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Otakon
2001
- Convention of Otaku Generation
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2
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Region:
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USA |
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Category: |
Event |
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Date: |
09/20/2001 |
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Report
by: |
Borroms-kun
& Elche-Kun |
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Edited
by: |
MJ |
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After
walking around a few more times and stopping a bunch of cosplayers
to take their photos Elche-kun and I went out of the convention
center to get my film developed and then grab lunch.
The street
outside the center was crowded with cosplayers looking for
a place to eat and it was pretty amusing to see the surprised
faces on some of the Baltimore locals as they witnessed this
anime fashion invasion.
Located
about a block away to the East of the convention center was
a food court in the harbour front with many fast food outlets.
The hot and humid Baltimore weather was horrible and I was
sweating like a pig. I applaud the cosplayers who braved the
heat while in costume.
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After searching
for a bit we finally reached the air-conditioned sanctuary of the
food court. There were lots of fast food places to choose from.
Yeah!
THE DEALER
RUSH
After lunch
we were re-energized and ready to come back to the con. Back at
the convention center the staff had closed off the eastern Pratt
street entrance they were about to open the dealers area. Having
press badges allowed us to go through, which saved us from having
to go around the convention center.
It was about
1:30 pm and we discovered that the line to get in started from the
escalators (on the east side) and snaked all the way to the other
end of the convention center (on the west side) then curving back
towards the east end forming a giant "U". At precisely 3:00 pm the
doors to the dealer area were opened and people flooded in. After
30 minutes the line was still going and it seemed that there was
no end to the number of people that the dealer hall could accommodate.
Eventually Elche-kun and I were able to get in.
The place was
pumping and there was so much of anime stuff to buy - DVDs, CDs,
stuffed toys, posters, model kits, cells, character goods. There
was actually a Belldandy poster that I really wanted but because
I was relatively broke I could not afford it (geez better luck next
time maybe!). The industry booths that stood out the most were Viz
Video, Manga Video, Bandai Video's Gundam booth and Synchpoint (DigiCharat
distributor). For many, being able to stock up on new anime goodies
was well worth the long wait in line.
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After
doing the rounds of the dealer area Elche-kun and I decided
to go walk around the convention center again. Since I had
had my pictures developed we went in search of the cosplayers
we took pictures of, because I wanted to give them a copy
of their picture to say thank you.
After
that mission was accomplished, Elche-kun and I were getting
pretty hungry and decided to have sushi for dinner. We had
to walk way uphill to the Kawasaki restaurant recommended
by the Otakon food guide. . After a beer and the best sushi
and sashimi I've ever
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eaten we dashed
to catch the last train back to our hotel. I can't remember what
happened next because once we got back to our room I fell fast asleep.
SATURDAY'S
COSPLAY EVENTS
The next morning
Elche-kun and I got up and had a complimentary Continental breakfast
at the hotel lobby. We loaded up on doughnuts, waffles, freshly
squeezed orange juice and coffee. Today was the big day of the con
because of the much-anticipated Masquerade!
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THE
LINE UP
The cosplay
contests were held on the fourth floor of the convention center
in the grand ballroom from 6:00 pm. People were lined up from
5:00 pm. I only caught a glimpse of the long line up as the
press badge holders were ushered into a separate line. We
were seated at the press pit in front of the stage.
At 6:00
pm everybody was finally let into the ballroom. Although the
doors opened right on time it took quite a while to get everybody
in. I
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think there
were close to a couple of thousand people inside the hall and it
took almost 2 hours of extra waiting time before the show started.
At about 8:00 pm almost everybody was inside but because there were
so many people some had to stand up.
ON WITH THE
SHOW
The almost two
hour wait was not so boring thanks to the cosplayer in a giant Pen
Pen costume (the penguin from Neon Genesis Evangelion) was walking
around while the crowd cheered him on with "Pen Pen!, Pen Pen!".
Obviously thrilled by the attention "Pen Pen" stood up on a chair
and the cheers grew louder. The funny part was that when he took
off his Pen Pen head to show his face, the crowd shouted BOOOOOO!
. And then when he put it back on everybody shouted a resounding
YEAH! A guy in a monkey costume followed suit and the crowd roared
with chants of"monkey!, monkey!".
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About
two and a half hours after the scheduled opening, the cosplay
events finally started. First up were cosplayers in the costume
contest. Each cosplayer paraded their costume on stage one
after the other much like a fashion show. Some of these costumes
included characters from Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailormoon, Cowboy
Bebop, Final Fantasy, Macross, Ah! My Goddess, Record of Lodoss
Wars and Trigun.
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Next came the
masquerade. Some skits were great, some boring. The presentations
included skits, dance numbers and speeches. I was really impressed
by the guy dressed as a priestly character from Slayers, he was
dressed in a majestic red outfit and walked towards the middle of
the stage with an air of dignity and reverence much so like a man
of god. His speech opened with the words "My brothers and sisters
of the Church of Anime!" A thunderous cheer followed this. He went
on to give a sermon on the virtues of anime and how our "Church"
of followers has grown strong because of our boundless dedication
to this art that we love and of the evil television networks that
brutally chop up anime and dub them horribly for North American
distribution. This sermon of course, was greeted by shouts of enthusiastic
agreement!
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Then there
was the "Never before shown Godzilla scene". In this skit
the original Godzilla anthem started playing, which really
got the audience geared up. Moments later Mecha-Godzilla and
original Godzilla appeared on stage, to the accompaniment
of appreciative applause. Both costumes were done quite well
- original Godzilla was complete with tail, spikes on his
back and his trademark "anime eyes" while Mecha-Godzilla looked
like the original costume of the 70's in complete shining
metal silver.
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