At the Walter E. Washington Convention Center last weekend, the whole building was packed, a cacophony of voices echoing through its 2.3 million square footage. Droves of people were braving the summer heat to attend Otakon in Washington, D.C. But beyond a massive archway commemorating its 30th anniversary lies a small walk through museum to Otakon’s past. In a room no bigger than a couple of boardrooms was a space big enough to house the very first Otakon, which took place in Pennsylvania and had a couple hundred attendees. As I took a walk through this history, I remember finding the display containing a badge of Otakon in 2006. Memories flooded in of the Baltimore Convention Center nearly 20 years ago, wearing my Shino cosplay and using a sharpie to dot my arms with ants. I remember its twisting corridors and droves of people that, for the first time in my life, I was not terrified to be around. I was among my peers. Now, I attended as a member of the press, gaining access to the show in a new way that I hadn’t considered possible. Much has changed with me and the convention in its storied history, but in spite of the march of time, the convention still feels just as warm and welcoming.
Otakon is an annual convention centering around the US fandom of Japanese popular culture, although it has long since included American pop culture and more recently, Korean pop culture. People come from all over for fan run panels, cosplay, a massive dealer hall and artist alley, and a game room. Other cons have adopted these things as well, but in most ways the popularity of Otakon has set the tone for anime conventions I’ve attended over the years. Almost every con has what Otakon has, it’s just that Otakon tends to operate at a larger scale. That said, there is something quaint about seeing a PS3 running an early version of BlazBlue next to a set up for Street Fighter 6 running on a PS5. At times Otakon still feels like a convention run by fans, bringing their home set up to share and give attendees something to do between panels, or meeting up with their friends for cosplay photoshoots. Impressive, considering the scale Otakon operates at, being a well regarded and well populated anime convention. But let’s look at their scale in comparison.
This year, per Otacorp in a press release, nearly 46,000 attendees came to Otakon. This is no small feat, and it’s an impressive number! I don’t want it to seem like I am about to throw shade at Otakon, because this year’s convention drew its largest audience in its history. But let’s compare it to their peers. Last year at Anime Expo, 392,000 people were estimated to attend. Alright, a little unfair of me. Anime Expo is trying to compete with Comic-Con and their goals are different. But that is exactly what I like about Otakon more than events like Anime Expo: the intimacy and scale. Otakon doesn’t really draw big industry names like Anime Expo does. At Anime Expo, you’re going to see trailers for new anime projects from ArcSys, Disney, and Trigger. The biggest announcement you’ll see at Otakon is Discotek announcing a blu-ray of Captain Harlock. Once again, no shade should be implied by that: show me Captain Harlock any day of the week! But the scale is different. In the halls of modern merchandising and blu-ray disks, you can feel the echo of VHS copying and animation cel trading in halls that never hosted such activities. That’s not to say industry isn’t present, but when Studio Trigger arrived, they put on a panel allowing their animators to do a live drawing rather then announce something that makes the room pop off (although when the animation reel showed the Dungeon Meshi bath scene, it couldn’t help but draw applause).
One thing that has definitely changed for me with Otakon is how I attend it. This is my second year going as a member of the press, and it gave me a new level of access. I admit, I am still rather shy about this. I still feel like a fan going to this convention, and I didn’t exactly flex my access as much as I could have. But I did get to learn more about the behind-the-scenes aspects of these shows. There was something to touring the game room before it was stuffed to the brim with guests trying to get games in, or taking a guided tour of the dealer’s hall before it was open to the public. Our tour guide, Victor, while pointing out the many venders and features of the hall, told us a story. The Walter E. Washington convention center was being scouted as Otakon’s next location after their contract with the Baltimore Convention Center was approaching its end. On a tour of their own, they looked at the empty basement halls with its massive support pillars and wide stretches of space. He gleefully recalled how it looked like the Mines of Moria. Hearing that story and getting the privilege of watching fans file into the opening minutes of the dealer’s hall was a special moment for me. I wish I had captured photos of the concert held this year. Maybe next time.
Speaking of photos, there were abundant opportunities for them. One of my favorite aspects of Otakon is seeing tons of cosplay, keeping mental track of the more popular characters. This year didn’t disappoint; it easily went to Dungeon Meshi and Frieren in terms of character abundance. It’s always fun to see what’s in vogue at these events. There is something inspiring seeing so many people put time and effort into their costume, posing, and props. I always walk away inspired by the craft and time people put in. (By the way, if I take your picture at these events, please reach out to me. I have lots of cosplay photos to share that I want you to have.) One of the privileges of being press is making cosplayers look and feel cool with their costumes. While not uniquely a feature of being with the press, I recall when I had my picture taken by a Shonen Jump representative at Otakon one year. It was electric. While Scanline Media isn’t quite as prestigious (yet), I don’t have to imagine the joy of having my cosplay catching the attention of the press. And with a little consideration for lighting and posing, it can pay off the work that goes into the costume. While I didn’t have a costume for this year, next year I plan to change that. I know that unique joy of having your character recognized and captured on film. I still recall when people would ask for my photo when I cosplayed as Apollo Justice and Chie Satonaka; it’s a powerful and uplifting feeling. I hope I can bring that joy to others.
If there is something I am most inspired by this year, however, it’s the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes. At the aforementioned museum, there was a loving tribute to Chuck Shandry, a convention volunteer that helped with every Otakon from 1994 until his death in 2021. It was a touching monument to the hard work that goes into these cons year after year, and they are the unsung heroes of the show. I am thankful for the staff who helped me find my way through the convention halls, the press ops that kept me on time for my interviews, and the hundreds of staff behind the scenes that made the show run as smoothly as it did. I am humbled by the Chuck Shandrys of the world who tirelessly kept the wheels spinning. Don’t be like me when I was younger and forget to be thankful to those staff. There have been troubles and missteps, but it’s remarkable how even 30 years later, it’s driven by people who clearly love Otakon and want to see it go well every time. And at the end of the day, it’s about passionate people doing what they love.
On my way to Washington D.C., I met a con-goer who was not from the area. They were wearing Ace’s tasseled orange hat from One Piece, and didn’t know how to get to Otakon. We traveled on the train together to get into the city, and I hope they had a wonderful con experience. Growing older, having been to countless conventions as a fan, I am glad for this new stage in my con-going life. No longer am I simply experiencing them as a fangirl who was happy to see Cyborg 009 cosplay at my very first Otakon: I am now part of a generation of people who grew up with the convention, watching a new generation come in. I am happy to see Otakon grow beyond its roots, and I hope that many more attend in the coming years to celebrate. With luck, it inspires a new wave of people to move beyond their comfort zone and find their peers, like I have in years past. I just pray that Otakon never forgets those days in college basements and comparatively cramped convention centers, and never loses that spark that drew me in so many years ago.
See you next year.
