Back in February 2020, I couldn’t imagine the sharp turn
the world would take barely a month later with the Pandemic shutting down
everything worldwide for the better part of a year. I guess it was a small consolation that if I
had to be forced into quarantine with the rest of the world, at least I got one
last good Anime Convention before it happened with Katsucon 2020. Flashforward to present day, up until this
past weekend, I hadn’t been back to Katsucon in three years. I skipped 2022 due to the Omicron surge still
being a concern and while Otakon 2022 was my first full Con since the Pandemic,
I still really missed the grandeur and all night fun of National Harbor. Factor in 2022 being a hard hitting mental
and emotional year for me and I didn’t just need another Katsucon, I needed it
to be spectacular from start to finish. Well,
with expectations very high and also uncertain, I returned to National Harbor
this weekend for Katsucon 2023 and it was AWESOME!!!!! So awesome in fact that I’m going to do something
this week I don’t think I’ve done for an individual Anime Con since Katsucon 2018:
I’m gonna to give a double sized Top 5 Wednesday. Cause the more I thought about it, the more
impossible it became to even narrow down 5 incredible memories to talk about. So, Dear Readers, it’s time to return to the
Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center for one of my most anticipated Top 5 Wednesdays
of the year, these are my Top 10 Katsucon 2023 Moments.
Back in Otakon 2022, I attended a Lolita 101 Panel with a
friend and got quite the education on the popular fashion. When a Saturday Hentai Panel fell through and
another proved to be underwhelming, I ended up going to a Lolita Panel where
the Hosts and Audience passed judgement on a large assortment of Lolita Dress
Designs. Even though I only came in at
the halfway mark, it was fun to see what these designs looked like and even
develop my own opinions of them. Some
had artistic choices that were pretty weak and deserved to be passed on. Others were harder to judge whether because
they were just too bizarre to not give a chance or because it was just weird to
see a painting or picture transposed onto a dress (one reminded me of a Miyazaki
still and another reminded me of a screenshot from a Final Fantasy game). I didn’t voice any of my opinions but I did
take part in selecting whether these designs should be “Smashed or Passed”, it
was a surprising amount of fun.
#9-Samurai Pizza Cats
Every morning at Katsu, I get up, shower, get dressed and
head down to the Gaylord Atrium to sit by the Fountains and eat breakfast. Saturdays can be a bit more entertaining when
you head up the Video Rooms to check out some Anime as if you were sneaking
downstairs on Saturday Morning for Saturday Morning Cartoons. And nothing fits the description of “Saturday
Morning Cartoons” more than Samurai Pizza Cats.
Besides the incredibly catchy theme song and characters, I didn’t remember
too much from this show in terms of the story, not that it was necessary. What I def didn’t remember was the most
amusing part of the English Dub: how random the dialogue was. This dub is pure improv comedy that’s both
random and a bit dated with references but that’s part of what makes it so much
fun. I really did feel like a little kid
again getting up early to watch DBZ or Beast Wars sitting in the Video Room
watching these couple of episodes and def expect a First Impression Friday episode
dedicated to Samurai Pizza Cats coming maybe this Friday.
#8-Epic Battles (Staged of Course)
Typically, fights, even staged ones, are prohibited at
any cons. This is understandable
considering everything that could go wrong: someone getting hurt being a top concern. However, don’t expect me to step in and stop
something that looks awesome as hell. I
got to see two well executed fights from two different groups. The first was a Zoro from One Piece I’d seen
practicing by the Fountains facing off against as Tanjiro and Giyyy from Demon
Slayer, a Shonen showdown dream come true.
Arguably even cooler was later the night before seeing an old school
Lightsaber duel between two con attendees who definitely looked like
professionals. This wasn’t a rehearsed fight
either, neither of them were really.
Improvisation was key and you could see everyone making moves to match
their opponents on the fly. It may not
be as insane as a Shonen Battle Anime but damn if it isn’t the coolest thing to
witness.
#7-Gunpla Panel with Vampy Bit Me
Last Otakon, a new friend got me back into building Gunpla
and I’ve been hard at work buying and building any I can get my hands on. I came ready to splurge on Gunpla but I didn’t
expect to find a Gunpla expert like Vampy Bit Me in attendance as well. While I showed up a little late to the panel,
I still got to see Vampy share her Gunpla building expertise, speaking in depth
about the different levels of Gunpla fans can choose from, the tools best
suited to each build and her own personal favorite models she’s worked on. Not to mention, she hosted the panel cosplaying
Miroine from The Witch from Mercury and looked really damn good. While I didn’t
win anything from the trivia contest she held at the end of the panel, I did
get to meet with Vampy in person, chat for a second and nab a selfie, which is
plenty reward for me. And her discussion
of certain favorite Mobile Suits definitely inspired one of my many Gunpla
purchases over the weekend.
#6-Inuyasha Proposal
Falling in love at a Convention isn’t uncommon. Neither is that purely magical moment when a
couples life changes forever at their favorite Convention. Case in point, this cute Inuyasha and Kagome
couple was enjoying getting photos with onlookers in various classic poses from
hugs to Kagome yelling “SIT BOY” at poor Inuyasha. But Kagome didn’t expect in
one moment to turn around and see Inuyasha down on one knee holding up a tiny
box. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who didn’t
catch on right away but that was only for a second. The genuine reactions and the way that the
pair came together was all the proof you needed. And since this was going down right in the
Gazebo level, you better believe this incredible proposal was met with thunderous
applause and cheers for everyone who witnessed it. Even I got a chance to congratulate the lucky
couple in person. Ah man, those tears of
joy, just one of the many reasons Cons are so magical to me.
#5-That Shouldn’t Fit: “What?” Edition
For me, 18+ Panels are the place to be at any convention
after the lights go down. The naughty,
the violent, the bizarre and the downright WTF are free to be explored and experienced. “That Shouldn’t Fit” is a panel exclusive to Katsu
and in the 10 years the panelists have been doing this, this was their first
year hosting it in the main show room of Katsu (over 600 seats so I was sure to
get in no matter where I was in line).
As I’ve always stated (and yet often forgotten), if you think you’ve
seen every messed up thing imaginable, you’re 100% wrong. Eight years after my first unexpected viewing
of this panel and its still finding ways to make me go “NOOOOOOO!!!!” along
with every other freaked out member of the audience. Plus there were three Hentai Manga segments
where volunteers could read the whole thing for the rest of the crowd. Trust me, you haven’t experienced Hentai
until you’ve heard it spoken in the voice of Mickey Mouse, Shaggy from Scooby
Doo and Kermit the Frog.
#4-Saturday Night at the Gazebo
Nighttime at the Gazebo.
When the sun goes down and the final official photoshoots are done, the
area transforms into the party center of Katsucon. Private or smaller photoshoots, dance
gatherings, epic karaoke, even just standing around chatting and talking with
strangers and friends, its such a magical area of Katsucon. For me, Saturday is the best of the three
nights I spend there and this year was no different. I ran into some old friends, some I haven’t seen
in years, and met some incredible new ones that I hope to see at other Cons
down the line if not Katsucon 2024 itself.
I love building my community and circle of friends at Conventions and Katsucon
has given many that have lasted for years.
There’s more to come for sure and this Saturday was proof that even
three years after my last one, the magic is still there.
#3-The Power of Encanto
While I grew up on Disney Movies from a very young age, I
have to say that 2021’s Encanto might be my favorite Disney Movie of them
all. I love the music, the story, the
animation, the lead heroine Mirabel, it’s damn near as perfect as Disney
gets. Encanto had a couple of pivotal
moments for me this weekend. The first
was during Pre Reg Day when three tables broke out into a simultaneous
rendition of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, including a couple of friends of
mine, which was pure gold. The more
impactful moment was hearing someone sing “Waiting for a Miracle” in the Karakoe
Room. It was here that I almost had a
breakdown, wanting to ball my eyes out and cry because how could this weekend be
anything short of just that, a miracle?
After the rough road to get back to Katsucon, this weekend was almost
perfect and something I’ve needed for a very, very long time. It could have just been the last day of Con
emotional blues setting in. Honestly
though, it was a culmination of happiness and I loved it, all thanks to Katsucon
and my favorite Disney movie.
#2-Sailor Moon Meets Ronin Warriors
Every once in a while, you see something a at Convention
that you never expected to see: A Voice Actor from your childhood, a cosplay
from a show only you really remember, the one hard to find item in the Dealers Room,
etc. For me, this year was a combination
I had never considered until I saw it with my own eyes, and it was GLORIOUS!!! I was hanging around the Gazebo when I saw
Sailor Pluto in a very tough and elaborate looking armor but at the same time
it looked…familiar. Upon asking her, I got
my confirmation, she and a bunch of others were doing a Cosplay fusion of
Sailor Moon…AND RONIN WARRIORS!!! Holy Crap, that is brilliant. Two five person teams who battle monsters are
very much their own super teams AND theyre both staples of my Toonami childhood. This is the crossover I never knew I wanted
until I actually saw it in person, so awesome.
#1-I’m Home
All weekend, I was calling Katsucon 2023 a reboot for
myself. It was my first Post-Covid Katsu
and even with mask mandates and the Gazebo being shut down at midnight (that
was a bit of a buzzkill), it was still like I was experiencing my first
Katsucon all over again from the crazy Hentai panels to the tons of popular
Cosplayers I met to the dancing, the Sailor Moon Photoshoot, it was
just…just…ahhhhh I cant even at the moment.
But more than anything, I was so happy to be around my Convention Family
again. We went on so many adventures and
saw so much stuff together. It just felt
good to leave my anxiety and depression behind for a while and enjoy one of the
best conventions I’ve ever been to, maybe just shy of Katsu 2020. People often ask me which con I like better:
Otakon or Katsucon. I tell them it
varies. Some years one is better than
the other and sometimes theyre about equal.
I tell you now, Otakon 2023 has its work cut out for it. I wanted to cry and scream many thanks to the
powers that be for rewarding me with such an amazing vacation after working
through hell to get to it. Not saying
Otakon cant have the same effect on me…but it’ll have to work its damndest to
top Katsucon 2023.
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