The ConBlog: Otakon 2010

Every summer, close to 30,000 otaku gather in Baltimore’s inner harbor area to attend the largest anime convention on the US east coast: Otakon. This year’s “Convention of Otaku Generation” took place from July 30 to August 1. In what turned out to be one of my favorite Otakons thus far, this year’s exhibition sported some awesome panels and special events that made the weekend lots of fun. Without further ado, let’s get to the rundown of what I attended…

Note: Sorry about the poor quality of the photos in this post. I’ll make sure to bring a better camera for future conventions I attend.

Industry Panels – Vertical, Aniplex, MangaGamer, FUNimation, and Bandai

Ed Chavez of Vertical, Inc. led his panel where he discussed many of Vertical’s recent and upcoming releases. Titles mentioned include Chi’s Sweet Home, Twin Spica, 7 Billion Needles, Peepo Choo, and of course his many famous Tezuka titles including Black Jack and Ayako. Felipe Smith, the author of Peepo Choo, was a special guest at the panel. Smith took some time to talk about his series, which involves a hardcore otaku winning a trip to the land of his dreams: Japan! Personally, I’m pretty excited about Ayako and 7 Billion Needles - in fact, I pre-ordered them during the panel using my iPhone!

Aniplex kicked off their panel talking about their only US release so far – the Gurren Lagann movies. After showing trailers for both, the panel moved on to discuss some upcoming releases. The most exciting moment of the panel was when they announced some of the voice cast for Durarara!!:

• Celty Sturluson – Kari Wahlgren
• Mikado Ryūgamine – Darrel Guilbeau
• Shizuo Heiwajima – Crispin Freeman

On Saturday night, MangaGamer, the internet-based company responsible for localizing awesome bishoujo games in English, had a panel in which John Pickett (a.k.a. “Kouryuu”) discussed some of the company’s releases and held a Q&A. (Speaking of MangaGamer, keep an eye out for my review of Kira Kira, which will be up soon.)

However, the most exciting industry panels that happened during the Otakon weekend were of course the big ones – FUNimation and Bandai Entertainment. Both companies announced a slew of exciting new licenses. For the full details, check out my post from earlier where I discuss the announcements and how incredibly excited I am for them.

VOCALOID: Hatsune Miku & co. sing for you!

In what at first seemed to look like a second-rate fan-made panel, the VOCALOID panel was actually a pleasant surprise. With the power of the visual novel engine Ren’Py, the panelists created a professional-looking presentation that really helped move the panel along. The panel focused mostly on explaining the history of the VOCALOID software by Yamaha and its transition into the huge fandom that it is today – entirely thanks to Miku Hatsune! They also discussed the many other characters, including Rin & Len Kagamine, Megurine Luka, Kaito, Meiko, and even the new UTAUloids. The panel was very informative and entertaining, as it discussed the backgrounds and details of each character, accompanied with song & video samples.

Disorganization XIII’s “Spoiler: The Panel 3″

If you’ve been to any anime convention in the northeastern US within recent years, chances are you already know about Disorganization XIII‘s “Spoiler: The Panel.” If you don’t, then shame on you! In what happens to quite possibly be the funniest thing in existence, this panel puts on a presentation in which they make fun of everyone and everything. While focusing mostly on spoiling the plotlines of many anime series, they also don’t hesitate to rip apart other forms of media… especially Twilight. Filled with tons of offensive toilet humor, this 1+ hour long panel is certainly great for a load of laughs.

Experiments in the Anime Industry: noitaminA

Alex Leavitt, veteran panelist and author of Department of Alchemy, ran a panel on noitaminA (“Animation” backwards), the Japanese anime programming block with the intention of expanding anime’s audience beyond the typical male demographic with shows geared towards women. Flaunting detailed artwork and animation, the programming block offers an array of aesthetically-pleasing visuals that span across various genres. Alex provided details about what shows have run on the block in addition to how well they have performed in ratings – and they have done quite well. Could noitaminA’s success be a sign of a change in the types of shows we’ll be seeing in anime?

Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW (US premiere)

Otakon 2010 was proud to present the North American premiere of Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW, a movie about a group of children’s discovery of a mysterious dog-alien and their adventures into outer space. Millions of light years away from home, the kids accidentally get themselves into a bit of trouble – and in order to get back home safe and sound, they must face those who are selfish enough to exploit them.

I really enjoyed this movie – it’s a very heat-warming children’s tale of adventure. It’s not really original in concept, but is still a very entertaining and visually magnificent work. As of now there are no plans for an actual US DVD/BD release, but one can only hope we’ll see this in stores eventually.

Japanese Figures, Toys and Collecting

The toy-collecting masters at Tomopop ran this panel. Focusing mostly on anime girl “bishoujo” figures, the panel provided excellent information on who and where to buy from, along with tips on being a part of the fandom. One important lesson mentioned throughout the panel is that you shouldn’t be ashamed of your hobby – if you’re a figure collector, be proud of it!

The panelists also held a quick trivia contest in which they gave away some figures. I didn’t win anything, but a friend of mine won an Azusa Nakano (from K-ON!) Nendoroid.

For more on figures & collecting, check out the recent Otaku in Review Podcast episode where we invited Tomopop’s very own features editor Brian Szabelski to come on and talk about the hobby.

The Day That Otakon Died

Close to 30,000 otaku evacuate the Baltimore Convention Center after a false fire alarm was pulled

[Photo credit: ANN]

On Saturday, July 31 at around 2:00 pm, someone pulled the fire alarm as a prank. The entire Baltimore Convention Center had to be evacuated. About 30,000 otkau were suddenly unleashed into the streets of Baltimore. Surprisingly, things actually went quite smoothly. After about an hour, the con was back in operation and things resumed as normal. To make up for the lost time, some schedule changes were made, and the dealers room and artist alley ended up staying open for an extra hour. Bravo to the Otakon staff for handling this situation so well.

Con Layout & Atmosphere

Otakon’s layout this year was very similar to that of last year’s. With the addition of the Hilton hotel area this year and last, the convention now has plenty of space to hold the larger panels.

The Dealers Room and Artist Alley were laid out nicely, with ample space in between booths. Some areas of the convention, however, got very crowded, particularly the indoor bridge area. Being the only passage connecting the two main sections of the building, this area was constantly congested and slow-moving. In past years, this area could have been avoided by crossing the street via the first floor, but that passage was closed this year for some reason.

Overall, the convention was very well run this year. Things went very smoothly, and unlike past years, the staff didn’t leave me with a sour taste in my mouth. The Baltimore Convention Center has a very nice atmosphere with modern architecture and lots of open space. It has been the home of Otakon for over a decade and with the way things are running, it looks like it will continue to be for years to come.

Surroundings

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area is a must see for anyone venturing to Otakon. Sporting some of the area’s finest restaurants and attractions, it’s a great place to spend some time in between con events or if you just need some time to chill. If you have a craving for Japanese food, be sure to visit the nearby Edo Sushi restaurant. If Japanese food isn’t your thing and you’d rather go for some traditional good old American food, there’s a Hard Rock Cafe within walking distance of the convention area.

Free entertainment goes on nightly in the Inner Harbor area, so if you’re walking by, take a stop and see what’s going on. There is usually a magnificent man-made waterfall in the area as well, however it was unfortunately closed for repairs this time.

Five dollars gets you into the Baltimore World Trade Center, where you can take an elevator to the top floor and enjoy the view of Baltimore from way up high. Definitely a worthy investment.

More Coverage

Want more coverage of Otakon 2010? Check out the links below. More links will be added as more coverage becomes available.

• Ani-Gamers
• Anime Diet
• Anime News Network
• Drastic My Anime Blog - Days 0 and 1 | Days 2 and 3
• Insert-Disc
  
• Japanator
• Nigorimasen!
  
• Ogiue Maniax
• Omonomono
• Otaku Journalist
  
• Out-of-Time Productions: The Fan’s POV – Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Day 0 | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | In Retrospect | In Pictures | Home Made Kazoku | Disorganization XIII | kanon | Vic Mignongna
• Reverse Thieves – General Impressions | Industry | Guests | Events | Fan Panels | Bonus Round