As always, Otakorp, Inc. put together an amazing Otakon this year. I had a blast and did loads of stuff. I also bought loads of stuff. But for now, the highlights!

• Panels:
  • No Means No Defense Against Fanboys & Fangirls – At this panel they discussed what to do if a creepy stalkerish person latches onto you throughout the whole convention. Some people even shared their own personal stories. Biggest lesson learned: Do NOT give out your phone number!
  • Kannagi Focus Panel – On the schedule this was labeled as “Aniplex TBA Panel” but everyone pretty much figured out (after the announcement on Thursday about Kannagi being licensed) that it was about Kannagi. Director Yutaka Yamamoto made an appearance and we had a Q&A. There were also some great Kannagi cosplayers there, who did the famous dance.
    

    Yutaka Yamamoto, Bandai staff, and Kannagi cosplayers

  • Aniplex Panel – In addition to Kannagi, Aniplex also discussed some other titles of theirs (some of which haven’t been licensed for North America yet), including Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Kara no Kyoukai – The Garden of Sinners, and Cencoroll. There was also a Q&A.
  • Whose Line Is It Anime – I don’t think I need to explain what this was. It was hilarious, but not as good as what was at Anime Boston (there they had voice actors do it).
    

    Crazy stuff was going down here

  • FUNimation Industry Panel – FUNimation’s Adam Sheehan once again delivered an excellent panel, full of great previews of upcoming FUNimation titles and some exciting new announcements, including Eden of the East, Casshern Sins, and the Dragonball Z Dragon Box. I was kinda hoping for Toradora!… but you can’t win ‘em all.
    

    Adam Sheehan starts off the FUNimation panel

  • How To Heckle Bad Anime Good – A hilarious panel. They discussed how to heckle bad anime, bad cosplayers, and bad panels. The main speaker during the panel was very funny and energetic, which made the whole thing really enjoyable.
    

    "Good Dub Bad Dub", a slide from the panel

  • Anime Press Your Luck – Loads of fun. The crowd was really into it here, and there were some really exciting moments. The crew that ran this panel did a really great job. The host really needs to learn how to properly pronounce Japanese names though.
  • Review Anime The Right Way – An interesting panel run by some of the editors and writers at ANN, the now defunct Anime Insider, and other anime news outlets.
  • Sailor Moon’s Influence In Hentai – Not as exciting as it sounds. In fact, it was quite boring. Maybe if they showed more actual hentai rather than simply talking about it, it would have been more interesting.
  • FUNimation TBA Panel – Also not as exciting as it sounds. No new announcements, just some Q&A and they showed a premiere of the English dub of Nabari no Ou.
• Concert:
  • MELL – She put on one hell of a show. One thing I especially notices was how wonderful the crowd was thoroughout the show. They were really encouraging to MELL and I think we all made her feel very welcome. MELL sang an array of songs, including her famous hit “Red fraction” from Black Lagoon.
    

    MELL rocking the stage

• Video Programming:
  • Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone – Fail screening is fail. I went to the Saturday screening, where they had serious technical difficulties. The screen kept going blank and they had to stop the movie. They claimed they would get it back up running soon. I waited about 15 minutes, then left. Makes me wonder if Otakon even tested their equipment before the con started. Nonetheless, I’m sure FUNimation isn’t happy about what happened.
• Autographs:
  • Crispin Freeman – Sadly, I never got a chance to get his autograph. He had two autograph sessions. For both of them, I showed up an hour early and for both of them, the line was enormous, despite me showing up so early. I had a lot of things for him to sign too.
  • Yutaka Yamamoto – I did manage to get his autograph, though for some reason he was only signing Kannagi DVDs at the session I went to. I had brought my Haruhi box, hoping he would sign that, and he wouldn’t. Also, the Kannagi DVD was a ripoff. Cost me $35, and I feel that the price was “conveniently” jacked up during the autograph session since others have claimed they got it for $25. Nonetheless, I did get an autograph out of it, so I feel it was worth it.
    

    Kannagi director Yutaka Yamamoto signing autographs

• Con Swag:
  • Dealers Room – A great Dealers Room as always. I spent way too much. Details below…
  • Artist Alley – Some really talented artists showing off and selling their stuff. Some of the stuff I saw there was really good. I didn’t buy anything though.
• Surroundings:
  • The Inner Harbor – A great place to eat and see some free entertainment.  Thursday night we all went to Edo Sushi and Friday night we went to ESPN Zone. That’s kind of an Otakon tradition for us now. Both are amazing restaurants. They’re pricey, but it’s worth it.
    

    We all had a great time at Edo Sushi

  • Other Areas – Baltimore has a big poverty problem. Everywhere you walk, some beggar is asking you for money. I also heard some crazy lady preaching the gospel very loudly on a city street.  -_-
• Staff & Press Relations:
  • Otakon needs to treat their guests with more respect, especially their press guests. Despite the fact that I had a press badge, the staff gave me a hard time getting into several areas.
  • During the MELL concert, there was much confusion and ambiguity as to whether or not we could record the show. About 15 minutes before the show started, a very rude staff member explained to us that we were not able to record.
  • Twitter updates from the con staff were helpful, but I feel it could have been implemented better.
  • Overall, my experience with the Otakon staff was not pleasant. Otakon is always lacking in this department when compared to other cons.

Now for everyone’s favorite part… the “What I Wasted My Money On” section!

OVERHEAD

Admission – $55
Gas, Tolls, Parking – about $50
Food – about $40 (a friend paid for most of my food since he owes me money)
Hotel – $93

DEALERS ROOM

3 Toradora! statues: $220 (yes you read that right)
Toradora! art book: $37
5 Higurashi mini-figures: $70
Kannagi DVD: $35
Rozen Maiden Traumend DVD box set: $40
3 Evangelion statues: $36 (gotta love Sunday clearance!)
2 iDOLM@STER figures: $16

AND THE GRAND TOTAL IS…

$692

Yeah. Needless to say, I won’t be buying anything expensive for a long time.

To see all the photos I took at Otakon 2009, click here.