Wednesday, August 3, 2016

T5W#51-Top 5 Otakon 2014 Moments


Every once in a while, you’re going to go to a convention that doesn’t meet your expectations.  Heck, once or twice you’re going to attend one that just flat out disappoints.  I was incredibly excited for Otakon 2014, if only to reunite with my newfound friends from the previous year.  But then came the Pre Reg day…when Otakon didn’t have it’s act together getting the badges out and ended up leaving thousands of attendees having to wait til Friday to get their badges.  The backlash was downright disheartening.  How could a convention I’d come to adore screw up so badly?  It left a damper on the weekend for a lot of people, myself included.  There were some good moments too.  But overall, 2014 was one of the weakest Otakon’s ive ever attended.  But enough of the gloom and doom, here’s what I DID like about 2014.

 

#5-The Senshi Hunt
With the arrival of Sailor Moon Crystal and the brand new English Dub of the Original Series, Sailor Moon was bigger than ever this year.  To celebrate, VIZ enacted a special scavenger hunt in the Dealers Room.  Five “official” Sailor Scouts (Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus) were all floating around with special stamps.  To win a prize, you had to seek them out and get them to stamp a special card (Moon was last since she was stationed at the main booth and gave you the card in person).  It sounded like fun and I went for it.  I found Mercury and Mars pretty easy (man did I try my best to flirt with Mars lol).  But that’s where the easy part ended.  The others were sneaky and it took me almost the whole weekend to find them.  Wasn’t frustrated though, it was pretty enjoyable actually.  By Sunday, I did manage to track down Sailor Jupiter and somehow found myself teamed up with a mysterious girl (seriously I never knew her name) to find Sailor Venus.  Accosted suddenly was actually a bit of fun Mercury, Mars and Jupiter like Moon were stationary but Venus was the mover, the one to shake things up a bit.  But low and behold, at a water fountain giving a wheelchair bound con goer some water like a true Superheroine…was SAILOR VENUS.  And with her stamp, me and my mysterious comrade managed to get back to the Viz booth and get Moon’s stamp…and our prize 2014 Sailor Moon Celebration coin to commemorate the victory

 

#4-The Abridged Panel
Otakon 2014 was chalk full of problems that dampened the weekend.  And at one point, it threatened to derail one of the most important panels.  The room in which the Abridged Panel was to be held was not being cleared out following the previous panel.  So since most of the people in the Kurosawa Panel were present, they would have secure seats for the Abridged Panel while it remained unlikely even those very close to the front of the line would get inside.  It was one thing to see a convention goers reaction to this…it was another to see the Abridgers themselves get involved.  LittleKuriboh, 1Kids, Nowacking and Megami33 all got to talking with the staffers about how unfair it was.  I was in awe of the Abridgers dedication to the fans and wanting to make sure everyone got to see them.  Anyway, the Abridged Panel did happen and I did get in.  We all got to enjoy some Abridged making tips and see some material from the upcoming Tokyo Mew Mew Abridged as well as the Season Finale of Pokemon Bridged and a sneak peak at a new Naruto the Abridged Series.  But for those who could not get inside, they were rewarded with the announcement of a second Abridged Panel being authorized for an hour or so later in the day.  Wow.  I actually got to meet up with all of the Abridgers and shake their hands, thanking them for everything they did for us.  They’re still rockstars for a reason.

 

#3-Dante Basco Panel
For those who do not know who he is, Dante Basco was the voice of Zuko on Avatar: The Last Airbender, he also voice General Iroh (Zuko’s Grandson) in The Legend of Korra.  But once upon a time, he was also known as Ruffio, leader of the Lost Boys in Hook.  The line for questions and requests was long, but Basco took them all with a welcoming smile and plenty of charm.  He reminisced about his days as Ruffio and Zuko as well as working on Homestuck.  He even regaled us with tales of Hook, his acting career and growing up in a neighborhood where he was a minority within a minority (Asian American living in a community of predominantly Blacks and Hispanics).  We even got a fresh poem to open the panel and man does he know how to mix words in a natural way.  Stories were shared, hugs and selfies were offered and Dante Basco officially made my list as one of the best guests Otakon has ever had.

 

#2-Meeting my first Anime crush
Well all have that first Anime crush, that girl or guy who captures you with their style, attitude, beauty and general awesomeness.  For me, that was always Sailor Mars, the Senshi in red high heels and a penchant for setting things on fire.  Im sure I watched Sailor Moon just for her (everyone rates her pretty low but I stay strong in my camp).  So it was a huge surprise to see Linda Ballantyne (the OG Sailor Moon) and Katie Griffin (the OG Sailor Mars) make an appearance this year.  It was an even bigger surprise to cross paths with them while I was on my way back to the convention center after getting dinner.  I actually took a chance and stalled the two for a moment just to get a picture with Katie.  I’ve been starstruck around voice actresses and cosplayers before.  This, however, was the voice of one of my all time favorite Anime heroines and Waifu’s…yeah this was a pretty big win.

 

#1-Baring my Soul with a Stranger
I couldn’t believe such a cloud had been cast over my convention, my home.  This was supposed to be my big get away, my paradise away from the harshness of the real world.  But now it felt just like the real world, full of negativity and horrible feelings…ok again with the over dramaticness.  How bad did it get?  I ran into a Dantsu to Pantsu group practicing and ended up sitting next to a girl working on her cosplay wig.  I bared my soul and feelings with this girl, Leah, even watching her stuff while she took a break for a moment.  Just had to do something to keep myself positive and though Leah was miffed, she smiled a lot as we chatted (she did call me old though but eh, 30 is an age that’s been thrown at me before, I took it in stride).  I only say this girl one other time during the weekend, but this first chat kind of put Otakon back on track for a little bit.  Or at least, it reminded me even during dark times, the con can still find a way to introduce you to someone you really need at the right time.

I often go back and forth on which year was worse, 2012 or 2014.  One thing is certain for sure, what came next year was something even I couldn’t believe.  What do I mean by that?  Check back next week for the final recap before we get to Otakon 2016. 
 

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