Aug 165 min read

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY OTAKON!

Otakon turned 30 this year and they spared no expense! This convention for the Otaku Generation took place Aug. 2- 4, 2024 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the heart of Washington, D.C. And even though it was in a "new location" from where it started, they made sure to make it feel as nostalgic as possible. With an attendance of nearly 46,000 this year (attendance in 2023 was 42,101), they made sure to have a little something for everyone.

The convention kicked things off by hosting a 'Matsuri Festival' Thursday night from 4 P.M. to 8 P.M on the lawn of the Carnegie Library complete with food trucks, crafts, games, music and more. You could also make a birthday card to celebrate Otakon turning 30 and the best thing about it? There was no admission fee to get in! This was the first time that this event was held at the D.C. location and it really harkened back to the origin of Otakon. Other little nostalgic events peppered throughout the weekend included a room dedicated to the history of Otakon complete with previous programs, T-Shirts, photos and badges as well a video rooms showing the original first four episodes of series like Trigun and Fullmetal Alchemist. It was like stepping into a time capsule that spanned not only 30 years, but two major convention locations.

The big concert of the convention was Japanese Rock Band FLOW with the concert being held on Friday night at 7 P.M. A grouping of VIP tickets and advanced tickets were sold ahead of the convention and general admission lined up at 4 P.M. This wasn't a guarantee that you'd get in but what better way to make new friends than waiting in line for 2+ hours, believe it! A huge shout out to the volunteers because it could have been chaos for two hours waiting for general admission until they started letting people in at 6 P.M., but the staff was very communicative, clear and patient. The concert itself lasted a little over an hour. The setlist honored FLOW's history of creating iconic anime openings as the title of the tour suggested "Anime Shibari". They played openings from series such as 'Code Geass', 'Dragon Ball Z', 'Tales of Zestiria the X', and 'Naruto'. In the middle of the show, they mentioned that this was their second time performing at Otakon.

Another Otakon staple that packed one of the larger rooms of the convention center was the yearly AMV contest with 35 total submissions spanning six categories. Attendees had the ability to watch all of the entrees in the AMV theater and vote on the winners in each category. Upon entering, attendees were handed a voting ballot that had to be turned in no later than 11 P.M. Saturday night in order to count and the winners could be seen Sunday at the AMV contest Awards. Warning - if you choose to watch AMVs be prepared for possible spoilers!

There was also no lack of fandom photoshoot meet ups which had been held in the conference rooms of the Marriott Marquis but last year were moved into the Gaming Hall. This was a perfect choice because it streamlined lines, eliminated crowding, congestion, and confusion and allowed for backdrops for meetups instead of boring walls. This also was wonderful for anyone looking to take photos with fun backgrounds such as sakura blossoms or cityscapes when the meet up areas were not in use.

The Gaming room had a lot of console games, pin ball and arcade machines, Virtual Reality (VR) Experience and tournaments all weekend (but you needed to bring your own controller). According to the website, there was an area where you could play Laser Tag, but I didn't see where it was located. Japanese rhythm games and Dance Dance Revolution were tucked away in the back. Just Dance was also available to play for up to four players at a time. The gaming room was open until 1 A.M. Friday and Saturday for all the night owls who didn't attend an afterparty. Across from the Gaming Area were the meetup spaces.

Hunter x Hunter meetup Friday

Haikyuu meetup Sunday

Most photographers could be found any time of day or night on the second floor balcony area of the Marriott Marquis, light sticks and cameras at the ready. If cosplayers weren't taking photos on the two levels of Marriott, they could be found on the staircase and second floor of the Apple store across the street or in the park just across the way. Due to the high heat of the weekend (mid to high 90s with heat indexes of 100+) most cosplayers attempted to stay inside unless they had to go out. Luckily, the con itself had a cafeteria on the 1st floor, coffee on the first floor and another food area on the 3rd floor which were easy to locate thanks to the maps throughout the convention center. If you wanted a real sit down restaurant, the Marriott, which is connected via a tunnel under the lobby, was home to three different restaurants and a Starbucks. If you were brave enough to venture outside, a few local eateries were offering discounts if you showed your badge.

The Dealers Room and Artist Alley were jam-packed with vendors looking to sell during the weekend. This is also where guests (such as Ricco Fajardo, Briana White, Brandon McInnis and J. Michael Tatum to name a few) were located so if you were looking for an autograph, they were set up right between the Dealers Room and Artist Alley. The room itself was pretty open which was nice but it was even better that it was all connected so you didn't have to exit and re-enter which could cause a lot of confusion and congestion. If you walked all the way to the back of the Dealers Hall, passed the Otakon merch booth you could find a few tattoo artists doing tattoos for the weekend which was pretty neat to see.

The only confusing part of the convention and moreso the venue was attempting to find specific panel rooms. Luckily, there were many maps available but it was tricky to make sure you were going the right direction. Having a landmark (such as the Gaming Hall) to base yourself off of was extremely helpful. Panels ranged from industry panels such as Live Drawings with Studio Trigger and Idolish7 talk with Studio Orange to interactive panels like K-Pop random dance play, Genderbending make-up and learning how to cel shade. The Industry panels were extremely popular like the FLOW Q & A and Orange presents Making of Animation feat. Trigun Stampede.

All in all - there was so much to do at Otakon this year that you definitely needed to make a list in order to try and fit it all in. It felt a little overwhelming at times, but the convention did a great job at spacing out everything and everyone so it never felt too congested. It was great to see some wonderful backdrops, photographers in their elements and amazing cosplayers coming together to celebrate their craft and love for the fandoms.