Wednesday, August 15, 2018

T5W#157-Top 5 Otakon 2018 Moments


With the way life has been going lately, Otakon was the last place I ever expected to end up this year.  But, I relearned that over the last few years I have developed some very strong friendships that have carried me through the roughest patches.  This time would be no different.  So when a group of friends offered me to tag along with them to Otakon 2018…there wasn’t any hesitation.  I had no idea what to expect, especially considering this was my first visit to the NEW Otakon located in Washington DC.  What I found when I did arrive was a frak ton of reminders: it’s still a fun convention, there’s always lots to be seen, and the time spent with friends there is the greatest gift you could ever come away from it with.  Well, as you might expect, cant go to a convention and not come back with a few favorite moments.  These are my Top 5 Otakon 2018 Moments.   Special thanks to the friends who made these memories possible (you all know who you are and I love you all for them).


#5-Gundam Wing Retrospective
The theme of this years Otakon was mecha.  Naturally, this meant there would be dozens of panels dedicated to most things giant robots…but damn, Gundam was everywhere on the schedule.  Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of love given to other classics like Macross and Patlabor.  But I think there was at least one Gundam panel every couple of hours across the three day event.  One of the first was a well narrarated retrospective on the Gundam that got it all started for us in the United States: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.  There were analysis of the characters, a close look at the mechs and production history, and plenty of footage to show off, including the legendary Toonami promo narrarated by Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen.  This panel was all about nostalgia and I was right at home remembering why I ever got into Gundam to begin with (more on that next week actually, hint hint).


#4-The Dwarven City Dealers Room of Otakon
So, funny thing.  When Otakon went to work prepping the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to be their new home, they unearthed something unbelievable in the lower levels…a vast kingdom of cosplay materials, decorative pieces, beautiful clothes, libraries of manga and Blu-Ray/DVD’s…and it was triple the size of the same find in the Baltimore Convention Center…it was as if Dwaves buried it to keep it secret and safe from the world…
Ok in all seriousness, the new Dealers Room made the move from Baltimore to DC worth it.  Overcrowding wasn’t a problem.  You could fit the same amount of people who would clog up the BCC Dealers Room into this place…and still have room for double the amount of people.  Nice open spaces allowed for larger venues, including the crowning winner: a large exhibit from Toei Animation dedicated solely to Dragon Ball: from statues to displays of history and action figures to a replica of the Tenkaichi Budokai arena and, the piece d’resistance, A LIFE SIZE SHENRON HOVERING OVER IT ALL!!! (ok not life size but pretty damn big).  You could get lost in this place, tire yourself out, and realize there’s still so much to see and explore in this new vast kingdom.  I cant want to explore it more in later years.

#3-The Return of Many Familiar Faces


I already knew id be seeing some friends this year coming back.  I did keep my return a secret for a bit though, to surprise a couple of people.  Little did I know, id be the one getting more surprises myself.  I could think of at least three people I never intended to see coming back to Otakon and seeing them just out of the blue filled me with so much joy in my heart.  A couple of these friends I hadn’t seen in two years.  So it was pretty pleasing to know that we could just jump back into conversation as if no time had really passed at all.  Turns out I have a pretty good sized Otaku family and I wish I could’ve spent more time with some of them.  I don’t regret any time spent, however, long or short, seeing them again in general helped make the weekend what it was…a heartfelt gift.


#2-Lunch with Lisa Ortiz/Hanging with Rizuki
It was kind of an unexpected Saturday twofer.  The first was running into Lisa Ortiz, the voice of Lina Inverse from Slayers, at lunch with a couple of my friends.  I was welcomed to join and I did my hardest not to nerd out getting to chat with the voice of one of my favorite heroines in Anime (should I just reveal now Slayers might be the next series im reviewing?).  I even got to thank her for signing my old copy of Slayers: The Motion Picture back at Otakon 2011.  Lunch was great and then it was onto a couple of photoshoots.  Cosplayer Rizuki and I had kept in touch since before Katsucon and getting to see her reveal her updated Sailor Neptune cosplay was amazing.  Even better, I got to help her a bit with the Sailor Moon Photoshoot (just a couple of countdowns when needed really), afterwards, we got to hang out heading to the same destination.  Rizuki is a fun loving nerd and that same fun is infectious and capable of making any day brighter, or even brighter than it already is.  I hope I see her again in the future.


#1-Giving Captain Kirk Wisdom to Dejavudea
Those of you who have kept up with my blog know that Dejavuda, the amazing Cosplay enthusiast, blogger and leader of the Convention Dance Group Dansu to Pantsu, is no stranger to my Top 5’s.  Since I met her back in 2014, she’s always had one spot on my list because while she’s a joy to watch on youtube, she’s even better to talk with in person.  Well this year was the first time id seen her in person since 2016 and, like all of my other meet ups with old friends, the spark hadn’t dulled in the slightest.  Though, I did try something a bit more…risky dorky this year (that’s a thing right?).  I did something I normally wouldn’t do for risk of extreme embarassement. Before leaving the DTP Dance Gathering, I said goodbye to Dejavudea and gave her some advice, a personal favorite quote of mine from the one of the worst Star Trek films: Generations. It’s when Kirk is talking to Picard about captaining the Enterprise and retirement. Using DTP in place of the Enterprise, I told her (after a moments hesitation) “don’t let them promote you, don’t let them transfer you, don’t let them do ANYTHING that takes you off the bridge of that ship because while you’re there...you can make a difference”. And seeing how this girl bring such joy to the convention scene with her energetic spirit and equally amazing dance group, better believe I know she makes a difference every damn day. Oh and apparently my wisdom almost made her cry...tears of happiness I mean.  To know such a corny piece of Star Trek wisdom actually made someone feel better about themselves…how can I not feel accomplished after that and how can that NOT be my #1 favorite moment from Otakon 2018?

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