T5W#81-Top 5 Favorite Anime Conventions (So Far)

Ever since my first Anime Convention in the summer of 2010, I’ve always looked forward to going to more, seeing more, experiencing all of the fun that comes with being an Anime fan in such a welcoming environment.  Some have not been as positive and even a bit disappointing.  But even at their worst, there are slivers of goodness in them.  But the good ones outweigh and outnumber the bad ones.  So, as promised last week, I’m dedicating this weeks T5W to the cons that remind me why I love going back for more and why the feel like coming home every single time.  Welcome to my Top 5 Favorite Anime Conventions (So Far)…and yes they’re all either going to be Otakon or Katsucon’s (I know, I really need to get out more).

 

#5-Katsucon 2017

For more about why I really liked this one, you can take a look at last weeks T5W here: http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/t5w80-top-5-katsucon-2017-moments.html.  Needless to say, it mustve been a good year if it managed to inspire this list right afterward.  Short version: 2017 was the follow up to 2015 that I wanted 2016 to be: the mood was right, the friends were there, the weather was surprisingly nice and it just felt…better.

 

#4-Otakon 2015 and Otakon 2016

It’s hard for me to choose between these two because both are important to me.  Both years were really trying both emotionally and physically.  2015 saw my home town of Baltimore in chaos leading into summer and making many wonder if Otakon would even happen.  2016 was marred with personal drama galore.  So when Otakon arrived both summers, I needed it more than ever.  Otakon 2015 felt like getting a very nice hug from a best friend, amongst others from the family I had been building there since 2013.  Otakon 2016 was the last one to be held in Baltimore, Maryland but it never felt like a full blown goodbye.  Both were conventions I needed when I needed them the most: filled with Anime, cosplay, good friends and memories that will last a lifetime.  It was back to back wins for Otakon and I couldn’t leave either off of this list.

 

#3-Otakon 2013

 

2013 would turn out to be the start of many great things in my life.  Whereas in 2012 I really wanted friends to enjoy the convention with, 2013 is where I met many I still call friends today.  Those friendships have become cornerstones of my convention going experience and when some of these people aren’t present, the con doesn’t feel truly complete.  In addition, 2013 felt like one of the biggest Otakons ever.  There were two epic premiere screenings: Rurouni Kenshin and Evangelion 3.33, and two stellar A-List guests: Vic Minogna and Crispin Freeman.  Oh and there was that Gundam Wing group cosplay that made the middle school child in me cry with joy.  This was a year I didn’t want to forget.

 

#2-Katsucon 2015

Ever since my first Otakon, Katsucon had been hyped to no end.  So when I finally decided to attend, I wondered if it could live up to the hype and man did it ever.  This was like stepping onto a brand new planet where Cosplay was more at the forefront than it has been at Otakon.  The Gaylord was huge and still impresses three years later.  It may have been a bit tight and crowded but it never bothered me.  I had good roommates, enjoyed good screenings and panels, danced in the game room til 330am and got to experience possibly the best Sailor Moon Photoshoot ever.  The first chapter in the saga of Katsucon set a benchmark that, thankfully, Otakon 2015 managed to touch later on that year.  But Otakon was coming to an end in Baltimore…and Katsucon proved it could be a good continuation of my con going experience with one awesome weekend.  It had a lot to prove and it did so in spades.

 

#1-Otakon 2011

As a big fan of movies, I often look forward to sequels.  Otakon 2011 was the sequel to my first Otakon in 2010 and, even if I had no expectations going in, I had no idea how great of an effect it would have on me or my con going experience for the next few years.  I got to meet Johnny Yong Bosch, got a great haul in the Dealer’s Room, enjoyed two amazing concerts (one from the cast of K-On and then from JYB’s band Eyeshine), witness a dance off by the fountains, I even got to meet an army of voice actors including the cast of K-On itself on the last day.  A dancer in the dance off cheered that weekend, “HERE AT OTAKON THE PARTY DON’T STOP!!!” Who was I to argue.  And while the party has had it’s ups and downs since then, the party never really has ended…and as long as it stays strong in my heart, it never will.