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The only thing the staff told us to do was to remove the items in our pockets. Also, I didn't need my bags inspected on Friday, but had to do it on Saturday. Personally, the Convention Center needs to do one of the following to avoid this confusion: Fully commit to the bag check and have everyone be inspected (which I'm against, as that will only slow down the lines). Have a device that can have bags checks without needed to be inspected. Drop the bag check all together. I did see some staff members use the fans when directing people to the Dealers Hall and Artist Alle

WHAT I LIKED: Metro actually serving as an alternative to staying at a hotel (especially with the mess going on at my usual hotel). Being on the Green Line, getting to and from the convention is actually very easy, cheap on weeknights and weekends, and outside of Saturday night (partially due to me accidentally taking the wrong train) wasn't too much of a problem. The only issue is having to leave Otakon before 11:00PM, as someone carpools me home, but given how I usually don't do the 18+ stuff, it wasn't that big of a problem. While there's still some room for improvement (i.e. st

Meanwhile, if I do go to Otakon next week, I'll likely be taking the train (as I live near the Green Line) instead of staying in a hotel? BTW, did the Renaissance/Westin sell out already, or is that room block still being set up?

Adding to the list: Food Change of clothes Soap Wild Bill mug

Reading that thread title, the first thing that came to mind was the recent Animaniacs parody of the Thundercats OP.

DRAMA/SERIOUS 1st: I'm (Not) Myself by SasukeChanX 2nd: Pieces by BleachShippu5678 3rd: Ace of Hearts by lokkiclu ACTION 1st: Witches Go Hard by SilkAMV 2nd: Outrun Intensifies by Under the Box Productions (Davis 51) 3rd: Elemental by Ramen Noodle Productions ROMANCE/SENTIMENTAL; 1st: Quarantine Dreams by AllyKatAVR 2nd: Affinity by BecauseImBored1 3rd: The Accompanist by Opner COMEDY/PARODY 1st: We Stan Stands by Mycathatesyou69 2nd: Thank God for 2D Girls by TarageAMV 3rd: Hashtag #Homecoming by R

If I was seen without a mask during the con, it was mostly because I was either eating or drinking something. Outside of that, I tried to keep my mask on whenever possible while at the con. As for me: THE GOOD: The simple fact that Otakon is able to get a convention done this year (especially at a period where the delta variant of COVID is causing problems in other regions in the United States) and that people are willing to attend the convention is enough for a good, especially considering how busy I was Saturday in terms of the panels and events I attended (with me only missin

Same thing here. Unless I'm at my office at work, eating, or visiting family, I keep the mask on whenever I go places.

I'm confused here. While I can understand wearing it in the hotel lobby (and traveling to and from my room), does this mean I need to wear a mask when I'm in my hotel room as well?

I feel that a number of factors have contributed to this, including many major anime companies leaving the American market (i.e. Bandai and Geneon), most companies announcing their licenses when the new anime season starts, and how Otakon is more focused on the fans than being industry-focused like Anime Expo.

The schedule has been updated. The only major ones are AnimEigo and Discotek (with Discotek usually being one of the highlight panels at Otakon each year, especially for old school anime fans). However, there is an "Industry Roundup Panel" on Sunday morning (I'm guessing it will include at least Crunchyroll and Right Stuf, as they have panels at other events the same weekend as Otakon).

Got mine yesterday. As I already have an unused Funimation lanyard, I simply connected the badge to that for now.

The finalists were announced on Monday. Check the Otakon 2021 AMV Contest thread for the information.

That isn't surprising. As the first major anime convention since the pandemic, there's still a number of factors going into it that could make some people reluctant to go (in particular, what measures will be enforced to prevent COVID from affecting the con, those who have not yet received their vaccination yet, people living outside the DC area that are uncertain to travel out-of-state at the moment). As such, I can understand how hotels still have rooms available even when the con is a little more than two weeks away.

You're not alone here, as one of the big aspects of the next possible quarantine will be the fact that a number of areas will be restarting school, with most kids being too young to get the vaccine.

Another thing to consider: there's the concern that we may be having another round of COVID quarantines in the fall due to the delta variant. While this will not be a problem for Otakon and Awesomecon thanks to the safety measures that are being applied and the DC area being in control of the situation at the moment, there is some concern that it may affect the big fall conventions. As such, Otakon could be their only chance to attend a con this year. However, whether you feel safe to attend Otakon or not should at least be based on the current COVID situation per state. After all, while

As someone that's been entering the contest since 2015 (and made the finals in 2017), I can tell you that the contest is happening. Right now, the information can be found here.

For those who didn't see it on Facebook: Otakon 2021 is a go, although with some obvious changes this year due to the pandemic (i.e. no international guests, possible earlier close times).

I have been fully immunized for about 1.5 months now, so I'll be fine for both Otakon and Awesomecon a couple of weeks later. However, my certainty has been leaning towards Awesomecon than Otakon, with a number of factors contributing to it. Among the two main ones: Awesomecon is going to be a day trip for me (one where I can easily get to the convention center via the Green Line after spending Winter 2020 getting used to the Metro via some classes to get my A+ certification) whereas I'd be staying in the DC area for Otakon (which could mean a bigger risk for me). Awesomecon h

Those may be the two big things that could jeopardize Otakon. While the international guests situation is pretty much a given that attendees are willing to accept, a 500 person capacity may not work for a con as big as Otakon. While I can see smaller cons being able to handle this (Blerdcon and Anime USA, if we do get one this year, as I've heard nothing yet about 2021), Otakon is too big of a con to limit only 500 people attending it (unless that's the limit for one of the panel rooms). However, there is the possibility that Otakon can get a city waiver to allow more people to attend the even

While things may be fine for the New York cons, there's still a lot of things that make Otakon questionable IMO. Among them: Will there be enough of the COVID vaccine distributed that the Convention Center doesn't need to be used as a site by that time; Possible new waves of the outbreak (especially if more people will be active in the summer); Travel and guest situations (as a number of states are still high risk, and I'm not sure about Japanese guests attending this year).

Crunchyroll Expo, which is happening the same weekend as Otakon, just announced that it will be an online con. Thus, the chances of an actual physical Otakon this year have decreased somewhat. 🙁

Same here. I donated $50 a couple hours ago, and I'm willing to buy stuff to help raise additional funds for the convention.

For a few years now, the AMV programming at Youmacon has its own Twitch channel, with me tuning in on Saturdays to watch the results of the AMV contest (especially since I had at least one video in that contest that year since 2016). I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't think the idea is going to work. Yeah, Anime USA can go either direction each year, with this past year being weak in some areas due to it happening the same weekend as Nekocon, Youmacon, and AWA. However, I still feel the people running it are still trying their best to run it even if it's a "small con" compa

In my opinion, the more realistic approaches at the moment would be either 1, 2, or (in some extent) 5. If the WEWCC is going to be used a field hospital, then there's an uncertainty that it will be sanitized and returned to normal by late July. Personally, it would be great to push Otakon back later in the year a la Awesome Con (which I'm, happy will be postponed to December), as my experience riding the Metro to and back to some classes this winter has gotten me comfortable enough to use it for events on the Green Line). However, there's a number of factors that can affect that. Among t