Otakon 2009

In my lifetime I have been to many conventions ranging from video games and comic books to horror movie and anime. However, this was my first time at a convention that held more than 5,000 people and it was called Otakon. There were 35,000 people here this year and I was psyched to go see what Otakon could give me that smaller conventions couldn't. This happened to be absolutely nothing. It was the lamest convention I've ever been to.

Gone were the rooms to play video games or watch anime/japanese movies, the vendors that sold wares you could get no where else or at a discounted price, and booths with artists/famous people that meant something to the genre. No, this was just a giant unorganized mess of cosplayers taking pictures of each other.

None of the staff knew what was going on. All panels or activities had to do with cosplaying or J-pop and people spent more time taking pictures of costumes and posing than doing anything interesting. It was absolutely lame and I'm completely baffled by the fact that people pay over $50 for this hodge podge of social interaction. I was thoroughly disgusted with the fact they had nothing to offer a casual anime fan such as myself which would have loved to meet artists and animators as well as sit in on theater style showings of beloved animes past and present. Nope, just panels on cosplay and guess what, more cosplay!

On top of all this everything was so separated and closed by 6pm. So you were stuck in the city of Baltimore, most likely dressed like a heavier, smellier version of a favorite anime character, and nothing to do. I keep having this vision of a mugging involving a guy with a giant foam sword crying on the ground as someone runs away with his fanny pack. Ahhhh, the things I do to amuse myself.

In any case, observing the frenzy of overpriced, riduculous wares and people sitting around doing NOTHING I have decided I will stick with my smaller conventions and in fact, think I will be staying away from anime/anime fans for a while. Their conventions have so far been the most boring (looking back at Setsucon and Katsucon I must admit this) and I feel the whole community has become a mass expression of what happens when people don't get made fun of for doing stupid things...good night and good luck american otakus...no, on second thought, get a life.