Editorial: Otakon 2006 Journal
This editorial, detailing my experience at Otakon 2006, was originally
written on August 10th, 2006. Everything in here is based off of memory
and the notes I took while in Baltimore, save for little details here
and there when I didn't know the names of all the characters and such.
On that note... all of the properties named in this editorial belong to
their respective companies and not to me. I don't endorse anything in
it either... suggest, maybe, but not endorse.
I apologize in advance if I ramble on and on at points... some things I
couldn't stop yammering about. Oh, and there aren't any pictures
because I didn't bring a camera and wouldn't know the first thing about
uploading them anyway. Just use your imagination (which is probably
much easier if you were there and saw some of the same things I did).
Oh, and all times are local, rounded to the nearest 15-minute interval.
'Cause it's just easier that way.
Jump to: Saturday
OR Sunday
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Otakon, an annual anime
convention going on its 13th year this summer. Since 1999, Otakon has
been held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
This is my second trip to Otakon; my first one was two years ago, when I
went with my younger brother and a friend of his. This time around, I'm
going solo! Would I be able to do whatever I want? Would I do something
I'd regret? Would I spend all of the money I saved up for Otakon?
It all starts with getting there first...
Day 1: Friday, August 4th
8:00 am - The Road to Otakon
I live a little over an hour away from Baltimore, so I can afford to
sleep in. Okay, to be fair, I was rushing to do some things (pack,
finish last week's fanfic releases, etc.) the night before and was
originally going to leave at 7... but hey, I needed my beauty sleep.
Besides, I was expecting a long day with the US premiere of the
'Fullmetal Alchemist' movie at 10 pm.
On the way, I had to stop for breakfast, so I pulled through the
drive-thru at my local McDonald's. You know, I just noticed that this
is the first time I've had their coffee since they made the changeover
to the 'Premium Roast' brand. I just have to say... blech! Worst cup
of coffee I've ever heard. (Oh, and for the record, I don't drink
coffee all that often, as I would in a heartbeat pick hot chocolate,
hot tea, or even soda over coffee.)
9:30 am - Wow, there's... traffic.
As I'm sitting minutes from the BCC (Baltimore Convention Center) on
I-95 North, I find out my coffee lid has a leak in it. Yes, apparently,
the coffee didn't like me badmouthing it, so it went and made a small
mess on the Otakon '04 T-shirt I was wearing. Luckily, I had caught
the mess while it was still wet, and managed to get most of it off with
wipes before it dried. All while in traffic.
Once in the city, I'm appalled to find the Hyatt's parking garage, where
I parked all three days at the last Otakon I went to, was already full!
I figured it must be because the hotels are booked since the New York
Yankees are in town. (Boo... BOO YANKS!) Anyway, I drive a little ways
to the East Pratt Street garage. I really hope their parking rates are
good.
After finally finding a spot about six levels up, I head back down on
foot and go to find the pre-registration line. Finding it is easy,
but I wonder how long I'll be standing out here. At my first Otakon,
I was outside about an hour. Then again, I was there at 8 and inside by
9. Imagine the wait now, since I'm starting at 9:30!
10:15 am - First Yankees, now Cowboys?
The line has snaked just past the Charles Street lobby entrance, and low
and behold, here comes riding past the line, two policemen on horses.
Horses, I tell you! I know, I know... in some places that's still
normal, but for me... weird.
10:30 am - Non-Japanese and Handouts?
I like the fact that although this is an anime convention, there are a
good number of people who are in costumes based on shows that don't come
from Japan (though could very well be popular there). I've already seen
Chef of 'South Park,' Carmen Sandiego, and even Waldo. Yes, Waldo. I
can finally say, without a doubt, that I've answered the question,
'Where's Waldo?'
Another thing... I guess it makes sense, but to have people coming
through the line and giving out Chinese menus, fliers for shops around
the area, and an ad for a 'battle of the bands' at a local bar? I
guess they're looking for any small percentage of the 20,000+ people
here that'll actually think about stepping outside the BCC this weekend.
10:45 am - Freelance Movie Publicity
I'm standing right by the Sharp Street entrance, when probably the
funniest (or lamest, depending on your sense of humor) thing happens.
A guy dressed as Solid Snake is on the other side of the street. He
stops, pulls out a paper airplane, and says... 'Snakes on a Plane!'
OH, NO HE DIDN'T!
Okay, I admit, despite the lame gag, I still chuckled. Hey, laughing
at anything beats standing bored outside in the sun (thank goodness for
the clouds, or it would've been a lot worse). Oh, and I'm afraid of
snakes and I've never ridden on an airplane before. Guess what the
chances of me seeing 'Snakes on a Plane' ever are?
11:15 am - Yeah, I'm at Otakon!
Finally, after more than an hour and half in line, I reach the
registration desk and pick up my badge. I only recognize one of the
shows on the badge choices, and that's Asuna Kagurazaka of 'Mahou
Sensei Negima.' (Later, I also discovered I recognized Hikari and
Akari of 'This Ugly Yet Beautiful World,' which is actually sitting
in my DVD player ready to be watched as I write.) I take some time to
relax in the cool atrium and figure out what I'm gonna do.
It's here I figure out that the schedule is in this pamphlet that
you have to unfold completely to see it all and details on all of the
programs running. Very, very annoying, and very wieldly, to say the
least.
In the process, I learn that the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' movie premiere
will actually be on Saturday at 8 pm. Or, actually, according to the
revisions list, at 6 pm. That essentially means my first day may not
be nearly as long as I thought it would be... I could be heading to my
hotel by sunset!
12:00 pm - Tiny Toons
I find there's nothing I really want to do until 2 pm, so I decide to
wander about to refamiliarize myself with the BCC. I eventually end
up in the big open area by Halls A-C by the Charles Street Lobby and
find it packed to capacity. There seemed to be a lot of people around
the entrance to Halls B & C, so I decided to go into Hall A. There,
they were showing anime music videos. Basically, for those who don't
know, it's just like it sounds. People take songs and clips from an
anime (or several anime) and edit them into something you'd normally see
on a music channel like MTV.
Anyway, I only caught the last three. One for 'Azumanga Daioh,'
professing a relationship of love between Chiyo and Sakaki, one for
'Dragonball Z' showing the platonic friendly relationship between Goku
and Vegeta, and the last was of 'Fullmetal Alchemist,' done to the tune
of the song "Particle Man." Suddenly, a small window of my childhood was
reopened, as I remember hearing that song first on 'Tiny Toon
Adventures.' You know, the episode full of, ironically enough, music
videos with the cast of the show. The sketch with Plucky Duck and that
song was hilarious, and this one gives off equal results. (I so love
that song that yesterday I found that they had it on iTunes, and I had to
buy it. I also learned the same band also did "Istanbul, Not
Constantinople," which was also in that TTA episode and also featured
Plucky.)
12:45 pm - Hot Food on a Hot Day?
Head off to lunch at the Food Court at the Skywalk-accessible Harbor
Center, and as expected, the place is packed. I get in line at Subway
and strike a conversation with the girl behind me, who's just as
impatient as I am and wondering why practically everyone in front of us
wants their sandwich toasted. Hello, 90 degrees outside! Give me my
cold sandwich and a bottle of water and I'm all set!
Anyway, find a seat outside in an open area. Open because it's out in
the sun and there's no shade. Hey, I figure, if I didn't get sunburned
from spending more than an hour and a half in the pre-reg line, another
half hour ain't gonna kill me.
1:30 pm - No redemption for Peach Beach
Two years ago at Otakon '04, I competed in the 'Mario Kart: Double
Dash' tournament. Unfortunately, I hadn't played the game in awhile,
and with no prep time, I was lost trying to get through Peach Beach.
And I still didn't finish last in my heat to boot. My brother did
better, getting out of the first round, then being beat right at the
finish line in the second.
Having played recently, I was hoping for redemption. To at least get
out of the first round, if I got a good draw. Unfortunately, sign-ups
were already closed by the time I got to the Video Game Room. Which
was in Halls B & C, explaining why the crowd down there was large
earlier. I wander around the room a bit debating whether I should
play for a little while, but despite missing the tournament entirely,
at least this means I can watch my first anime of the convention as
scheduled and in full!
2:00 pm - Girls Who Kick Butt
I made my first trip to the BCC's fourth floor ever (two years ago,
that area was reserved for the Masquerade alone) and up to Theatre 1,
which surprisingly I would find myself in for pretty much the rest of
the day. I'm finally onto my first anime viewing, and it happens to
be 'My-Hime' (or 'Mai-Hime,' as it's known in Japan). It's a show
that I had been thinking about watching for awhile. But after watching
the show, it became obvious that I just had to go buy it. I especially
like Mai Tohika, the lead character, who's good-looking and can kick
butt, as well as the crazy Student Council Vice-President, Haruka
Shizushiro, who's just a hoot in an over-the-top sort of way.
We had problems, though, as the disc seemed to freeze up at each
episode's midway point. Apparently, this is one of the discs that had
printing problems back when Bandai switched DVD makers. It didn't
detract from my enjoyment of the show, though. (Being in a chilly
room with only a T-shirt and shorts did, on the other hand.)
4:00 pm - Dining on 'Cat Soup'
No, no, 'Cat Soup' isn't a special delicacy being served by the vendors
at Otakon, it's a 30-minute OAV that happens to be scheduled between
'My-Hime' and 'Negima.' Yeah, I know, 'Cat Soup' doesn't have the
same appeal as those two shows, but hey, the viewing schedules aren't
set up to have similar shows flow back-to-back.
Anyway, 'Cat Soup' was cute, weird, and somewhat funny. Apparently,
it's about a kitten girl whose soul is stolen by Death, and she and
her brother set out on a journey to get it back. All the while, we're
treated to visual oddities and gibberish that passes for dialogue. I
was a bit stumped by it, but it was a decent half-hour spent.
4:30 pm - 'Negima'... False Start?
I was surprised when right after 'Cat Soup' that 'Negima' didn't
immediately begin screening, especially since the schedule says it starts
at 4:30. At 4:45, we're told that the only copy of the disc is with the
'Negima Voice Actor' panel, which I had to skip since they were scheduled
to overlap, and we have to wait for them to bring the disc up. If I
would have known that ahead of time, I would've gone to the panel and
then come up for the show.
They also ushered the crowd outside for 15 minutes while they got the
projector ready and all. While outside, I'm among one of many to notice
the room's schedule does, in fact, have the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' movie
premiering tonight at 10, as it stated in the schedule at the con's
website. Maybe I'll have something to do tonight after all...
5:00 pm - 'Negima,' Take Two
They finally let us back in about a minute before 5 pm, and they
pretty much start running 'Negima' immediately. I'm a little surprised
by how bland the anime is, but then I remembered how much Ken Akamatsu's
previous manga-to-anime conversion, 'Love Hina,' went downhill.
Probably the only thing I felt didn't degrade but actually improved in
the move from the manga to the actual anime was that they introduced all
of the characters at a faster clip. Even if the first four episodes
screened were limited to focusing on Negi, Asuna, Nodoka, and Ayaka. I
was also a little surprised that Nodoka actually had a fear of men, as
opposed to being just Shinobu-like shy.
Even the fanservice took a hit, as save for the second half of the fourth
episode and the opening theme, Asuna was getting all the attention. Fine
for those of you who pick her as your favorite of Negi's 31 students, but
not for me (for the record, my fave is Kazumi, the class reporter). Did
I mention the cast is basically Negi and his 31 students, all girls of
different variety, shapes, and sizes? 'There's a girl for every taste'
is an understatement for this series, if you didn't know before.
6:30 pm - Yawn... schedule lull
With nothing much to do, I wandered over to the Voice Actor panel.
Pretty much all the VAs that were at Otakon were there, and they were
basically doing a Q & A. Pretty boring. One of the VAs did mention that
the printed schedules were wrong and the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' movie was
premiering tonight. Nice to get some confirmation on that.
7:15 pm - Taking care of business...
I decide that since I have nothing to do until said movie, I decide to
go check-in at my hotel in Laurel, about 20 minutes away. I'm glad
parking was $16 at the garage I was at, though I would learn over the
weekend that the walking to and from was going to kill me.
The hotel I was at was better than I thought it would be... it was quaint
and nice. I was a little annoyed that two kids about three doors down
kept going in and out of their room, slamming their door every time, as
they tried to debate what to get out the vending machine that was right
across from them. But whatever...
As I did some light unpacking, I start to think about what to get for
dinner while trying to make sure I got back to the BCC early enough to
make sure I had a seat for the movie. Eventually, I gave up looking for
a restaurant in Laurel and went back to Baltimore. I settled on a slice
of pepperoni pizza and a soda at the pizzeria next to Burger King.
Should've sprung for two slices, though, I don't know why I only got one.
9:30 pm - 'The Conqueror of Shamballa' premiere!
I find a line already starting to form outside the room showing the
'Fullmetal Alchemist' movie. Luckily, we weren't standing outside long,
as soon after they opened the doors and started seating people. My
hunches ended up right as 10 pm came up... the whole mess of the schedule
made sure the room wasn't completely filled up as expected. (I heard
Otakon made amends for the whole snafu and offered an encore screening
on Saturday.) Ironically, in terms of the anime I watched at Otakon,
this was the only dub I saw... everything else was subbed. Odd for me,
huh?
As for the movie... I won't spoil much for now, as I'm saving it for a
special Otakon review. I will say, though, that this pretty much panders
to the fans. You'll get to see almost all of the characters you love,
including those who died. I hate to say, but it had that 'blockbuster'
feel to it... all of the thrilling stuff, with little substance. It
wasn't a bad movie... I just feel it wasn't as good as I thought it would
be.
The movie ended just before midnight, and the cast members that were
there held a short Q & A session. They basically went through all of
theater screening details and some special extras that you could get
depending on where you buy the movie DVD (which comes out next month,
by the way). A limited edition equivalent to the one released in Japan
has been delayed until early '07, as they're still working out some
materials.
12:30 am - Too Much for Parking
I had parked in a different lot when I came back for the 'Fullmetal
Alchemist' movie, so color me pretty livid when I learned my bill was
$24 for three hours... this after spending $16 for the entire day at
the other lot! (The attendant will never know my displeasure, though...
I managed to keep that well hidden.)
Anyway, I headed back to Laurel to rest for the night. Day One was in
the books, and there were two more days of fun, excitement, and hope
the parking fees wouldn't break my budget to look forward to.
- Freedom Fighter
Jump to: Saturday
OR Sunday
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