very large, first and foremost.
While that allows for them to do things that were once pipe dreams, like
really big name guests and premieres that would be impossible for smaller
cons, it also has many drawbacks. It's easy to get lost. People
can't find each other out of 10,000 other otaku. The need for bigger
facilities outruns the availability, and options become limited.
Thusly, in order to go to the larger conventions, it takes greater effort
on part of the fans. I know I've done more walking this weekend than
I have at the previous 2 or 3 cons combined. To be fair, I know that
the staff is getting a workout as well.
Dude! Where's my food?
Had a bag of munchies around here. If it's gone, it's gone. At least I know I won't have to drag it back to the car, that's all I really care for. Besides, this is Inner Harbor. I won't starve.
Mmm, munchies
Found my stuff. It was tucked away in a drawer for self preservation, but I'm still hoping it'll get eaten. Eat my food! Anyways, I pack up my camcorder and set out. I also stuff an entire box of tapes into my bag, and a 20 oz. bottle of juice into my pocket and set out. Nothing in the dealers room currently catches my eye, despite the sheer vastness of stuff. It is there that I learn that SOMEBODY has been intentionally tossing AUSA fliers into the trash. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. How crude. But I like to think that karma will do its work, and it typically does if you let it.
Duty calls
Time to spend a couple hours working for the AUSA table. Business is slow, but I get to talk to friends and strangers alike, including the artists at the next table. I think I'm ready for the cosplay. I hope.
It's odd, how little I actually spent on stuff so far. It looks like so far all I'm gonna get are the Miyamu CDs. Well, we all know what happens when I say that. But each time I go into the dealers room here, I feel overwhelmed. I want to buy as much as I can, and yet I want to be picky. It used to be, if I buy Item X, then I must buy Item Y. Nowadays it's if I don't buy Item X, then I don't have to buy Item Y. Could it be that I'm simply tired of buying stuff? Or is it I'm developing a sense of conservation?
A bit of a mess...
Looks like there's no photo pit for us regular attendees this year. Oh well, I've survived worse. I think. Got some 3-hour camcorder tapes ready to go, and my battery's fully charged. I'm only mildly concerned about positioning. Hm, I'm doing this for a reason. Food and water, check. Water's still cold; good. To pass the time, I chat with nearby fans.
Close call
Almost got stuck with a crappy seat. Now, something I should have learned from AMA is: How does it make sense to wait just to get a seat in the back? Originally, I was in the middle of the room, and was told that I couldn't use my tripod. So I asked for a seat in the far back, so there wouldn't be anything to block. Ok, no problem. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with that idea. A total of six guys in the back, all with Sony Handycams. Says something about the product, eh? So we became the unofficial rear photo pit, making our tripods and zoom lens do the work. One fellow taper actually needed more tapes, so he bought a couple of them from me, paying what I paid. While it was an emergency situation for him, I wasn’t about to try to profit off of his need. Fans helping fans. I only wish I had a more cooperative tripod and a better angle to get past all the heads. All in all, it worked out.
And in the name of all that is good, the “chair” joke is dead! Please stop! It was ok... A YEAR AGO!! I think people put enough effort into their costumes and skits that they would warrant more attention and acclaim than a mass-produced piece of furniture. Intelligent people will tend to agree on this. Besides, there's no point in waiting hours upon hours in line to worship a chair.
A moment of saving grace: At the end of one skit, which didn't go as planned due to a music cueing bungle, someone shouted “You suck!” The audience proceeded to turn to whoever said that, and started booing. One of the girls in the skit held up a sign that said “Baka!”, and the crowd cheered.
Party time!
Decided not to see some of the fan parodies. The sound just wasn't right, so I could hardly hear anything. Got back to the room, and found the party was still going on. There's about 20 people in here watching Outlaw Star. At almost 2 in the morning, everyone finally leaves and we settle in for the night.
While I've always liked Otakon, I think they're really starting to slip.
If you look at the seams, you'll notice them stretching. The miscommunication
is still very obvious. I've heard that Anime Expo was much worse,
and that tells me I saved myself a trip by not going. Otakon continues
to declare themselves a convention for fans by fans, and yet their size
has begun to put them at the mercy of copyrights and unions. Everything
must be done by permission only. My enthusiasm for returning next
year is strong, but slightly diminished. Or am I becoming jaded?
I ask myself that a lot lately, but each time I think about it, I sense
I really am becoming jaded a bit more each time. Looking over the
video schedule, there's not much that I wanted to see. I have yet
to sit in a theater for an entire episode of anything this weekend, aside
from MAT3K and the music videos. All the anime I've watched so far
was either while sitting at the AUSA table or at the party. There's
a couple things I wanted to see, but they were all during something else.
I was mentally prepared for that, though. I knew ahead of time that
I was going to be busy.
Up and at ‘em
Around 9-ish, I wake up and find everyone packing up. Rusty, Kevin, and I move our stuff to Ai-chan, despite various streets and sidewalks being closed due to the possibility of an over pressurized manhole cover. Bleh, I think I've been on my feet more than on my rear. One more swing into the dealers room produced an Excel Saga soundtrack and a pin. I dunno, I might go back in again. There are a lot of dealers trying to clear out old VHS stock.
I swear, there's a cd in there calling for me.
After picking up some souvenir badges and program books, I discover one more CD of seiyuu songs. As soon as I saw who was on it, namely Miyamu, I bought it. From there, checked out “Suddenly Princess”, which was a hoot. Finally! An episode of anime! A pleasant surprise for me aside from the high comedy content was the lead's voice was - you guessed it - Miyamu! Ok, so I'm on a Miyamu kick. I'm at least happy about the stash of Miyamu CDs that I found.
Am I “$3.75 for a hot dog” hungry? No, I can live.
Kinda hungry, but after looking at how much food costs inside the BCC, I think I can wait a couple of hours. Besides, my legs are screaming louder than my stomach; I almost have to make a conscious effort to walk. I was asked to get a small Asuka item. Sounded easy. But anywhere I saw Eva stuff, it was either all Rei or expensive Asuka stuff. Mission: Failed. But I can still make a trip to Anime Pavilion later on. I was also hoping to find something for Aeris, and for the time being I can provide stuff like extra badges and program books and if I get to it soon enough, a copy of the cosplay.
Achieving escape velocity.
After the sharing time/feedback panel, it's now time to get home. After I get Ai-chan onto the highway home, we go home, a flurry of emotions. Happiness, disappointment, enthusiasm, fatigue. Drove through some hard rain, and took care of that nagging hunger at a KFC. My legs hurt to the point where working the pedals is a chore.
Notable moment upon arriving at home: Noticing that Kevin may have bought more DVDs that weekend than I have since I got a DVD player over a year ago.
So, here I am at the end of another Otakon. What have I gotten from it, aside from a bunch of long sought after Miyamu CDs and more exercise than I could imagine? Perhaps I could have gotten a better look around the convention had I not been walking constantly. People I was supposed to meet, I never found. While I'm glad I went, I still feel like this weekend took way too much out of me, and I'm not talking about money. It didn't help that it rained during the weekend. If it was just simply hot, that wouldn't have been so bad. I can handle hot. But anyway. I just... came out of this feeling nihilistic and mildly disappointed. There was so much ado previous to the con, and when the moment was at hand, it kinda went flat on me. Something cool must have happened in the con, but I missed it. With one FWOOSH, I'm left asking myself, “What in the hell just happened the past three days!? Where did the time go? Why are my legs so sore? And why are there fried eggs covering my eyes?” It's like I was abducted by aliens or something, and I might never know what really happened. Things went wrong, and I'm not sure how or where, nor am I able to correct it. Hell, I'm not even sure if this report is cohesive enough. Amazing, because it's the longest one I ever did, too. Hm, perhaps I did more than I thought after all.
Well, there's always next year. I'll find a way to go. They already have the dates set for it.
Bits and pieces:
And now, it's time for:
“WTF is wrong with some of these people!?” (misanthropy ahead)
--those that spend half the weekend waiting for one particular event. “Yeah, I've been sitting in line for the Cosplay since 10 AM... on Friday.” One hour is alright, two hours is acceptable. But I have yet to see a convention event that would justify WASTING AN ENTIRE DAY for. Maybe if they had a Miyamu signing, I'd wait three hours. But even for her, that's pushing it.
--those that not only wait all day for one event, but do so to shout “CHAIR!”. Is there a bigger waste of time and energy?
If any of you readers fall into any of these categories, please re-examine your tactics. Seriously, you'll get more out of the weekend. If you happened to be sitting in line all day for something and complained that you were bored, I have no pity for you.
Attendance: estimated to be over 10,000
High points:
Found lots of Miyamu stuff
room party showing Outlaw Star
helped AUSA by getting the shirts ready in time for the con
never got bored
Low points:
even more walking than last year
rain and high humidity
missed people I was supposed to meet
goofy hotel setup
Food: Burger King, toaster pastries, snack bars, bananas, Twister fruit juice, water
So what kind of innovations has Otakon produced? That's a difficult question, since despite their present problems, they're still doing things in ways that have continued to work. Otakon is still a model convention for others to look up to. The improvements over last year are primarily within Otakon. Such as separating the artist's alley from the dealers room. Having them in the same room last year was a mistake. They do learn from mistakes, which is what matters. And after all, they are the biggest con on the East Coast, so they have to be the first to try new things that only a large event can do. There's Anime Expo to use as an example, but considering how far away it is and how much differently things are done there, it doesn't serve to be a very good example. So what Otakon is doing is unexplored territory because of their size.
But another thing to consider is this: There are some cons that are also improving, and faster. When you're Number One, look out for Number Two.
This concludes my report on Otakon 2001. Up next, Anime Weekend Atlanta 7.