T5W#182-Top 10 Favorite Conventions Part 1

Well we’re in countdown mode.  Katsucon 2019 is in two weeks and I feel like its been a bit since ive done a Convention themed Top 5.  Looking back over almost ten years, ive been to so many, five in 2018 alone (Animore, Katsucon, Otakon, Baltimore Comic Con and Four State Comic Con).  Each one is different, even if the name is the same.  And some have left more of an impact than others.  But, while I could narrow it down to 5 cons easily, I wanted to give shoutouts to others as well.  So this Top 5 is a Top 10 and a 2 part one at that.  These are my Top 10 Favorite Conventions (notice “Anime” is left out of the title cause there will be some non Anime centric cons in this list too, not many but theyre there.)  Today you get choices 10-6 and check back next week for choices 5-1. 

 

#10-Animore 2018

I went to five comic book conventions in 2018, four of which are on this two part list.  Animore is still a relatively new Anime convention, coming onto the scene in 2016 to begin filling the void Otakon was about to leave behind in Baltimore.  It’s not a big convention, not even close.  While I hope it grows by a lot, the smaller, more intimate feel of cons like this one cant be ignored.  2018, the first one I went to for just one day, had the feel of an Otakon or a Katsucon, just smaller.  The Dealers Room wasn’t bad, the couple of screenings I attended were fun.  I even got to go to a panel hosted by some friends of mine.  Animore is the kind of low key convention that defnitley helps tide over those lull times in between Katsucon and/or Otakon.  And who knows, maybe down the line it’ll even grow to their level too, God knows Baltimore needs another Anime convention champion.

 

#9-Otakon 2010

“The beginning is a very delicate time,” Princess Irulan said in David Lynch’s Dune (yes I love that movie and love the book, its ok to like both).  Otakon 2010 was the opposite of delicate.  It was like being yanked right through the looking glass and into a world I only dreamed of.  Thousands of Otaku all sharing the same space, a room full of Anime merch that was basically the Anime Mall of America to me, screenings of all of my favorite shows and the premieres of new ones?  I had found my heaven and it nearly overwhelmed me every single day I was there.  This set the stage for every convention to come.  This was Otakon and it was awesome, a great beginning.

 

#8-Baltimore Comic Con 2018

Though it’s held in the same building as Otakon once was, Baltimore Comic Con is still a smaller convention compared to the two.  Sure it opens both show rooms usually separated for Dealers Room and Artist Alley and merges them, but that’s kind of it, along with a couple of rooms for panels.  Still, even though it isn’t purely Anime focused, it is 100% nerd focused and a good excuse to spend a day of your weekend attending.  For me, that was Sunday and it was better than I could have hoped.  I got to join up with a crew of new friends, all great people and up and coming cosplayers.  I got to meet a cosplayer from the West Coast I have always liked and learned she’s just as cool in person as she is in her photos (shoutout to Riannsynth).  Best of all, I got to enjoy a relatively quiet section of the convention center and reflect on the many con adventures ive had there…and the many more im sure ill have so long as theres a convention there, anime or otherwise.

 

#7-Otakon 2016

We all knew this one was coming, we’d known for years.  But 2016 came and with it the confirmation that this would be Otakon’s last year in Baltimore.  It was a sad thought.  So many memories, so many friendships, so many summers spent here.  But the end times was the last thing on our minds.  Otakon 2016 felt like a regular Otakon from beginning to the end, right down the hellish temperatures of August.  You had hilarious and informative panels, the last hurrah of the Late Night Fan Parodies, many very old friends, the endless wanderings through the Baltimore Convention Center.  Really, there wasn’t anything huge about Otakons last year in Baltimore but that was ok.  I had my family again, that was more than enough for me.

 

#6-Otakon 2015

2015 was a turbulent year for me for a number of reasons (feel like it kicked off multiple turbulent years but im not going into that).  Between family passings, losing a long time job and the aftermath of the Freddie Gray trial that set downtown on fire for a night, myself and many others were questioning if there was even going to be an Otakon in 2015.  Well, there was and it ended up being a much needed hug from a very dear friend.  The Thursday Pre Reg day was win enough as I got to see all of my friends and fill them in on the tough times that id endured, some just right before the con itself.  The rest of the weekend still had some great moments too, including getting a photo with the awesome married Voice Acting couple of Laura Bailey and Travis Willinghem (Lust and Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist).  But this was the year that reminded me, when you’re having a really bad time in life and you get to go to Otakon…a hug is always waiting, along with the reassurance that everything is going to be ok.

 

See ya next week as finish this two parter off just in time to head out for Katsucon 2019.