Saturday, August 5th – Day Two
Thanks to our wonderful late night excursions, Lady Sage, Le Bread, Tyrdium and I finally arrived at the BCC
around noontime, after taking a detour for Bread's broken down
hoopty. I was just able to dart upstairs to catch the tail end of the Yoshiki panel with Mana.
The X-Japan veteran had come to Otakon as a guest, not as a performer. This didn't stop the crazy fangirl groupies from nearly
assaulting him onstage, however. He announced that he would be starting a new band with Gackt soon and touring the USA. He also
quashed any doubts as to his sexuality, stating that he was decidedly straight and that he enjoyed it when people dressed up as him.
In other words, he was pretty much like any modern day rock star.
After ducking my way out of the panel by wading through the mass of fangirls, I made my way to the ADV panel where I met up with
Mana and Roark. It was run by a rather goofy, but very friendly PR corps who seemed to revel in their geekiness.
They answered a few general Q&A questions, then gave the audience a sneak peek at the first episode of an anime they had recently
acquired the rights to, Nerima Daikon Brothers. The show was irreverent, perverted and completely off-the-wall, which was
probably why the ADV panel members were so delighted to show it off. Afterwards, they took more Q&A, then launched into their
interactive games with the audience, giving away prizes to those who could answer questions relating to the episode. My mind is a
sieve, so naturally, I could answer none of them. Fortunately, Roark did pay attention and was rewarded with an Excel Saga
box set.
Following a quite enjoyable lunch with Kain, Alex, Roark, Mana, Eek, Mugs, Mira,
Lady Sage, Le Bread and Dirty Harry, I spent a good part of the next three hours darting in and out of various
panels, none of which were very interesting as they were mostly fan-run and not industry like I had hoped. I dropped by the Dealer's
Room on a lark and managed to snag a very cool Zeta Gundam box set for $50, which was an absolute bargain as it usually retails
for close to $150. It was also during this time that I came to decide that I absolutely loathe yaoi fangirls. As I was flitting
about the convention center, my long hair and Asian features made me the target for said fangirls' giant wooden yaoi paddles. Now,
I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to craft up a large piece of wood, write the Japanese for "yaoi" on it and give
it to a hyperactive and probably unstable lover of boy-on-boy ecchi. But I sure do hope that that person suffers horribly when
he/she/it dies. I cannot tell you how many times I got hit with those damnable wooden implements of overzealous fangirlism. The worst
part was that there was no stopping them. It's as if they were deaf, whacking me with reckless sugar-induced abandon. Definitely not
one of my favorite Otakon experiences.
Pulling my weary body into the massive Geneon panel at 7 PM, I managed to secure a seat near the front along with Kain and
Eek. Now, being a first-time con goer, I wasn't an expert on panels, but from the get-go, it wasn't hard to tell that the
Geneon staff wasn't quite up to the task of making a good presentation. Only the sheer enthusiasm of the gathered audience kept the
panel halfway interesting as the overwhelmed staff resorted to inane guessing games with neat little knick-knacks as prizes
(read: bribes) to keep people involved. The teaser trailers were flashy and eye-catching, but the dodgy audio made for a lukewarm
experience. Pretty much the only good thing I got out of that whole thing was the definite release date of the Paradise Kiss
DVDs (December 19, 2006!) Hopefully they have a better set of people running it come next Otakon.
After exiting the panel, I headed over to find the room where the 4chan panel would be held, so I knew where to go at 11:30 PM,
which is when it was scheduled to start. Imagine my surprise when I saw a rather long line already queued up at the door. From the
looks of the people hunched up against the wall, I could already tell that 90% of them were /b/tards, scum and detritus of the internet
that inhabit the Random image board at 4chan. I idly wondered what they would be like without the green text of "Anonymous" to hide behind.
Needing a place to kill time at before the 4chan panel, I headed over to a Transformers panel and met up with Lady Sage,
Le Bread and Dirty Harry. Unfortunately, it was one of those fan-run panels and probably one of the worst I've ever
had the experience of attending. There was nothing better to do, however, so we contented ourselves with sitting in the back and
watching the sophomoric antics of rabid Transformers fanboys.
At around 10 PM, I left to go check on the 4chan line again. It had nearly tripled in size, wrapping around walls to either
side of the door. I could already tell it was going to be sheer madness trying to get into it. As I still had an hour and a half to
kill, Mana and I decided to sate our curiosities and head over to the "Do It Yourself Bukkake" workshop we had noticed
in the program guide. We obviously weren't the only ones curious about it, as there was a line that stretched all the way around the
corner of the far wall, not quite as large as the 4chan one, but still quite substantial. Using my nifty press pass, I secured a spot
in the back of the room. After a few minutes, we noticed Mira pass the doorway from the next room over, so we decided to bring
her in on the fun. Little did we know we were in for one of the weirdest and most disturbing experiences ever.
The workshop started out fairly innocuously, with the middle-aged, cat ears-wearing host putting up an overhead of an anthropomorphic
dog, known colloquially as a "furry." The concept of furries is fairly harmless in and of itself; it's just when a sexual aspect is
introduced does it become a bit of an issue. Mana, Mira and I were a little wary when the first slide was put up, but
wariness turned into abject disgust and loathing when the second one went up, depicting a rather lewd scene involving more furries.
More than one audience member voiced their displeasure as the host ratcheted it up with more slides, each one more vile than the last.
We could only look on in horror as she continued her campaign of animalistic debauchery. Mira was the first to excuse herself
and leave, with Mana following soon after. I sat in my seat for a few more minutes, furiously scribbling in my notebook such
ramblings as "OMG WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" [Lurk moar. It's only 20 "Y"s! - sohryu] to keep my sanity. Finally, the
host stepped up to the podium and announced that the workshop was for drawing bukkake and not the actual act itself. Several
members of the audience took this time to enumerate their discontent and storm off in a huff; one particularly zealous con goer who
had an empty water jug, a towel and what looked like a tube of lubricant got to his feet and voiced his thoughts using a number of
choice expletives. I decided then that my journalistic duty was finished and promptly bolted out of the room, my tail between my legs,
as it were.
Needing a jolt of reality after such a mind-bending experience, I joined Lady Sage for a small portion of the Voice Actors Uncut
panel. The English VAs in attendance were suitably hilarious, and that is all I'm allowed to say on the subject, thanks to the
non-disclosure agreement. It kept me suitably entertained until it was time for the 4chan panel to begin. Finally able to squeeze my way
into the room, I found a seat near the front as the audience started filing in, raucous in their exultations of "POOL'S CLOSED!" and
"It's a trap!". Once the room was filled, the panel proceeded, with a blessing from Raptor Jesus to start it off. 4chan owner moot
gave the state of the website address, citing needs for more money due to burgeoning bandwidth costs, a constant problem that 4chan faces.
Unfortunately, the staff said it was not able to accept donations, and must look to alternative ways to generate revenue, which includes
ads and merchandise. I did my part by purchasing a 4chan T-shirt [And just where is the 4chan button you promised your editor?! -
sohryu] from moot himself, surprised to find that he wasn't a dirty man with a high school diploma, but a decent,
sociable boy. The rest of the panel was filled with loud Q&A, with a large smattering of 4chan memes and catchphrases, all of
which made me feel right at home. After suffering through Do It Yourself Bukkake, 4chan was definitely the best part of the night for me.
By the time the panel finished, it was well past midnight and I gathered my thoroughly entertained party and headed to the
hotel for a well-deserved night of sleep, praying the whole way that Le Bread's disturbingly bad luck would not follow us back.
Sunday, August 6th - Day Three
Being that this was the last day of the con and we didn't really get to attend very many things due to extenuating circumstances,
my little band and I made it to the BCC relatively early. I was able to attend the impromptu Anime News Network panel. ANN is a
popular online encyclopedia of almost everything anime-related. It is completely fan-run, which has both advantages and disadvantages,
as one can imagine. The panel stated that about 95% of the encyclopedia entries are user submitted, indicating a large amount of fan
participation, but also allowing for quite a number of inaccuracies. The staff also stated that they were pro-industry, encouraging
users to buy series DVDs once they are licensed in order to support the business. I particularly liked that when asked what their
favorite anime of the new season was, all of them responded with the same answer: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
[*vomits loudly and profusely* - KRS], which happens to be one of my favorites as well.
I rejoined the rest of my party in the Dealer's Room for the traditional last day scrounging, when the vendors lower their prices in
hopes of getting rid of their wares. Unfortunately, there were no more deals like the Zeta Gundam box set I nabbed earlier,
but I figured it was for the best, as my wallet had already been put through quite the workout over the course of the weekend.
Goodbyes were short and sweet, as we saw Mugs and Kain off at noon, then said our own goodbyes a little later.
They were punctuated by Dirty Harry showing up fashionably late in his cosplay. At first, I couldn't tell who he was supposed to
be, as he looked like some sort of intergalactic mummy. Fortunately, Le Bread was able to explain to me that he was cosplaying Griffith
from Berserk. It suited Dirty Harry that he would play someone all beat up, and I let him know that's what I thought.
Pictures were taken and final goodbyes were exchanged, and Tyrdium and I set off on the long trip back to the Big Apple.
All in all, my first Otakon experience was just as I thought it would be: memorable and filled with good times with good friends.
I'm so thankful to have met so many of my Internet compatriots in one go and in such a setting. There were almost no moments of
awkwardness, as Otakon didn't really allow for such times of uncomfortable inaction. Finally being able to put faces to screen names
was an added bonus and it made me feel that much closer to them all. Meeting and getting to know everyone was definitely the best part
of the entire con experience. That is not to say that the actual con itself wasn't awesome, because it truly was. I was not disappointed
with my first Otakon, as it definitely lived up to the hype. Everything was as I expected and most of it went above and beyond my
expectations, from the industry panels,
to the Dealer's Room and the absolutely rocking MUCC concert. It was also quite the
learning experience for me, as I know for the future what to look and plan out for, as well as what to avoid (damn furries and yaoi
fangirls). I will definitely have a full itinerary planned out for myself when July 2007 rolls around. There is just so much fun to be had
and not to plan out for it would be a total waste.
Here's looking forward to the next Otakon! See you in July 2007!
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