Tales from the Con: Otakon 2010

Last week I was lucky enough to have been invited to attend the Otakon Anime Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. Now having gone to Otakon as my first convention back in 1997, before I seriously began to delve in the bowels of fandom; it was interesting returning to the scene of the crime over 10 years later to see how the con and fandom had changed over the last decade.

For an industry in the death throes thanks to illegal downloading and file sharing, the convention circuit associated with anime and manga keeps  turning in record numbers year after year. This is probably due to the camaraderie the attendees gain from being in such a niche group of fandom.

This con continues to grow year after year, and for good reason too. Otakon is a well-oiled machine of a convention. Even before I stepped into the convention hall, their press department was already making sure I would have all the resources available to me as I saw fit to cover the con for Geekadelphia.

More after the Jump!

When you first arrive signs are posted and well visible throughout the convention center. Staffs are also posted at strategic spots considering the sheer size of the convention space to assist attendees with any questions they might have as well and are very helpful. The registration process that once took hours of waiting in line, now has been fine tuned and moves like clockwork.

Even when someone pulled a fire alarm late Saturday afternoon, the con didn’t even skip a beat, the way the staff evacuated the halls of all 30,000 and then had everyone re-enter; you swore they had drilled it the day before. While the evacuation was happening fans were orderly and followed directions by staff and even had impromptu raves and conga line to pass the time while we waited outside, entertaining themselves and others.  This says a lot about the con, the high spirits and sheer enthusiasm were hard to beat.

Otakon as a convention had a wealth of great panels that ran the gamut of many anime and manga fandoms. Since Otakon is so heavily attended its guest list is usually filled with not only American voice actors and directors but an abundance of Japanese ones as well. I actually had the honor of interviewing several Japanese anime directors and voice actors and will be posting that content on Geekadelphia in the weeks to come.

I only wish the con was longer so that way I could have more properly balanced out my time between panels, photographing cosplay and the pretty epic dealer’s room which easily could take half the day to properly get through. The Otakon dealers room if anything is a thing of legend to any anime fans that haven’t attended the con; in there you will you find an abundance of reasonably priced goods imported from Japan for the con that it isn’t likely you will see anywhere else.

And trust me it pays to attend Otakon for the entire weekend just for the dealer’s room alone. Friday when the dealer’s room opens is when all of the rare and hard to get items usually go on sale and promptly sell out and Sunday is when dealers who do not wish take all their non selling product home start slashing their prices sometime even half just so they don’t have to pack the stuff back up, and some really great bargains are sure to be found.

While people typically go to a con simply for panels Otakon also has a large constituent of attendees that just pay to attend to roam the halls in super elaborate cosplay. These fans actually give the panels a run for their money in attendance with fans who will roam the halls the entire con engaging in photo op after photo op trying not to miss any of the great costumes. If you couldn’t tell I had quite a bit of fun taking pics at he con myself.

Photographing cosplay is by far one of my favorite things to do at a con and Otakon is VERY well know for having some of the best cosplay on the East Coast.

I left Otakon already looking forward to next year, which I have already decided will start Thursday night. If the price or the drive deters you at all from attending this con, and you’re a fan of anime or manga you really have to do yourself a favor and get over it and do whatever you can to attend next year.

Otakon is what a con should be. Well organized, well staffed and well attended. This is a con that definitely continues to prove itself year after year.

Otakon Evacuation Part 1

Otakon Impromptu Rave During Evacuation

Otakon Evacuation Part 2