Wednesday, July 27, 2016

T5W#50-Top 5 Otakon 2013 Moments


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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