It’s Summertime in Baltimore, for those unfamiliar, the uninitiated, it means time to: get some Natty, get sweaty, and go to OTAKON! For the past two years (2008, 2009) I’ve busted into the second largest anime/manga convention in the nation. You asked me by any means possible to bring it back, you screamed “give it to me dead or alive!” So Now, with out further hesitation, here’s that 2010 bounty you’ve been waiting for, I’ve got that elmo generation, I’ve got that maniac cop, I’ve got that fur on wheels!

Otakon (otaku convention) always gives me the strangest mix of feelings. The atmosphere is initially very exciting and stimulating. Weird people dressed up very strange everywhere. People really going all out. Big weapons, fake blood, bright wigs, fake nails, fake eyes, cardboard robots, taped nipples, plastic metal, cat lady, full-body suit, high heels, cross dress, fur gender. Why?…… It’s all about being the biggest fan, getting the opportunity to be your favorite character, connecting with people that have the same feelings you do, It’s a place where you will be praised for something that is usually not acceptable, a safe haven for the fans!

What I’m trying to get at is (and this may seem very obvious) that the goal of many costumed attendies isn’t to make the most interesting costume, but to most accurately depict their fav character, the goal is realistic imitation, to create this moment of excitement for the other attendies of seeing their favorite characters interacting with each other, you can find many groups of people dressed as the entire cast from an anime all for the purpose of a large fantasy photo shoot. I guess the pleasure derived from dressing up is similar to that of being an actor (which is foreign to me, probably why i don’t completely understand).

OK I’m just going to say it: “Otakon is actually very boring, Everyone is dressed very wild, but they are actually very tame and subservient to the rules, you will never see a fight break out at otakon, you will never see nudity/sex at otakon, you will never see a real metal gun or sword at otakon, you will never see real blood at otakon. It’s like disney world “no one ever dies at otakon.” Everything is for the benefit of the camera, suspending a moment, a photo, that appears out of control and free, but a second later, once the pose is casual, you realize that your favorite character is all surface decoration, they won’t actually pistol whip you for being bad, the excitement fades, there is no real threat of danger. There is no chaos. Don’t confuse this for the natural world because it’s all contained, calculated, and secure. An abundance of effort is spent on this wild/safe world, and it is confusing and unnatural.”

Well that’s enough of an intro, “on with the show,” I’ll try and let the pictures speak…

Everyone was screaming “Big Boy!” at this guy.

Kamen Rider? Pete?

Ahh, Mr. Sweeley, the only person I found that i knew in real life at the con. I sneak up on him and he starts to run.

Sweeley puts it in high gear, I’m walking fast after him trying to hang out hard, he escapes up the “staff only” elevator, and I’m left to my own devices.

There is an event on Saturday night called “The Masquerade” where costumed attendies can perform skits of their favorite anime/videogame/manga. This is truly bizarre. The performances are usually unmonumental with minimal coreography, and prerecorded vocals (it’s like watching a dubbed movie live, it’s impossible for the actors to synch their lips realistically, it’s a nice other worldly effect). This sounds all fine and all, but the real shocker is that these amateur performances take place in the 1st Mariner Arena, which seats up to 13,000 people, it’s not at sold out capacity full, but there are definitely thousands of people sitting around watching this. There are around 22,000 attendies at Otakon so it could theoretically fill up…

This guy sitting next to me, Charlie, was dressed as a ghostbuster, he literally started crying, breaking down on my shoulder because he said “this is my last con because I’m moving away.” bummer. This was my most intimate interaction at the con. Keep on doing it Charlie! “You know who to call!”

The experience is hard to explain, would be similar to watching a middle school talent show with an audience of 6,000 people. Fans gathering to watch fans. This might be my favorite part of Otakon, it’ll make you feel really weird.

The finale of the show was an acoustic performance by two members of the hard rock japanese band “X Japan.” They played classical versions of two of their songs, and did a short Q/A session. This band is responsible for the genre called “Visual Kei” popular in Japan. according to wiki the term “Visual Kei” came from X Japan’s slogan “Psychedelic violence crime of visual shock.” I’m not to familiar with the band, but i was surprised that they played classical versions of their songs…….(like Metallica?)

Back at the convention center, and what do we have here?

This guy’s costume was my favorite, the skunk mouth moved when he talked! Really pulled me in.

hey there fur baby!

WHAT IS THIS?

You so cute

You fell over

Bye Bye Otakon 2010, til next time…..

This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 2:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.