Another Otakon has come and gone but this wasn’t just any
ordinary Otakon: this past weekend marked the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest
Anime Conventions on the East Coast. Otakon’s
been through quite a bit in the last couple of years since the Pandemic,
soaring to record shattering numbers since it’s big move from Baltimore to
Washington DC in 2017. Honestly, I wasn’t
sure what to expect given the 25th Anniversary back in 2019 was kind
of “meh”, not terrible but it didn’t feel like a landmark celebration. Imagine my surprise when Otakon not only
pulled out all the stops for it’s 30th birthday, it actually
succeeded in doing so. Otakon 2024
freaking rocked and might be one of the best so far for me. Believe it or not, it wasn’t hard coming up
with todays Top 5 Wednesday cause so many moments were clear as day throughout
the weekend. Enough blabbering, let’s
get to our usual post convention report with my Top 5 Otakon 2024 Moments.
#5-A New GAC Sailor Moon Project Coming 2025 
Getting to see Rizuki at an Anime Convention is always a
special gift. She’s one of the busiest
cosplayers I know and is always on the move, so getting a few seconds to chat
means a lot. I was especially blessed
when she flagged me down in Artist Alley to hear out my thoughts on Sailor Moon
Crystal and Eternal. I’d tried to boil
everything down to one question earlier in the day at the Sailor Moon
Photoshoot but that didn’t really work.
Rizuki was kind enough to let me talk a bit more in detail later though
and because of her, I not only have a good idea of what to expect from Sailor
Moon Cosmos when I do see it, I also have renewed enthusiasm for a new
Anime/Manga Comparison Feature I’m gonna work on for 2025-looking at how the
original Sailor Moon Manga stacks up against the rebooted series (Rizuki
recommended it because it’s closer to the Manga without all of the 90s filler). Those not knew to the Gundam Anime Corner
know I praise the heck out of this girl and for those of you who are new, check
out Rizuki’s Instagram for her amazing and inspiring cosplay adventures and guides.
(BTW she and a group of friends also won an award for a group cosplay of Sailor Moon Monsters of the Week at the Otakon Masquarade and the deserves a heaping amount of praise)
#4-When Hentai Goes Bad
I say it everytime I go to a Convention, there’s just no way
I’m gonna be shocked by a Hentai Panel.
I’m just gonna go enjoy the laughs and reactions and have a good time
seeing how grossed out everyone gets. And
every year, somehow, I’m always proven wrong.
I can still be as shocked, grossed out and surprisingly wowed like
anyone else who might be sitting in on their first Hentai panel. Such is the case with When Hentai Goes
Bad. You could basically split this into
two halves: the first looking at clips from the legendary Hentai masterpiece Bible
Black and the second…well…hoooo boy this was kinda…pffff even I don’t have the
words to comprehend what I saw that night.
Let’s just say someones very erotic crossover fan fic between Sailor
Moon and Dragon Ball Z was made a reality in Anime form (not just Anime form
but a very Flash Animation style that looked like it was made in the early-mid
90s, not the turn of the century). I
have seen things, disgusting things I cant describe…and I’m happy to say I can
still get that kind of disturbed but excited emotion all these years
later. Tl;dr, I LOVE 18+ Hentai Panels.
#3-Running the Inuyasha Photoshoot
Otakon’s been organizing official photoshoots for a while
now and they’ve definitely improved positioning them in the Video Game Room
this year. Sometimes, however, some snafus
do occur, like a lower turnout than expected or the person who requested and
probably volunteered to coordinate the shoot not showing up. The Inuyasha Photoshoot was one such case. There were only a handful of Inuyasha
cosplayers, including a couple of good friends of mine, and whoever was
supposed to be running it was a no show.
No one knew what to do other than awkwardly try to take some group photos…sooooo…I
kind of stepped in and took charge. It wasn’t
a large group so it didn’t feel overwhelming.
Plus, I’ve been to so many of these things I know how they operate. It felt kind of empowering actually and it
was fun coming up with groupings and poses and seeing how much fun everyone was
having even if it wasn’t nearly as huge as other major photoshoots like Hazbin
Hotel, Frieren or even Sailor Moon. I
got to run an Otakon photoshoot and got a ton of praise of it…hehehehehe.
#2-Proposal at the Sailor Moon Photoshoot
Going to Sailor Moon Photoshoots is a must at any convention
for me. Especially after having spent
over a year and a half with reviewing the franchise, it’s just a fun group of
people to be around and the energy is second to none when it comes to
photoshoots. But much like the Hentai
Panels, they can still surprise you.
Case in point, when a group of Star Wars themed Sailor Moon Cosplayers
got called up for a group shot, one of the Tuxedo Mask themed members politely
halted the shoot to make an announcement.
Even if we couldn’t hear him cause the provided sound system took a second
to kick in, we all knew what was about to happen as he delivered a beautiful
speech to his beloved Sailor Moon. This
isnt the first time I’ve seen this at a convention but this is the first time i’ve
seen a marriage proposal between an Usagi and a Mamoru at a Sailor Moon
Photoshoot. He even had the ring in a replica
of Princess Serenity’s Holy Grail, dude went all out and it was worth it. The cheers were reward enough but probably
not nearly as much as his new bride to be saying Yes. Damn, this is why Sailor Moon Photoshoots are
so magical.
#1-Def a Convention First (Otakon or otherwise)
So quick story: my friends and I were waiting for the new
hotel bar and restaurant: BeerLab, to open.
When it did, the lady watching the front desk asked us if, before we
came in, if she could have my shirt. I
had to do a double take to realize she was talking about my Rengoku Demon
Slayer shirt. Everyone laughed obviously
and while the waitress wasn’t kidding, I said, “Eh, might as well give the
people what they want.” Everyone was in
disbelief when I stepped over into the bathroom and came back off in just my
undershirt, ready to hand over my T-Shirt.
The reaction was great and while I don’t think we got a discount for my brazenness,
I did get a nice selfie with the Waitress later that night and ended up making
a new friend in the process. Like I said,
this was definitely a first for me at a convention. I freaking love Otakon for moments like this.
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