Going into 2013, my expectations were a bit low compared
to 2012. Little did I know, this Otakon
was going to explode without me realizing it.
The guests list was legendary, there were screenings I really wanted to
attend. But two things stood out more so. Firstly, this would be my first year staying
at the Hilton Baltimore, which is connected to the Baltimore Convention Center
via skybridge and has events from the Con inside as well. It would be, in my eyes, the first year I was
staying WITHIN the convention itself, the events being only an elevator ride
away. And second, or rather this should
be first, was not expecting to meet so many amazing new people who I would go
on to reunite with over the next few years at the forthcoming Otakons. 2013 is one of 2 cons that came really,
really close to topping 2011. Here are
the 5 best moments to explain why.
#5-The 18+ Hentai Panel
Judge all you want, but you have not had a true
convention going experience until you’ve attended a late night Hentai
panel. Unlike the one I went to in 2010,
this one was thankfully held in one of the larger programing rooms in the
Hilton, instead of a small cramped one in the convention center. The crowd was having a grand old time as our
lovely hostesses…whose name escapes me sadly, showed us the good, the bad, the
ugly and the…rather impressive sexual fantasies of the darker side of Anime
(and man are some of those acts astounding, let’s just say one of the most
astounding videos shown involved a photographer, a mafia higher up and three
rolls of film going where it really shouldn’t…oh Yaoi fandom). Top it off with a volunteer audience voice
improv of a very naughty scene and you’ve capped off the first night right. Oh and did I mention it was in the Hilton
too? Yea, I only had to hop on one short
elevator ride up and crash in my room after depositing photos from camera to
computer…now that’s awesome.
#4-Dance Off Round 2
It was the ultimate case of déjà vu. A circle starting small before enlarging as
more people came to watch and more people came to participate. With some rocking beats, the final day ended
on a strong note with this entertaining show of fun. I got pretty close to it this time and from
simply dance to break dance to combat simulation to leaps and flips, it was in
your face and full of energy. The combat
sims were the best part, even if it was for play (and you’re not really
supposed to be doing this lol), these guys pulled it off with style, one duo
even threw in a Sho-ryu-ken move for good measure.
#3-Rurouni Kenshin: The Movie
I feel like id been waiting for this my whole life, ever
since I saw the Anime, especially after I finished the Manga. A Rurouni Kenshin film had become a reality
and I was dead set on seeing it. In all
my life, only Star Wars and The Avengers have gotten as huge a response as this
screening did. The reaction was HUGE and
very positive. There were cheer worthy
moments ever 5-10 minutes of the film and when they happened (the appearance of
any familiar character, the action sequences, Kenshin donning his characters
trademark outfit) you wanted to cheer, you wanted to scream your
enthusiasm. The film was awesome and
while it took some liberties with the events of the manga, it remained mostly
faithful and true to the story originally told ages ago. Oh and there was a very nice introduction by
Karou Kurosaki, wife of Kenshin’s original author Nobuhiro Watsuki, which
included confirmation that two more Kenshin sequels were about to begin filming
for release in Summer 2014 and she hoped to bring them to Otakon after they
come out. Watsuki himself had a video
message prepared for us in which he expressed his amazement at the production
quality of the film AND his enjoyment of Pacific Rim. I did write a review of this one and might
post it sometime down the line…after it comes to DVD with the other two sequels
this fall, YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#2-Crispin Freeman & Vic Minogna
Two legends of Anime voice acting made their grand
appearances this year…and I got to see both of their panels back to back. First off was Crispin Freeman. The man has an impressive resume of roles
under his belt including Alucard from Hellsing, Togusa from Ghost in the Shell,
Jerimiah from Code Geass and Kyon from Haruhi Suzumiya. Crispin was an amazing guy, full of humor,
honesty and the ability to be just an all around great guy. I finally mustered up the courage to ask him
my dream question: what would happen if Alucard, Kyon and Shizuo from Durarara
roomed together? While he didn’t act it
out like I hoped, he was still very entertained by such a question, caught off
guard. But he did answer the question
regardless: Kyon wouldn’t last long lol (and yes I found my appearance on
Youtube). Vic Mignogna was a strong
follow up. He was a true comedian and a
very humble host. In fact he loved
hanging out with his fans and answering their questions so much…he even let a
fan propose to his girlfriend on stage through a skit he had worked on with Vic
via email leading up to this point. Top
that off with Vic’s reminiscence about Star Trek inspiring him to act and his
fondness for Edward Elric and you’ve got a panel for that ages that was an
awesome way to kick off the weekend.
BTW Vic revealed that he had crabs with William Shatner
(you know, Captain Kirk) at a Baltimore resturaunt nearby a week or so
prior…and I was at a family dinner around the same time it would have
happened. How mind blowingly awesome
would it have been to meet Ed Elric and Captain Kirk at the same time? I love to dream about that “What If?”.
#1-New Friends
Otakon 2013 succeeded in my eyes for a number of
reasons. But all come second to the fact
that I met a large number of new friends, many of whom I have seen regularly at
each Otakon since. It was the magic of
the first con all over again, meeting people in the most unexpected ways: a
screening, a cosplay photo request, a random hallway while charging a camera
battery, or even just randomly getting a positive comment about my shirt. For all of last year feeling so alone, this
year I was meeting people at every panel, every photoshoot, every
screening. And those ten or so plus
people I met, I have continued to keep in touch with to this day and rely on
them for a good laugh or soul support.
These people have become family to me, very dear family and I would do
pretty much anything for any of them.
This was the year I rediscovered about Otakon, “You are not alone”. It was good to run with a pack again.
Long story short, 2013 KICKED ASS!!! But would lightning strike twice? Spoiler alert, not exactly. In fact the darkest year thus far had yet to
come. Ok that sounds dramatic but 2014
was not nearly as good for a number of reasons.
But I’ll get to that next week.
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