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Okay, so maybe I'm the only otaku to suffer this, or maybe not. But every year when Otakon ends I get uber depressed for like, a week. I mean I anticipate Otakon like a kid anticipates Christmas, and I never feel more at home than when I'm at Otakon surrounded by people who actually get where I'm coming from. So when the con ends and I realize that it's time to go back to the normal whine and grind of everyday life, I hit rock bottom. Hell, the only reason I managed to recover in a day or two this year was because of the early arrangements I could make for next year (and thus, start my anticipation early). But what I'm wondering is: does anyone else suffer this, or is it just me? And if you do suffer this, how do you deal with it?

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I totally know what you mean... I wasn't even out of Baltimore yet and I was already sad that it was over, I'm still trying to shake off a bit of the depression. I got excited when I found out next year was in July and that I wouldn't even have to wait an entire year, and then getting a hotel all early helped a bit more. My friends will be sick of my whining about otakon being so far away within a week or two. I won't stop until sometime around oh... July 16th.

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It feels good to know that I'm not the only one. I mean, it really sucks because Sunday is like "Woohoo, giant gathering of otaku...." "GET OUT OF THE BCC!" and then the otaku disperse. A friend of mine was playing around with the idea of how we could do a huge otaku gathering on Sunday post-otakon...there's a spot in the inner harbor that's pretty big that might be good for a gathering. Anyway I'm babbling now.

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A gathering would be great for tieing things up. The way it usually ends feels like stepping off a cliff into the real world. The place where the street performers gather would make a good spot. I was totally bummed on Sunday this year because my hotel changed my check out time from 4 o'clock to 11 and gave me 20 minutes notice. Lost a good two hours of the day and missed one of teh last panels I wanted to go to.

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I know all too well how you feel. Every year right after Otakon I start to think of next year and how fun it will be and I also start to think of ways that I could recapture some of that feeling sooner. It is right after Otakon that I think about maybe checking out other con's, but after seeing the best can I really see the rest :) I also think about forming a support group, aka an anime club, because I have been out of college for some time and the only clubs I know of are part of a school. Eventually I get over it. This year being able to book a hotel so soon was very nice. I just hope I am actually able to go this comming year, I am getting married and that is a big expense and Otakon is not cheap.

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And if you do suffer this, how do you deal with it?

1. Make your reservations for next year.

2. In one sitting, watch all six episodes of FLCL in Japanese with English subs.

3. Repeat step 2 until you feel a little better and take solace in the fact that Otakon is early next year!

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I usually get hit with a pretty bad case of P.C.D., but this year it was just the opposite. When I got back to work the next day everyone was like, "Why do you look different?" and my answer was "I'm happy!" I think this happened for two reasons. I accomplished everything I wanted to at this years con, so I left feeling no regrets. I went to a panel, the amvs, live action death note, 2 photo shoots, got some airsoft from the dealers room, and I even kissed a girl! A real one!! All of these things left me with a real sense of accomplishment, and many memories that I chuckle over, even now, a week later.

The second thing is that it took us 10 hours to drive back to CT with all the god awful traffic. We left at 3:00pm and when we we're still in New Jersey at 10pm, all I could think about was getting home. I think that 10 hour buffer of being uncomfortable made me yearn to be home, thus taking some of the edge off the P.C.D. Add that to the realization that my next con, Providence Anime Conference, is less that two months away, there is no time to be sad! I gotta start working on my next cosplay!!!

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It is right after Otakon that I think about maybe checking out other con's, but after seeing the best can I really see the rest :D

most of the other three day cons are worth going to and often don't end up costing NEARLY as much as otakon (especially if you volunteer and get crash space and reimbursement) AUSA last year was pretty good, it had a decent dealers room, nice artist alley, a bunch of interesting panels. Not quite at otakon's level but fun none the less. I've already got three cons planned in between now and July. I couldn't survive without them :P

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My buddies and I thought we were weird for feeling so depressed. Its nice to see we're not alone. We treat Otakon like a High Holy Weekend. We get more excited about it than Christmas!

After the con, we sat in my friends basement for two days eating Sunchips and watching Tenjho Tenge, Ergo Proxy and playing Dead or Alive Extreme 2 (and YES we actually play it.) It's kinda sad when you see the badges of past otakons hanging from the corner of a picture frame and the scattered contents of your otakon bag strewn all over the place from your living room to the back seat of the car.

I guess the only way to deal with it is to watch lots of anime and get ready for another con! I preregister for Tekkoshocon in Pittsburgh (early April) really early to kick off the new year. Sometimes if I'm bored in the middle of cold, dark December I'll browse through old convention programs....

I'm just happy I get to go next year. Luckily, Otakon doesn't interfere with my wedding in August. My priorities are a little off aren't they? :D

Also, rambling on the Otakon forums helps with the P.C.D too :P

Edited by KyoKyo
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otakon has such a strong energy that i think everyone can feel it - and when it ends, so does that engery. it's like eating a donut and getting a mid-day sugar rush - and then feeling the rush drop.

i definately felt the "depression" after the con. the monday after i was walking down the sidewalk to work and thinking to myself, "wow today feels so normal". but since i live in the washington, dc metro area I have the option of going to Anime USA and Katsucon - 2 cons that'll hold me over and keep my sanity

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I felt so pumped and excited during and shortly after Otakon, but now I'm just kinda bummed out and wishing it would start up again soon. I've probably went through 3-4 anime series since Otakon ended and have been slacking on my studies. I was hoping that Otakon would kinda kick start me to get things done, but it seems now it has done the opposite ^^I

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I get the post con depression too. But I usually deal with it by pouring over the thousands of pictures and hundreds of hours of videos posted on the net. And of course getting ready for the next con! :blush:

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I am starting on Anime USA and T-mode planning, so I can't be down. I also am facing the day job's business, so that keeps me busy. I was down earlier this week facing the normal world or as my co-workers ask "what is normal?

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lol I probably wouldn't use the word "depressed" but I do miss it and wish I was back there. My friends keep telling me its gone get over it =(. It was just nice having a weekend there with people that are the same as well as having a weekend off to not think about work or school, just anime. =X

This past weekend all I thought about was..."a week ago i was doing this at otakon" etc. like for example, its 9pm on Saturday right now and I think "man last week at this time I was at the masquerade"

I also look at a bunch of videos and photos of Otakon, and look for other conventions to go to, I even signed up for the forums XD.

I don't do anything to get over it, I just let time go by, in about a week or two it'll be over with since college starts by then haha.

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I've probably went through 3-4 anime series since Otakon ended and have been slacking on my studies.

whoa were do you find the time for that?! it normally takes me forever to get through 1 anime series. dont become a shut-in :blush: [the real definition of otaku]

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I wouldn't be as depressed if I was going to Anime Weekend Atlanta....but I'm not. Unfortunately Otakon was my last con of 08. I have nothing until Anime NEXT '09.

But I do get a little down when "my" con season ends. Otakon (and AWA when I do eventually go) is the only chance I get to meet up with certain people. One of them (besides me) is getting married in a few months so it's not so bad. I'll get to see a lot of the group at the wedding.

But the hotel is booked for next year already. I started cooking up my Otakon AMV for next year. I can't stop talking cosplay ideas with the fiance. And I've finally started learning Japanese via Rosetta Stone.

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This past weekend all I thought about was..."a week ago i was doing this at otakon" etc. like for example, its 9pm on Saturday right now and I think "man last week at this time I was at the masquerade"
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This past weekend all I thought about was..."a week ago i was doing this at otakon" etc. like for example, its 9pm on Saturday right now and I think "man last week at this time I was at the masquerade"

Heheh, i do the exact same thing.

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Yeah I know what you all mean after each Otakon it's like, "Nooooooo I don't want to go back to the real world, I want to stay here forever. *Runs and finds solace in Domo.*"

Then I get pushed as if through a portal into the real world and I go, "Awwww."

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When I was younger, and this was the only convention I went too, I was always depressed after the con ended. Now I go to around 3-4 con's a year, so as soon as one end's, I'm already thinking and planning for the next one!

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I don't get depressed after Otakon.

I get *sleep*.

It may sound like fun to party with actors and creators and rock stars all weekend, but it's also pretty hard work and makes for some VERY long days. And I'm 38, for crying out loud -- younger than half of JAM Project, but much older than DaizyStripper -- and I really feel those years by Monday afternoon when the last few guests are going home...

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Ah PCD...that should be a disease in a medical dictionary somewhere...

But yes...it kinda sucks because it's like the sunday evening after con...reality hits...and it hits hard

We all got to return to school *soon but thank the heavens its my last year*, return to school, get out of our cosplay outfits *or if you're in a perpetual cosplay outfit, kudos 83*, and return back to "sanity".

TT_TT whenever i think about the con I try and find some way to get to another con and have that tie me over until otakon *although attempts have been made, they have been rendered futile on my part for bad planning*

so...what do I do to try and remedy PCD?

8D watch more anime and draw and remind myself why I started going to otakon in the first place*

On a side note (concerning this post, should this question be moved?)

What are your symptoms of PCD? XD

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I totally know what you're talking about. Last year when we finally got back to the airport in Buffalo, reality hit us like an eighteen-wheeler. Needless to say, it sucked. I've been waiting for my next Otakon adventure ever since ;_; even when I didn't go this year I think I still had some PCD symptoms when my friends all talked about it.

As for symptoms; planning for next year's con WAY too far in advance, going crazy over hotels, working on costumes (again WAY too far in advance) and looking at pictures and visiting the Otakon BBS everyday seem to be pretty constant for me. >>;

Edited by Otaku Ru
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It's weird. Especially after a con as epic as this one. It was so fulfilling that I feel a little empty inside afterwards, like what more is there that I can get out of cons after doing so much at Otakon, and will there be anything else to top it?

But I have to shake it off because I have audio to edit...ugh.

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Yeah i felt it for about a week. Constatnly looking at pictures, and even got me to join this fourm. I tell you it really ramped up my anime obession by at least 100%!! I am higly considering going to the nyanimefestival. Anyone else planning on attending that!

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I used to suffer from PCD after Otakon, however this year it didn't really have time to develop. I was too tired to even contemplate being depressed about Otakon being over after cosplaying as a Staff member for the weekend.

Then after recovering, I found to my amazement that I should be planning for next year already! Who has time to suffer from PCD this time around?

Besides I've long ago found a way to get over any type of PCD by planning my next con, I'm going to attempt going to 4 cons this year! 2 down, 2 to go. NYAF & MangaNext here I come!

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I get it every year.

You work so hard for those days, and some of the staff work all year round.

And then all of a sudden... it's over.

it's like a loss, or emptiness.

But then pre-con starts up again, and there you go, looking forward to the next year.

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As for symptoms; planning for next year's con WAY too far in advance, going crazy over hotels, working on costumes (again WAY too far in advance) and looking at pictures and visiting the Otakon BBS everyday seem to be pretty constant for me. >>;

And let's not forget, wandering through the mall thinking "where are all the cosplayers?" or waking up wondering where you are because your room doesn't look like the hotel your supposed to be in.

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I get it every year.

You work so hard for those days, and some of the staff work all year round.

And then all of a sudden... it's over.

it's like a loss, or emptiness.

But then pre-con starts up again, and there you go, looking forward to the next year.

I actually kinda look forward to having the rest of August and September to NOT be thinking "OTAKON" 24/7.

Though I have to put together my con report...

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I get it every year.

You work so hard for those days, and some of the staff work all year round.

And then all of a sudden... it's over.

it's like a loss, or emptiness.

But then pre-con starts up again, and there you go, looking forward to the next year.

I actually kinda look forward to having the rest of August and September to NOT be thinking "OTAKON" 24/7.

Though I have to put together my con report...

Everybody starts talking about "we should plan this for NEXT year before we forget we need to think about it!"

and then we're off.

Granted, it's not 24/7...

And granted, too, that I've been deliberately stepping back. That helps a good deal as well.

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It usually hits me when I get in my car to drive home Sunday. I drive past the BCC on my way back to I-95 as if to make sure it's REALLY over. Sitting in traffic for a couple of hours doesn't help either, although it's fun to flash your con badge to cars full of other con goers. When I get home and unpacked I go through my pictures and make a slideshow out of them.

I also do what some suggest here by watching anime and visiting the BBS often. In the end PCD is like an ice cream headache, it hurts now but it won't last for long.
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I also think about forming a support group, aka an anime club, because I have been out of college for some time and the only clubs I know of are part of a school.

Hi, my name is Bill, and I'm an Otakoholic.

Everyone talking about being depressed is making me depressed!

Aye, and the daily (or nearly) trips to the BBS are required just to keep up without drowning in all of us looking to hold on ... for the 47 weeks until Otakon 2009!

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Sure, I often get the post-con blues, especically after this year's Otakon. Until I realize there's another anime convention near the DC area two or three months from now.

It's off to T-Mode for me!

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I also think about forming a support group, aka an anime club, because I have been out of college for some time and the only clubs I know of are part of a school.
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Yes it's always a meloncholy drive home on Sunday. Wishing it was Saturday. But this year we did get a smile when a car passed us. They had written "Otakon or Bust" on their rear window. It was sad and funny at the same time. But now, after a week I feel the anticipation build for next year and the childish giddyness is back.

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Yes it's always a meloncholy drive home on Sunday. Wishing it was Saturday. But this year we did get a smile when a car passed us. They had written "Otakon or Bust" on their rear window. It was sad and funny at the same time. But now, after a week I feel the anticipation build for next year and the childish giddyness is back.
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Yes it's always a meloncholy drive home on Sunday. Wishing it was Saturday. But this year we did get a smile when a car passed us. They had written "Otakon or Bust" on their rear window. It was sad and funny at the same time. But now, after a week I feel the anticipation build for next year and the childish giddyness is back.

lol we saw the same people on I-95 North. i think they were from Connecticut. We were still all in costume so they naturally waved enthusiastically when we passed them. :)

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Yeah, I have it too. Although I call it PCS. Post con syndrome.

I live the life of a NEET so going to a place with thousands of fellow fans and then going back to normal was kinda crappy. It's an otaku pilgrimage as some blog put it. Being able to talk to anyone and party with everyone was great. No one looks down on you because they are otaku too. It was a shiny reward for being a maid all summer.

Well I gotta find some jobs to do. I got AUSA to save up for this time. luckily I have my odd jobs and podcast to keep me busy. If not I would be super PCD right now.

Edited by viga
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