rushthatspeaks | Aug. 2nd, 2011

I am back from Otakon! I have a terrible cold! I have no idea if crossposting works anymore!

Otakon was pretty awesome, actually, in that way where I have spent the last x years learning to do things anyway despite being totally physically miserable. I discovered when I went to Japan some years back that if I am physically capable of making myself do things anyway, I should, because even when all I can think of at the time is 'oh god ow', what I will remember later is the actual activity/opportunity/place/people. So this was one of those cons I will remember fondly, but which was a total bitch at the time. There's a certain kind of overloaded tired I only get at Otakon, the kind where I get actual vertigo and interesting muscle twitches. Still in the phase of waiting to remember consistently which way is up, so reviews start again tomorrow, though I think I'll go through later this evening and deal with the situation where a whole bunch of things failed to make it onto LJ that got onto DW.

Otakon highlights: AMV contest: surprisingly good! The last couple of years it's been lackluster, but this year it was mostly very engaging. There was one of Great Spaceflight Moments In Anime to Carl Sagan's autotune of 'A New And Glorious Dawn Awakes' that was one of the better this-is-why-we-go-into-space works of art I've seen in awhile, and there was a Satoshi Kon tribute as there had to be. And an utterly adorable Azumanga Daioh vid about that one girl and her cat, and I usually hate Azumanga Daioh vids. And there was a Princess Jellyfish vid, although unfortunately it was terrible. But it existed.

Cosplay stuff: I seem to have been one of only about three Twilight Sparkles. There were a fair number of ponies, but ninety percent of them were Rainbow Dash. Note to self: if cosplaying something that is big on 4chan, remember that they come out at night, and that they will say whatever the hell they feel like, because they assume that anyone also interested in that must also be from 4chan (not the case). One of the people on my panel asked how the costume had been going over, and so I told him (mostly pretty well, but here's what some people have been saying) and he blinked and said "... I officially apologize on behalf of the entire male gender." Odd that the year I've gotten the most of that has also been the year in which my costume was clothes.

Other cosplayers: most obscure/never seen that before award goes to the guy who was doing Kiki's best friend from Kiki's Delivery Service. Recognizably. Most technically impressive goes to either the Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist who was halfway through shapeshifting out of military uniform, or the thing from Summer Wars which was trying and failing to eat Alucard from Hellsing (yes, that was one costume, and you could tell exactly how the fight was going, and parts of it glowed).

Most thought-provoking goes to the group of Hellsing cosplayers who realized that, though accurate, having swastikas on their armbands was a bad idea. They had stars of David. I... am not sure this helps? I mean, it indicates historical awareness, but the villains of Hellsing *are Nazis*. I have the vague feeling that identifying said villains with the group they historically were nastiest to is bad, you know? On the other hand, usually Hellsing cosplayers, if teenagers, have to be informed that We Do Not Wear Swastikas In Public, sometimes by con security. I don't know what to think about this as a step away from that. (If I were ever cosplaying a villain from Hellsing, I'd use the show logo instead of a swastika, I think.)

( I am still very tired. Have an interview meme from Dorothean. )