Otakon

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Otakon
オタカーン (otakaan)
Status	Active
Venue	Baltimore Convention Center
Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Country	United States
Years in existence	1994 to Present
Organizer	Otakorp, Inc.
Attendance	22,302 as of 2006 (excludes staff, industry, dealers, and guests)
List of events	Video Rooms, Anime Music Video Contest, Masquerade, Rave/Dance, Dealer's Room, Panels, Workshops, Video Game Room, The Alley, Concert, Manga Room, and Karaoke.
Official Website

Otakon is a fan convention focusing on the art of anime and manga, East Asian culture, and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku, which roughly means fan. Otakon is traditionally held on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in late summer at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district. It is considered the second largest and one of the longest-running Anime conventions in the United States.

Contents 1 Programming 2 History 2.1 Otakon 1994 2.2 Otakon 1995 2.3 Otakon 1996 2.4 Otakon 1997 2.5 Otakon 1998 2.6 Otakon 1999 2.7 Otakon 2000 2.8 Otakon 2001 2.9 Otakon 2002 2.10 Otakon 2003 2.11 Otakon 2004 2.12 Otakon 2005 2.13 Otakon 2006 2.14 Otakon 2007 3 Otakorp 4 Future expansion 4.1 Four-day convention 4.2 D.C. Convention Center 5 Metal Gear Solid 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Programming

Typical Otakon programming includes:^{[citation needed]}

• Multiple video rooms in which anime and live action Asian films are shown on big screens throughout the convention. Fan-produced content including fan-parodies and anime music videos are also shown. In recent years, Otakon has also dedicated a theater to running 35mm films.
• Panels and workshops on subjects such as voice acting, how to draw manga, Japanese culture, and a variety of other topics. Industry professionals announce new acquisitions, and expert guests discuss or show tricks of their trade and field questions from the audience. Many panels and workshops are conducted by fans rather than pros.
• A "Dealers' Room" in which commercial vendors such as publishers and retailers set up booths and sell anime- and manga-related merchandise.
• "The Alley", an artists alley with writers, musicians, and craftspeople as well, and an art show for amateur artists to display, advertise, sell, and auction their artwork.
• A video game room for console, arcade, and computer games, with tournaments scheduled throughout the weekend.
• Musical performances throughout the weekend.
• The "Otakurave", a late-night dance party hosted by Baltimore-Washington area (and sometimes national) DJ's.
• Cosplay and a skit-based Masquerade show. Many attendees spend most of the convention in costume as their favorite anime, manga, or video game character. Many enter daily contests, and some participate in skits in the Masquerade show, one of the largest convention events.
• Weekend-long anime-themed live-action role-playing with hundreds of participants.
• Opportunities to meet guests and collect autographs.
• A special children's track called Ota-chan.

Thousands of people attend Otakon each year. Attendees arriving in the morning on Friday should expect to spend a couple hours in line to pick up their badges, though the lines are generally gone by Friday afternoon. Attendees who have pre-registered can arrive on Thursday to pick up their registration badges so they can gain instant access to all the convention events on Friday.^{[citation needed]} (Unlike many conventions, Otakon's programming runs all day on Friday.)^{[citation needed]}

Otakorp maintains relationships with many hotels in the Inner Harbor area, allowing attendees to reserve a certain number of rooms at a discounted rate. These specially reserved rooms are usually booked well in advance of the convention date.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

[edit] Otakon 1994

The first Otakon was held July 29-31, 1994 at the Days Inn hotel in State College, Pennsylvania with 350 attendees. Guests included Robert DeJesus, Neil Nadelman, Lorraine Savage, Sue Shambaugh, and Jeff Thompson. Programming included two theaters, two live programming tracks, a video game room, and a small art show.^[1]

[edit] Otakon 1995

In 1995, Otakon moved to the Penn State Scanticon hotel in State College, Pennsylvania and hosted 450 attendees. Guests included Teruo Kakuta, Toshio Okada, Toren Smith, and Adam Warren. Programming was expanded to three 24-hour anime theaters, a 24-hour Live-Action theater, three panel rooms and a workshop track.^[2]

This was Otakon's first and only attempt at a four-day convention. This was also the first year to have a dedicated live-action video track and the first year to feature live-action role-playing and a Masquerade.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 1996

In 1996, Otakon moved to the Hunt Valley Marriott hotel in Hunt Valley, Maryland and hosted 1,000 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett, Robert DeJesus, Masaomi Kanzaki, Matt Lunsford, Neil Nadelman, Steve Pearl, Sue Shambaugh, Jeff Thompson, and Adam Warren. Programming featured three anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, two panel rooms and a workshop room.^[3]

There was an impromptu rave at Otakon '96.^{[citation needed]} One staffer developed and released a custom Doom level based on the layout of the hotel.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 1997

Otakon remained in the Hunt Valley Marriott hotel in 1997, and hosted 1,750 attendees. Guests included Ippongi Bang, Kuni Kimura, and Matt Lunsford. Programming included four anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, and two workshops. ^[4]

It was the first year for Otakon's popular event "Mystery Anime Theater 3000" (based on Mystery Science Theater 3000). The "www.otakon.com" domain was officially registered, and the impromptu rave of Otakon '96 became an official event.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 1998

In 1998, Otakon moved to the Hyatt Regency Crystal City hotel in Arlington, Virginia and hosted 2,500 attendees. Guests included Hiroshi Aro, Tiffany Grant, Shoji Kawamori, Kuni Kimura, Tristan MacAvery, Lisa Ortiz, and Jan Scott-Frazier. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, two panel rooms and two workshops.^[5]

This was the last Otakon to be held in a hotel, due to its growth. Every membership badge given out this year had female characters in the artwork.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 1999

Otakon moved to the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Otakon '99 hosted 4,500 attendees. Guests included Chris Beveridge, Tiffany Grant, Amy Howard-Wilson, Mari Iijima, Kuni Kimura, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Shin Kurokawa, Kazuto Nakazawa, Fred Schodt, and Shinichiro Watanabe. Also, Otakon had its first musical guest, with composer Yoko Kanno. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, two workshops and a concert.^[6]

1999 marked a year of transition for Otakon, as it moved from using hotels to a large convention center. The Baltimore Convention Center remains to this day as its official venue.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 2000

Otakon 2000 hosted 7,500 attendees. Guests included Yoshitoshi ABe, Mandy Bonhomme, Amy Howard-Wilson, Kunihiko Ikuhara, Ian Kim, Steve Pearl, Gilles Poitras, Yasuyuki Ueda, and Hong Kong action star Simon Yam. Programming included six anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, two workshops and a concert by the British indie band Bôa.^[7]

[edit] Otakon 2001

Otakon 2001 hosted 10,275 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett,Rodney "Largo" Caston, Jo Chen, Colleen Doran, Fred Gallagher, Tiffany Grant, Scott Houle, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Ian Kim, Shin Kurokawa, Masao Maruyama, Hikaru Midorikawa, Fred Perry, Gilles Poitras, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Adam Warren, and Pamela Weidner. Programming included six anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, a workshop and a kids live programming track entitled Otachan. There was no musical guest this year.^[8]

Otakon 2001 was held just weeks after the Howard Street Fire that occurred on July 18, 2001. During the convention, there were underground explosions along West Pratt Street due to residual explosive chemicals from the fire left in the sewers.^{[citation needed]} There was an unrelated evacuation of the convention center due to a pulled (prank) fire alarm, sending all of the Otakon attendees out onto Pratt Street. During the evacuation costumed members played in the water flowing from local fire hydrants which were opened to help flush the chemicals from the sewer system.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 2002

Otakon 2002 hosted 12,880 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett, Chris Beveridge, Rodney "Largo" Caston, Fred Gallagher, Yoko Ishida, Wendee Lee (cancelled due to an injury), Masao Maruyama, Yutaka Minowa, Kiroyuki Morioka, Neil Nadelman, Yasuhiro Nightow, Fred Perry, Gilles Poitras, Tatsuo Sato, and Lianne Sentar. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, three panel rooms, a workshop, a kids live programming track and a concert.^[9]

This was the first year that Otakon occupied the entire Baltimore Convention Center, which is over one million square feet (93,000 m²) in size. This is also the first year that Otakon had a 35mm theater.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 2003

Otakon 2003, also referred to as Otakon X, hosted 17,388 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett, Mandy Bonhomme, Johnny Yong Bosch, Justin Cook, Julie Davis, Robert DeJesus, Brian Drummond, Fred Gallagher, Scott Houle, Yoshiaki Iwasaki, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Itsuro Kawasaki, Tsukasa Kotobuki, Pontus Madsen, Masao Maruyama, Rica Matsumoto, Dr. Susan Napier, Satoshi Nishimura, Fred Schodt, Jan Scott-Frazier, and Pamela Weidner. Musical guests included Kristine Sa and T.M.Revolution. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, four panel rooms, two workshops, a kids live action programming track, and a concert.^[10]

Otakon surpassed Anime Expo as the largest convention in 2003 with 17,338 paid attendees, representing a 35% increase since the previous year. Anime Expo brought in 17,000 attendees that year.^[11]

For the tenth anniversary, Otakon's mascots were given a makeover. Hiroko-chan's traditionally long hair was cut short. In a comic printed within the con program, she attempts to give her brother Hiroshi-kun a similar makeover by cutting off his trademark ponytail, only to have it grow back instantly.^{[citation needed]}

This is the first year that Otakon opened up its doors a day early, allowing for pre-registered members to pick up their badge in advance. Over 2,000 members took advantage of the offer. 2003 also marked the last year of the "Mystery Anime Theater 3000".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 2004

Otakon 2004 hosted 20,899 attendees. Guests included Matt Boyd, Siu-Tung "Tony" Ching, Luci Christian, Koge Donbo, Richard Epcar, Christian Fundin, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Chuck Huber, Pontus Madsen, Ian McConville, Yutaka Minowa, Ichiro Okouch, Ananth Panagariya, Chris Patton, Monica Rial, Chris Sabat, Tatsuo Sato, Yuzo Sato, Lianne Sentar, and Matt Thorn. Musical guests included Angela and L'Arc-en-Ciel in their first U.S. appearance. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, three panel rooms, two workshops, a kids live programming track and two concerts.^[12]

The theme for Otakon 2004 was "Otaku Games," in reference to the Olympic Games, which were due to kick off in Athens, Greece a few weeks after the con. The Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association gave Otakon 2004 the status of a "citywide event".^{[citation needed]}

Japanese rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel made their first U.S. appearance as Otakon 2004's musical guest. Held in a separate venue, the nearby 1st Mariner Arena, the concert drew an estimated 12,000 attendees. Some concert attendees flew in from Japan solely for the concert.^{[citation needed]}

Otakon 2004 debuted a the Otakon Post Office, a US Postal Service station with its own Otakon-themed commemorative postmark, only available from the USPS booth in the Dealer's Room during the weekend. Also, Otakon featured a collectible card game tournament and a "manga library" in which attendees could read donated copies of various manga. A convention-produced manga magazine, Otazine, featuring original manga by U.S. artists, also made its first appearance this year.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 2005

Otakon 2005 hosted 22,000 attendees. Guests included Greg Ayres, Katie Bair, Matt Boyd, Brian Carroll, Luci Christian, Justin Cook, Richard Ian Cox, Huw "Lem" Davies, Ben Dunn, Christian Fundin, Fred Gallagher, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Yoshinori Kanemori, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Dave Lister, Pontus Madsen, Masao Maruyama, Ian McConville, Mike McFarlan, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Scott McNeil, Vic Mignogna, Mitsukazu Mihara, Seiji Mizushima, Ananth Panagariya, Fred Perry, Scott Ramsoomair, Xero Reynolds, Monica Rial, Michelle Ruff, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, and Toshifumi Yoshida. Musical guests included the Indigo, Piano Squall, Orin, Entertainment System, Pine*AM, and Kumiko Kato. Programming included four anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, three panel rooms, three workshops, a kids live programming track, and seven concerts.^[13]

The theme for Otakon 2005 was "Back to School," since the school year was close to starting up again for most of the con's United States attendees. Initially complaints were raised from prospective attendees because the convention started so close to the beginning of the school year in many school districts and universities.^{[citation needed]}

Otakon instituted an attendance cap, limiting registrations to 22,000 attendees. The Baltimore Convention Center's maximum occupancy rate, depending on the layout and use, is somewhere between 23,000 and 25,000 (including all staff, guests, dealers, industry, and press). Otakon decided on the conservative 22,000 limit to ensure compliance with fire codes, as well as providing adequate crowd control and ability to provide for the public safety.^{[citation needed]} Otakon also phased out individual day passes, only offering full three-day passes.^{[citation needed]} Otakon reached its attendance cap early Saturday morning, and by mid-afternoon was fending off scalpers. Several badges were confiscated and memberships were revoked for scalping.^{[citation needed]}

The selection of the Indigo as musical drew controversy from attendees because the Indigo is relatively unknown among anime fans.^{[citation needed]} Many attendees were hoping a big name musical act would've been chosen as had been done in 2003 and 2004, despite warnings from Otakon staff that Otakon would not be pursuing a similarly large name for 2005.^{[citation needed]} However, the band's American debut was greeted with much praise from all attendees.^{[citation needed]}

Convention staff were forced to deal with a sudden influx of curious Baltimore Ravens fans, due to the team's exhibition game that weekend. With the convention center already straining at capacity, a miscommunication led to convention center staff turning away people at several entrances, regardless of whether they had a badge.^{[citation needed]}

Otakon received extensive local press coverage related to an ongoing battle over whether the city would build a Baltimore Convention Center Hotel.^{[citation needed]} Puffy AmiYumi, who briefly made a stop at Otakon during their tour, got a large article in the Baltimore Sun.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 2006

Otakon 2006 hosted 22,302 attendees. Guests included Christine Auten, Troy Baker, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Christian Fundin, Fred Gallagher, Caitlin Glass, Kate Higgins, Kouta Hirano, Hirotsugu Kawasaki, Ayako Kawasumi, Nana Kitade, Yuri Lowenthal, Pontus Madsen, Masao Maruyama, Mike McFarland, Mucc, Kazuto Nakazawa, Monica Rial, Antimere Robinson, Patrick Seitz, Makoto Tateno, Nobuteru Yuuki, and Yoshiki Hayashi. ^[14]

2006 marked a major improvement in Otakon's integrated online registration system, allowing pre-registered attendees from 2005 to easily renew their memberships for 2006.^{[citation needed]} Membership rates rose to $50 before July 7th ($60 afterwards). Otakon did not offer group discounts or early-bird rates, due to higher costs, confusion over early-bird deadlines, and people taking advantage of the group rate, which was originally designed to help anime clubs.^{[citation needed]} The attendance cap was raised to 25,000, mostly thanks to the space freed up by moving Masquerade events into the First Mariner Arena on Saturday of the convention.^{[citation needed]} Also, the convention made use of a new concert venue (Ram's Head Live) for two concerts which featured the performing musical guests.^{[citation needed]}

However, Otakon did not reach the attendance cap.^[15] This may have been partly due to competition for hotel space and for hometown visitors—the Baltimore Orioles were facing rivals New York Yankees at nearby Camden Yards during all three days of the convention.^{[original research?]}

The theme for Otakon 2006 was "Good [luck]] festival," the joke being that such a festival was needed to counteract the fact that this was the 13th Otakon. Promotional materials, merchandise, and staff badges were adorned with four-leaf clovers, beckoning cats, the number seven, and other symbols of luck, while con mascots Hiroko-chan and Hiroshi-kun were depicted in traditional Japanese festival wear.^{[citation needed]}

Also, Aramark, the convention center's official food vendor, began working more closely with Otakon to answer attendee issues with their service. Aramark set up many booths in key areas of the convention (as opposed to only a handful of locations). The booths served sushi, Ramune, and again, Pocky. The food was also less expensive than in previous years.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Otakon 2007

This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events. It may contain information of a tentative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

Otakon 2007 has been announced and will again be in the Baltimore Convention Center from July 20-22.^[16] On August 18, 2006, Otakon has announced some hotels for Otakon 2007 and has already reported that the Days Inn is fully sold out, the convention block for the Hyatt is fully sold out, and the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor is nearly completely sold out.^{[citation needed]} On September 25, 2006, Otakon announced two more hotels for Otakon 2007, the new Holiday Inn Express at the Stadiums, and for the first time in 7 years (Otakon 1999), the Sheraton Inner Harbor hotel has been re-added to Otakon's official hotel list.^{[citation needed]} On Christmas Eve 2006, Otakon announced its first guest for Otakon 2007, voice actor Mike Sinterniklaas who has founded anime dubbing studio NYAV Post. He is currently voicing Dean Venture from the popular Adult Swim series Venture Brothers, Mikey Simon from Kappa Mikey and Leonardo from the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. ^[17] They have also since announced that actors Vic Mignogna and Jennifer Sekiguchi, and webcomic artists Pontus Madsen and Christian Fundin from Little Gamers will be guests.

[edit] Otakorp

Otakon is run by the Pennsylvania-based non-profit organization Otakorp, Inc. whose focus is on using Asian popular culture as a gateway to increase understanding of Asian culture.

Otakon is the annual meeting of Otakorp, Inc. Otakon attendees do not purchase "tickets" to Otakon; they actually become a member of the non-profit organization that runs Otakon with their paid attendance to the convention. Everyone who pays the annual membership fee to attend Otakon is also a supporting member for Otakorp and is able to participate in sanctioned events, contests, or giveaways that might occur during the year.

All staff are unpaid volunteers, although registration tasks are supplemented by temporary workers provided by the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association, and certain services such as legal and accounting work are by contract. Otakon 2006 listed over 500 staff on its roster, though not all work the convention directly.

Otakorp, Inc. also sponsors film screenings as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, and assists with programming at other film festivals.

[edit] Future expansion

In light of Otakon's consistent growth and the continuing popularity of anime in North America, Otakon expects to continue for many years. The Baltimore Convention Center is likely to remain the venue for Otakon, mainly due to a lack of other venues of sufficient size in the area.

[edit] Four-day convention

While the idea of a four-day convention has some support among the general membership (especially among younger members), the idea has been summarily dismissed as unworkable by Otakon staff. It was attempted in 1995, over a holiday weekend, back when Otakon fit comfortably in a small hotel, and even then it was an exhausting prospect that didn't pay off. In those days, the entire convention could be set up in a matter of hours, while it currently takes two full days to prepare the site. At its current size and functional requirements, Otakon would face a significant additional expense in running an extra day, and both industry and dealers have said that it would not be worth their time and money to attend a fourth day. Finally, it is clear that few staffers would be able to afford the extra day (most staffers already use as much as a week of vacation time to help run the con). With almost zero support from staff, industry, or dealers, there is virtually no chance that Otakon will ever attempt a four-day convention again.

[edit] D.C. Convention Center

Some Otakon staff members have said that if Otakon outgrows the Baltimore Convention Center, the much larger D.C. Convention Center is under consideration as an alternative venue.

On the Otakon BBS, Otakon 2005 convention chairman, Thomas McMullan stated that the Baltimore Convention Center Hilton Hotel is under consideration for an alternative venue for certain events, and the additional capacity for rooms and function space would be a big factor in Otakon's future plans. Mr. McMullan stated, "In any event, there is no way the new hotel will be built for 2006 (We've been told to expect it to take two years to build once they break ground), although it will be one of the things we look at as we consider where to go in 2007 and beyond."

Otakon 2006 convention chair, Jim Vowles stated that there is no firm decision to move Otakon to the D.C. Convention Center due to cost and logistics. However, Mr. Vowles stated that Otakon is talking with the Baltimore Convention Center regarding the possibility. But he states that "the move to DC would be a bigger challenge than some people think -- and the true cost is as yet unknown" and that it would take "at least a year to plan any such move" and within that year "the new [Hilton] hotel next to the BCC will be well underway." He continues with that he's personally not convinced that Otakon "should expend all that effort only to move back when the new facility is built" and that if Otakon does indeed decide to move from Baltimore "it should be considered a more or less permanent move if at all possible."

Mr. Vowles continues, "Realistically, unless the BCC is leveled and rebuilt, it will not be a serious competitor with DC, but it may continue to suit our needs for quite a while. Eventually, we're either going to reach the plateau of our growth, or we're going to need to move, and at that point it's pretty much got to be DC. But Baltimore and the BCC have been our home base since 1999, and we put in two years in Hunt Valley before our big growth in the mid/late nineties. I don't see us casually tossing that history aside. So in the meanwhile, we continue to investigate the options in ever greater detail. Real hard numbers are the next stage of the game."

In an interview with GeekNights, Vowles again denied a possible move, and noted how determined Baltimore City was to keep the convention around. "Baltimore at this point is motivated to keep us, and they're putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak. This year we've seen a noted increase in city support for the event. And frankly, we know pretty much exactly how to use Baltimore's space, and we know all the local players, from hotels to venues to vendors."^[18]

[edit] Metal Gear Solid

In 1998, video game publisher Konami released the game Metal Gear Solid, containing a character named Hal Emmerich, who had the code name "Otacon". Otakorp, Inc., who owns the rights to the name, gave permission to Konami to use the name "Otacon" in all Metal Gear Solid games.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Otakon official website
• Otakon official BBS