Wednesday, August 17, 2016

T5W#53-Top 5 Otakon 2016 Moments


Well, this weekend was definitely something.  After a year of waiting, and three years of advance warning, Otakon 2016 arrived and there was no way to fully ignore that this would be the last one in Baltimore, Maryland.  As much as it hung like a cloud over the weekend, I can safely tell you it dampened no spirits.  In fact, it infused everyone with the desire to make this weekend the best one possible.  And at the end of the day, it feels wrong to rank this amongst the other years gone by (I would say it’s up there though, could be a T5W for another time).  Otakon 2016 was, in simple terms, special.  It’s almost kind of tough to go through and choose 5 moments that stood out amongst everything else and, really, it all kind of gels together.  But I cant break this cycle that began weeks ago.  So here we go.  The epic conclusion to this sort of unintentional miniseries within the Top 5 Wednesday features, my Top 5 Moments from Otakon 2016.

 

#5-Japan Still Loves Eva…A Little Too Much
 
This was a fun way to kick off Saturday.  I’d seen a couple of Evangelion themed panels from the Moderators of Evamonkey.com and had always been entertained (even got to chat with one of them and he’s a dead ringer for David Tennant as the 10th Doctor).  With this panel, “Japan Still Loves Evangelion…A Little Too Much” I got to see Japans kind of creepy love for this series that has it’s colors pasted on bullet trains, Pachinko Machines (with custom cutscenes that make me wonder if this is why we haven’t seen Evangelion 4.44 yet), even hotels and…horse racing? Yeah I saw a stallion mode Evangelion Unit 01.  I also saw a Transformers Eva 01 but yeah the horse was.  Not a bad way to start the day…even if im not drinking Eva style coffee.

 

#4-One Punch Man/Charlotte

There were a couple of big screening events during the convention.  Charlotte’s English Dub premiere was actually pretty good.  It started out kind of funny but got a little serious in the second half…not surprising after I found out it was done by the same studio that did Angel Beats, which followed a very similar structure.  The powers possessed by main character Yu and his total arrogance over himself made me realize that he was actually the legit love child of Light Yagami and Lelouch Vi Britannia…CONGRATS SHIPPERS, IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!!  By comparison, his female lead companion, Nao, is pretty much the offspring of L and Haruhi Suzumiya, a good detective but with a bit of a God Complex.  As for One Punch Man, unlike the group I was with, they had never seen the dub of this show before (id caught it on Toonami).  The reaction of the audience was amazing and even if it was just the first couple of episodes, I was still laughing myself sideways (especially when Saitama comes into battle trying to kill a Mosquito with bug spray).  And the group I was with loved it and we traded some fun observations.  Even though we never met up the rest of the weekend, it’s short times spent with total strangers like this that make some of the best times of the convention.

 

#3-Evangelion ReDeath: Sing Along Redux
This was one viewing I wasn’t going to miss, no matter what.  Ever since the first time I came to Otakon, I’d always been around on Saturday to see Evangelion ReDeath.  What’s it about?  Well here’s what it says in the Otakon hand guide: “It doesn’t bother Shinji that his father (who might be a pimp) thinks giant robots are babe magnets. It doesn’t bother him that he shares an apartment with a strangely masculine German girl. It doesn’t even bother him that the world may be coming to an end thanks to a long forgotten Prince song. The only thing on Shinji’s mind is the nookie, whatever that is.  No one said adolescence was easy.”  This is easily one of the funniest parodies I have ever seen and it has never gotten old.  This year, we got a new “Sing Along” edition.  And the audience was the most pumped I think ive ever seen it for this screening.  When “Big Balls” by ACDC and, most importantly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen kicked in, everyone sang, everyone cheered.  And when Gendo’s theme played…I don’t think ive ever seen so many people get into the aisles to dance.  For the last screening of Evangelion ReDeath in Baltimore, this screening goes down in my books as the best of all seven times ive seen it. 

 

#2-Dejavudea
Otakon has always been a favorite con for Dejavudea and she’s been a regular attendee for years.  I had a feeling she’d attend but im always never prepared for her to recognize me and give me a hug.  There are times I wonder what the heck I did to earn her friendship but I end up never questioning it.  Her infectious spirit is enough to get anyone pumped for a convention.  As always, she was shooting footage for her Vlogs on her Youtube page and leading her merry band of dancers, Dantsu to Pantsu, into battle (not really but you know what I mean).  She even participated in a Love Live dance event on the final day, doing what she’s always done best, getting out there and dancing with friends to catchy music from Anime.  Dejavudea’s become a good friend and I’ll always voice my support for her and her endevors on this blog when I can.  I’m glad I got to chat with her in short moments across the weekend, she’s easily become as important an element of my con life as many others I know.  Here’s hoping I see her again down the line at Cons outside of Baltimore.  Til then, always get her back no matter what, even in spirit….V.

 

#1-“I don’t have friends.  I’ve got family”
 
 
 
 
 
The screenings I view, the merchandise I buy, the cosplay I photograph…the real gift I take away from any Otakon ive been to, especially in the last few years, are the friendships I gain each time I go.  Many of the people I hung out with over the weekend I met back in 2013 and they’ve been back ever since.  Each time, we reunite, if even for a little bit, to chat, catch up on life, and enjoy convention adventures together.  This year felt different though.  I was practically making it my mission to get in some quality time with as many friends as I could, thinking this could very well be the last time we’re all around each other like this (as of this moment many of them, including myself, are not sure about attending Otakon 2017 in Washington DC next year).  This Convention in this city brought us all together and has seen our growth as fans and friends year after year.  The people ive met are not my friends…they are my family and I miss them dearly everytime we part ways.  As you can imagine, saying goodbye this time was particularly tough.  I think one of the hardest moments of truth from the whole weekend was on Thursday when I found the Ice Cold Water Man and could hear how sad he was that Otakon was moving on.  He’s a vendor for a lot of Convention Center events but im sure from his tone, he loved us more than anything else and we always accepted him as part of our convention community, part of our family.  Parting ways with him and the city was never going to be easy.  But just because the con ends, doesn’t mean we wont stay in touch.  Im not letting go of these friendships as long as I live…and I’ll always remember where they began, right here in Baltimore at a little convention…called Otakon.

Well…that was pretty lengthy.  Might be the post con depression talking a bit (yes it’s a real thing and no laughing matter).  But I was perfectly ok with everything that happened over this weekend.  I’ll never forget it and I’ll never forget this con taking place here.  This is, and always will be, my home.  So here’s to you Otakon…til the day we meet again.
…and now I need to start thinking of new ideas for future T5W lists.  While I think on that I should say to keep an eye on the blog on Friday…something special might be coming back since ive seen a couple of good, new titles over the weekend hehehe.  See ya then everyone.

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