WorldisYours

Good: -Pretty much every panel I went to this year was at least pretty good, which isn't always the case every year. Panelists at Otakon have gotten better at the basics of presenting, or at least I got lucky and the ones I went to have. -As a panelist myself, Otakon continues to have the highest quality technical staff and tech set-up in general compared to any other convention I present at. Makes setting up before my panel so quick and easy, you almost feel tempted to take it for granted, but I'm sure a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to make it work so smoothly. Bravo to Otakon here. -Tokyo Attack's lineup this year was A+++! Three Sound Voltex machines and four Chunithm machines were both great calls and meant you never had to wait super long to play either game (although honestly Chunithm was so popular the lines did occasionally still get pretty long, probably because unlike SDVX and most of the other games you can't play it at Round 1s in the US as of yet). Please, please keep bringing them back, they add a lot to the convention! -Not sure if this was new this year or just something I didn't pay attention to before this, but I like the idea of doing a themed "retro" video room a lot. Obviously video rooms in general have less utility to the convention attendee than they used to, given the widespread digital availability of anime, so I think this kind of themed room is a better use of this space. It both exposes newer fans to older series they may not have watched before and gives us older fans a chance to rewatch beloved classics in rooms full of excited people. I only popped in once, for Sailor Stars, but had a great time when I did. Hope this sticks around. -Similar to above, the AMV Theater remains a great room that I spend at least some time in every year. A great use of space. -Bag checks were a breeze, took two seconds, never waited in line really. Please keep that up in future years! Bad: -Although as I said the bag checks were a breeze for the most part, I do have one complaint about the security set-up. Security folks on the Marriott tunnel entrance often seemed to have no clue what each other were doing. I'll give one easy example: on Saturday there was a guard standing before the bag check table, and he was waiving people through to his left if they didn't have a bag (the bag check table was to his right). I didn't have a bag at that point so I was waived through by him and kept walking. I didn't even notice it, but a friend I was with told me that apparently one of the security guards at the table began angrily screaming for me to come back and show him my badge, as if I was somehow trying to cheat the system or not following directions, despite the fact that I was just waived through by a security member! Nothing really came of it since I was so far from the security entrance by the time we noticed anyway and he didn't try to chase after us or anything, but it's just absurd that a security guard can make you feel like you're breaking the rules for following the directions of another security guard. This was the most extreme example, but there were many times when it felt like they would waive you through and then another one would act like you weren't supposed to be going where you were going. They need to communicate with each other better or just have a better set-up. -I wasn't a big fan of the concert line-up for the second year in a row, and didn't end up attending any concerts despite it being one of my favorite parts of the convention going experience most of the time. It feels like we're in a post-Anisong World Matsuri slump when it comes to musical guests, and I hope Otakon is able to attract some big name acts next year and get us out of this. As I said earlier, I would totally be fine with even paying an extra admission for a big lineup like AWM's from two years ago, even though I understand that is not a popular viewpoint on this message board. Ugly: -The lack of US anime industry presence has been covered above, but I definitely think it deserves mentioning. I understand Otakon is not growing at an exponential rate anymore, but it's still rather perplexing to me that much of the US industry apparently thinks nearly 30k devoted anime fans isn't worth their time. -Food options were indeed terrible and worse than last year, but I fully expected that going in given the Aramark changeover. Obviously not much Otakon can do about this, it just sucks. As others have said, finding out they don't even pay their workers a fair wage (via the protests outside the convention center that were going on) didn't make me feel any better about handing over my cash for their terrible food either.

Thank you for calling people out on this! I played a lot of Chunithm and Sound Voltex in the game room this year, and twice I saw a guy try to immediately start a second game in a row despite having a line of people behind him waiting to play (one time actually just one person waiting, which is still one too many people to be doing that crap, but the other time a line of at least four people!). Both times we successfully shamed the person into giving up the machine (and especially when I was the only one waiting for SDVX I thank my neighbors for joining in on telling the person to learn how to share), but it honestly boggles my mind that people would even try it. Learn some basic manners before you leave your house!

I think the concert in 2017, the first year in DC, was Anisong World Matsuri and did cost extra. I didn't go that year so I'm not entirely sure, but I remember hearing that there was a massive backlash from the fans on having to pay extra for a concert, which probably had a strong effect on Otakon's opinion on the subject. I asked one of the Board of Directors members about this topic specifically- paying extra for concerts and other special events- at the Otakorp Financials panel on Sunday. He basically said that while they're comfortable charging extra for VIP and preferred seating (as they did this year), they aren't comfortable with required separate admission charges. So in another words, they probably will keep the VIP and Preferred options around going forward, but as that's not a requirement to attend the event (you can still choose to line up ahead of time and attend the concert or event for free, as long as there's still enough space) it will be limited on how much extra revenue it can bring in versus straight up charging an admission fee to everyone to attend the event. Personally speaking as an adult with disposable income I would prefer to see them charge separate admissions for concerts if that's what it will take to start bringing in bigger name and higher profile musical guests again. I was not thrilled with the musical guest options in the last two years. However, I understand the resistance to this idea from Otakon's perspective, as well as why more cash-strapped attendees would obviously be against it.

It's perhaps worth noting that the anime industry does turn out heavily on the east coast for Anime NYC now, if people haven't been to that con yet (it's only two years old). If you're looking for a large industry presence without traveling all the way to AX (or dealing with the extreme crowds of NYCC), that seems to be your best bet at the moment. On the other hand, ANYC features almost no fan panels to speak of (they're even more extreme in this aspect than AX, which does have a few) and certainly no fan-created content like the AMV Theater and Workshops. It also charges extra for certain events and concerts, something Otakon has no interest in doing. So basically if you're an east coast anime fan, you can either pick between an event that is heavily industry or heavily fan-based. You get both extremes here. I personally go to both because I think they're both worthwhile and unique in their own way, but if I had to pick one it would be Otakon every time and it isn't particularly close. It seems the days that veteran con-goers are talking about of essentially having it all under one roof are over. I remember those days as well, but I still appreciate what Otakon brings to the table. I think being, essentially, the largest "fan-driven" con in probably the entire country is something to be celebrated, even if the industry isn't as keen on the convention as they may have been in years prior.

Normally there ARE hosts sitting at that front table who do provide some commentary and setup (although sometimes they don't anyway; honestly some of these videos are funnier if you know nothing). But according to the AMV Theater folks, apparently the hosts couldn't make it to the con this year (or couldn't be there Friday night at least? Not sure) and were kind enough to send their videos so the panel could still take place without them.

I walked in on Friday and Saturday mornings holding one of those Starbucks cold drinks from the convenience store and nobody said anything to me either. To be clear, I wasn't trying to test any policy, I just had no idea said policy existed! I came in both mornings through the Marriott tunnel and there were no signs or anything. Later on Saturday I did see a big No Food and Drink sign by the main entrance (from outside), but I never saw one entering through the Marriott tunnel.

Add me to the list of people who got my badges today (before any tracking number was ever e-mailed or added to our members page, it should be noted). My friend just called to say the three badges we ordered together arrived this morning. He did NOT have to sign for them, they were simply left there, but there was a tracking number attached. Also he lives in New Jersey, in case anyone asks. I think the bottom line at this point is: yes there might be a slight issue with the tracking numbers, but the badges are coming. I don't think there's much reason for anyone to worry at this point.