Otakon 2024: 30 Years of Otaku Generation

Otakon has long been a staple in my list of essential conventions to go to each year. I've been going since 2009 and it's always been a great time. Otakon has long been a large convention that, despite its size, still manages to maintain that "for the fans, by the fans" feel without giving in to too much corporatization. This year marked the convention's 30th annual iteration, and this still remains true.

Pre-Con Stuff

For the first time ever, I was able to book a room at the Marriott Marquis, the official con hotel. This was great because it's right next to the convention center and connected to it via an underground tunnel, which meant I didn't have to deal with the DC summer heat as much.

Also unlike previous years, I decided to take an Amtrak down to DC instead of drive there. Driving in DC sucks. I will continue to avoid it at all costs. The Amtrak was cheaper anyway.

Badges were mailed out in advance, which made things easier on Thursday since I didn't need to wait on a long line to get my badge.

The schedule was released on the Guidebook app about a week before the con started. I made my rough schedule of the things that seemed to interest me. However, my main goals for the con were to see Aya Uchida and Yoshinori Kitase at their panels and autograph signings. As you will see, I was successful in some of these endeavors.

Location, Location, Location

Otakon takes place in the heart of Washington, DC, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The convention center itself has a somewhat awkward layout due to the street that cuts through the middle of it, but once you learn the way around it's not too bad. There's more than enough space dedicated to what the con offers - the game room, food court, dealer's room, and artist's alley all have plenty of space, which is a breath of fresh air when compared to some other more crowded cons (or pre-DC Otakon, back when they were in Baltimore). The panel rooms are also of decent size and rarely seem to hit capacity.

One of my favorite things about the area is that it's near some amazing restaurants. Every year me and some friends head to China Chilcano by José Andrés, which features a fusion of Peruvian, Chinese, and Japanese cuisines. The best thing to do here is to order a bunch of dishes and eat them family style so everyone gets to try whatever they want.

Other nearby dining establishments that I frequent with my friends include Jaleo, which is also owned by José Andrés; Capital Burger, which has the best burgers I've ever tasted - no joke; and Cuba Libre, a group favorite for Saturday nights when the con is winding down.

For those looking to dine cheap(er), there is a food court in the convention center and several cafes. Even then, just a sandwich and a bottled water will set you back about $18, so beware.

Con Happenings

There was a lot happening this year, as there is every year. The Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Panel was one of the main attractions, and featured guests Yoshinori Kitase, Naoki Hamaguchi, and Teruki Endo - all staff who worked on the game. They all spoke a bit about their experiences working on the game and for Square-Enix. I later was able to snag autographs from them. All three signed my FFVII Rebirth game cover, and Kitase signed my FFVI soundtrack, which had previously been signed by Nobuo Uematsu.

Aya Uchida, known mostly for her role as Kotori Minami from Love Live! School Idol Project, had two panels - one about her career as a voice actor, and one about her favorite places in Japan. I was able to get into both panels.

Her other panel was about her favorite places in Japan. She talked a bit about Tokyo, Okinawa, Gunma, and theme parks like Tokyo Disneyland, and Sanrio Puroland – but not before talking about the most important thing about Japan - conbini food!

Autograph Hell

Unfortunately, my luck had run out when it came time for Aya Uchida's autograph. The whole situation was a mess, and this is definitely an area Otakon needs to improve on. They refused to let anyone line up prior to 30 minutes before the signing, which causes people to gravitate in and around the autograph area. When when the line finally opens, it's a mad rush. The staff there do their best to control things, but they can only do so much against a huge crowd that knows this is probably their one and only chance to get an autograph.

While I did make it past the initial rush, the line was cut off after 50 minutes and I had to leave. So I effectively wasted 2-3 hours waiting in line when I could have been doing other things. Otakon needs a better system, such as a lottery system like what Anime NYC uses.

That was just the tip of the iceberg though. The autographing of Funko Pop figures has recently been a point of contention among fans, largely because resellers tend to clog up autograph lines, only to resell them a few days later. This means actual fans, whose chances were already low, are now even less likely to receive autographs.

Other Panels

Other panels I went to included:

• Records of Anime: Collecting Anime Related Vinyl - I'm a collector of vinyl records, so this panel was perfect for me. At this panel, @iloveanimevinyl went over recent releases of anime songs on vinyl and spoke about the various online stores that sell them. Very informative if you're looking to collect anime vinyls. If you missed them at Otakon, they will also be at Anime NYC.
• AMV Contest Finalists - It's always fun to watch some AMVs. Check out some of them here.
• History of Japanese Board Gaming - From Go to Love Letter, and everything in between - all about Japanese tabletop games. Mahjong included, of course.
• Alcohol in Anime - I came in late to this one, but it was an interesting panel with some cool ideas for anime-themed drinks. Credit for these goes to JC:

One of the major events I sadly missed out on this year was the FLOW concert. I had already seem them live several times before, so I didn't make it a priority (would rather give that seat to someone who hasn't seen them), and the room was full by the time I got there. Some of my friends who did get in said it was a blast, and I'm sure it was.

Other Non-Con Events

This year, AniSong Party held two events at the nearby Black Cat venue. I went to the Thursday event and had a great time! Several different DJs were spinning anime music (and only anime music!) all night. It was awesome to see the crowd really get into some songs, and I continue to be impressed how some people go all out with learning calls and chants that must take lots of practice.

I hope to see AniSong Party at other cons and future Otakons, because they always put on a great show.

That's about all I have to say about Otakon 2024. Overall, it was a lot of fun. Otakon has always been one of the better-run cons in my personal experience. They tend to put the fans first (unlike many other cons as of late) and being non-profit is probably a large reason for that. They don't have the industry presence that bigger cons tend to get, but that's okay. It's nice a see a large con that's still run by the fans, for the fans. I just hope they do something about that autograph debacle...

And with that, I leave you with some more photos from the weekend. Thanks for reading!