Advertisement
Published: August 10th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Interrupting your regularly scheduled seriousness for an update that shows how much of a geek I can truly be! And yes, Felix. I went to Otakon. :P
What is an "anime convention"? I sure as hell wish I could give you a proper answer for that one. It seems to be a mishmash of different things all combined into three days of amazing, awesome, and complete insanity. The intended purpose is to gather people of a shared interest together so you can bond and meet other people just like yourself. But really, anime conventions have different meanings for different people. For artists, it's a way to sell and show off your art to a larger audience, as well as get your name out into the marketplace. For nerds, dorks, and other such geeks, it's a weekend away to flaunt your knowledge and live it up with people identical to yourself. For the passing fanatic it's a nice way to add different items to your collection. For cosplayers it's a place to show off your handiwork and recreate a slice of your favorite series in reality, bringing fantasy to life.
For me, though, anime conventions are how I keep in
touch with long time friends. Sure, I love cosplaying; next to baking it's probably one of the second things I enjoy doing as a hobby. But the reason I continue to go, and that I let myself be convinced to go along to Otakon this year, was because I knew it would be a chance to spend time with my family here in America. I could see the faces I haven't seen in a year, act like a complete dork with my nearest and dearest, and make new friends while I was at it.
Otakon is one of the largest anime conventions held in the United States, and is most certainly the largest convention on the East coast. The rough estimate is that over 20,000 people attend the convention per day in the three days that it is held. The largest population crowds on Saturday, when photoshoots, video rooms, instructional panels, karaoke and various other things open up to those who have paid to enter. Their dealers room and artist alley are some of the biggest that I've seen in the conventions that I frequent with friends, and possibly offer up the best selection for those searching for rare
Convention crowd
This was only one room in the convention center pieces. It's held annually in the Baltimore Convention Center on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland; nothing is closed down for the event, so often tourists and city dwellers come out in baffled amazement at the groups of costumed youth that have gathered in the Inner Harbor, and none ever has the heart to just ask us what the hell is going on. So they watch, completely confused, as the convention goers enjoy their once a year weekend in the city of not-so-much brotherly love.
I personally have been coming to Otakon every year since around the ninth grade, so stretch your imaginations back to eight years. I started going at the height of my animanga love and gradually found other, better reasons for why I want to attend. Cosplay is part of the reason; but also the memories that I build with my friends at these events are priceless things that I treasure. It's the one time a year that I am guaranteed to see my friend Keely, who is an amazing blessing to my life. This year our group consisted of Kerri, Sarah, April, Eme, Keely, and myself, with all six of us camped out in a
Anti-Light
Vote Yagami Light for President of the World king-sized hotel room that was meant for two. But despite the tight space we managed to have so much fun. Of course there was alcohol at one point, perhaps a silly game of cards to figure out who Keely and I would marry and which of us was going to be flat broke. I also went on a "date" with Keely last night so we could just talk, and so that I could explain all the things that happened in Japan. It was such a relief to be able to speak with someone who was right there about everything, and who had her own experiences abroad to reflect and enlighten me on what she thought. Thankfully I'll be able to see her more frequently now that I live in DC, and we can get together on these experiences more often.
But other than the fond memories made there was also a lot of.. Cosplay. I didn't plan anything major for this convention, since I didn't actually plan to go until about two or three weeks ago. Didn't pre-register, didn't have time to make a costume, so I went with things that would be simple and easy for the time.
Sarah wanted to cosplay from the series Death Note so the two of us went to the convention dressed as the main characters, Yagami Light and L. we spent the entirety of Friday handcuffed together and asked to pose for pictures among other odd requests. Keely was our master photographer and has some pictures that I will definitely post here later (such as our favorite online Death Note macros and spoofs, which includes "Swimming lessons") and even got a shot of me "dying" on the stairwell. It was a lot of fun though, being able to hide behind the layers of a costume and be someone else for a while! I think that's the main reason I love cosplay: you can be someone else for a while. Call it role playing. The other costume that I took along was Daishii of the band Psycho le Cemu and their "Roman Hikou" music video. It came complete with handcuffs to mimick Daishii's escape from American jail when he was arrested here on their last tour. But this also turned into a complete crack cosplay, since I had my boxhead from when I was L'arc~en~Ciel two years ago with me as well. All
L
Everyone's favorite genius in all? A great weekend.
So the next and final convention on the list for this year is Anime-USA, which is in October. From here on out I'm planning to work on big project cosplay, and use the costumes over and over as opposed to one event. So for this I'm making Sora from Kingdom Hearts II, Lelouch from Code Geass, and Pheonix Wright from.. Pheonix Wright. I'll probably be Light again in the near future just because it was so much fun being dressed as him. Not to mention the wayward remark I got from someone who snapped a photo of Sarah and I: "You are the prettiest Light cosplayer I have ever seen!". I didn't know how to respond other than to laugh.
Keely also issued me a challenge for my next big cake project: A Katamari Damacy cake. Well, it ought not to be that bad. The only thing will be the attention to details in all the items the Prince has rolled up in the world. I'd also like to include the King and Queen of the Cosmos with the final design.. so it should be a fun project, and something major to add
Shoujo Kakumei Utena
My friend Kerri dressed as Tenjou Utena to my portfolio. :P And it would be a way to make money and show off my skill. But stay tuned for more!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.123s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 47; dbt: 0.0894s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
anonymous
non-member comment
oh wow......... so that's an anime convention :P looks like you guys had an awesome time!! :D:D