Convention of Otaku Generation (Otakon 2006)

Otakon is holding steady as the second-largest anime/manga/Japanese video game-related convention in North America, following AnimeExpo. What this means for practical purposes is that registration was capped this year at I think twenty-seven thousand people (though my memory is faulty and it could have been twenty-five). 2006 marked my sixth Otakon, and my fifth consecutive visit.

This is what caused me to make a now vaguely-infamous remark which people bring up in an indignant sort of way every so often: after I went to Noreascon, the World Science Fiction Convention in Boston, I commented that it seemed very peaceful and relaxed and quiet and not terribly crowded.(I also commented that I much preferred the less-crowded more-relaxed convention, but no one seems to bring that up at all.)

It's all a matter of perspective, really.

At any rate, six years in, I think I've about got the hang of Otakon. Every year, there will be: a great many extremely impressive cosplayers (I honestly think that more than fifty percent of attendees are in costume); at least one thing I desperately want to see which I am unable to get into because of the line; at least one thing I didn't know I wanted to attend before going which turns out to be worth the price of the plane tickets all by its lonesome; an afternoon in which I am frenetically hyperactive due to overstimulation and bounce around like a ping-pong ball; an afternoon in which I am absolutely dead due to overstimulation and want only to be put out of everyone's misery; some unexpected event which makes me regret the whole enterprise and vow never to do this sort of horrible gigantic con ever again; some unexpected event which makes me vow to keep doing this every year until it is time to bring my prospective grandchildren; and a fifty-fifty chance that I will not make it to the con on the third day because of having to go lie down.

This year was no different. I did not cosplay, didn't make the third day-- not the best I've ever done healthwise, but I was on a cane and wearing uncomfortable shoes due to my healing foot tattoos, so I feel all right about it. They exported the Masquerade and put it in the Mariners Arena, so the hallways were actually passable on Saturday evening instead of being filled with the line! Yay! Now if only they do that with the anime music video contest, one will be able to walk from one end of the convention center to the other at any time of the weekend in less than an hour. Which would be neat.

Thrud came in third in the journeyman division of the hall costume contest. Her costume has wings which are completely concealed under its coat until she takes off the coat and pulls on a rope, at which point fwoosh! and she has a ten-foot wingspan. I am not going to tell you what show this is from because it is a plot point that one should not know that the character can do this. The judges seem to have been quite impressed by the fwoosh, as were many people in the hallways, who'd take pictures even if they didn't recognize her character. We also have some professional pictures of the household cosplay group, which I will endeavour to scan and post soon.

The costumes I saw which made me happiest were an absolutely perfect Edel and Drosselmeyer from Princess Tutu, carrying a homemade Ahiru plushie. I'll try and get that pic up too.

Discussion of actual con content later. I am still very tired.

Convention of Otaku Generation (Otakon 2006)

Otakon is holding steady as the second-largest anime/manga/Japanese video game-related convention in North America, following AnimeExpo. What this means for practical purposes is that registration was capped this year at I think twenty-seven thousand people (though my memory is faulty and it could have been twenty-five). 2006 marked my sixth Otakon, and my fifth consecutive visit.

This is what caused me to make a now vaguely-infamous remark which people bring up in an indignant sort of way every so often: after I went to Noreascon, the World Science Fiction Convention in Boston, I commented that it seemed very peaceful and relaxed and quiet and not terribly crowded.(I also commented that I much preferred the less-crowded more-relaxed convention, but no one seems to bring that up at all.)

It's all a matter of perspective, really.

At any rate, six years in, I think I've about got the hang of Otakon. Every year, there will be: a great many extremely impressive cosplayers (I honestly think that more than fifty percent of attendees are in costume); at least one thing I desperately want to see which I am unable to get into because of the line; at least one thing I didn't know I wanted to attend before going which turns out to be worth the price of the plane tickets all by its lonesome; an afternoon in which I am frenetically hyperactive due to overstimulation and bounce around like a ping-pong ball; an afternoon in which I am absolutely dead due to overstimulation and want only to be put out of everyone's misery; some unexpected event which makes me regret the whole enterprise and vow never to do this sort of horrible gigantic con ever again; some unexpected event which makes me vow to keep doing this every year until it is time to bring my prospective grandchildren; and a fifty-fifty chance that I will not make it to the con on the third day because of having to go lie down.

This year was no different. I did not cosplay, didn't make the third day-- not the best I've ever done healthwise, but I was on a cane and wearing uncomfortable shoes due to my healing foot tattoos, so I feel all right about it. They exported the Masquerade and put it in the Mariners Arena, so the hallways were actually passable on Saturday evening instead of being filled with the line! Yay! Now if only they do that with the anime music video contest, one will be able to walk from one end of the convention center to the other at any time of the weekend in less than an hour. Which would be neat.

Thrud came in third in the journeyman division of the hall costume contest. Her costume has wings which are completely concealed under its coat until she takes off the coat and pulls on a rope, at which point fwoosh! and she has a ten-foot wingspan. I am not going to tell you what show this is from because it is a plot point that one should not know that the character can do this. The judges seem to have been quite impressed by the fwoosh, as were many people in the hallways, who'd take pictures even if they didn't recognize her character. We also have some professional pictures of the household cosplay group, which I will endeavour to scan and post soon.

The costumes I saw which made me happiest were an absolutely perfect Edel and Drosselmeyer from Princess Tutu, carrying a homemade Ahiru plushie. I'll try and get that pic up too.

Discussion of actual con content later. I am still very tired.