Otakon 2010 Pictorial and Review by Kiera Vallone

Attending the East Coast’s largest anime convention is like being transported to a colorful, crazy, and definitely interesting world for a weekend. The convention atmosphere doesn’t stay confined to the Baltimore Convention Center (BCC), but can be felt throughout the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Cosplayers seemingly take over the area – meandering from their hotels to the convention center, hanging out in mall food courts, and generally confusing the hell out of tourists.

To me, the highlight of every Otakon is seeing all the creative and unique costumes. While an anime convention, you’ll frequently see people cosplaying characters from various other sources – American comics and cartoons, video games, even infomercials (I saw a few people cosplaying Flo the Progressive Girl). The BCC has numerous areas, both indoors and outdoors, where cosplayers can gather for photoshoots. I’m sure that even if a chunk of the English dub cast weren’t guests at Otakon this year, the number of Axis Powers Hetalia cosplayers would have been just as large (I’m guilty of adding to this number, having cosplayed as Ukraine on Saturday). Pokemon and Final Fantasy video game characters were also popular, as per usual.

I spent a lot of time wandering around inside the Dealers’ Room and Artist’s Alley. Otakon’s Dealers’ Room is massive and constantly filled with people – I wouldn’t be surprised if people got lost in there. While not in quite as large of a space, the Artist’s Alley is impressive in its own right. I tend to spend more money in the Artist’s Alley of a con than the Dealers’ room, because I’d rather own something one-of-a-kind.

Another perk of Otakon is that its Masquerade isn’t held in a crowded event hall, but in the 1st Mariner Arena a few blocks away. It makes the whole event feel grander. While I felt the Masquerade wasn’t as impressive as in years past (skits consisting of one or two people simply singing or dancing to a song don’t interest me much), the event as a whole was still entertaining. The Pokemon skit parodying Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” the Kefka from FFVI, and the Street Fighter fight skits stood out the most to me.

One of the more memorable events of Otakon wasn’t on the official schedule – “The Otakon Fire Drill of 2010.” Someone had pulled a fire alarm on Saturday afternoon, causing the BCC to be evacuated. The staff handled the situation well, in my opinion. While it was a drag to miss out on valuable con time, it was amusing to watch thousands of people flood the streets surrounding the con center. I was also pleasantly surprised that it only took around an hour for the con to re-open. It is difficult to accurately describe the atmosphere of Otakon in words. You have to attend the con to truly comprehend the special feeling that draws otaku back year after year.

ABOUT THE WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER:
Kiera has been an avid cosplayer for approximately eight years. She did her Senior Thesis on cosplaying and conventions in America, and got her Journalism Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY Purchase last May. You can check out more of her photography work at http://kierasphotography.shutterfly.com, and follow her con-going adventures at http://cosplaycouture.wordpress.com (she promises to update it more often!).