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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