Revan 38 Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 * Well, not really. I just have Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in mind. In honor of Otakon 30, here's the message on the opening page from the original Otakon 1994 program guide. Quote From the Staff... You are from ten states, and a hundred communities. you are high school students, college students, service workers, professionals, and families. You belong to a hundred ethnic groups, every social class and way of life. You are the forefront of anime fandom, its agents upon the frontiers and in the lonely places. In the Happy Lands, it is easy to be an otaku: there is an organization in every town, every neighborhood. There are stores and shops throughout the major cities, a culture and a people receptive of our principles, our lifestyle. To be an otaku in the Happy Lands in natural, understood. here, today, the battles have still to be fought. We are in a place where we are not yet accepted, and it is our task and our burden to be an otaku where the otaku are not respected. We are the stormtroopers* of Otakudom! In our wake lies the Happy Land, places where otaku are free to live publically, out of the basements and the clubs. Before us stretches the great unconquered wastes of narrowminded conformity and blinded ethnocentrism! Your are the vector by which the Otakunization shall reach this blighted land! You shall be martyrs and Cultural heroes to our grateful progeny, for you are the ones who made the sacrifices and dared the dreams that shall make their world! The tribes of the Nation have gathered here, in this sleepy college town. From the towns along the Ohio. Form the cities of the Deep South, and the lands of frozen Minnesota. From the suburbs of New Jersey and Maryland, from the urban streets of New York and Philadelphia. The Otaku Nations have met: For We Shall Otakunize the World! In our wake we shall leave a changed world, a wider world, a better world! We shall open the eyes of the blind, clear the ears of the deaf, and unlock the tongues of the dumb! We have arrived, and the world will never be the same. You may talk of a coming cataclysm, of Apocalypse and revolution. We have something we must tell you: The Otakunization is here! We are its agents, and we have come! * History lesson: The original Stormtroopers, led the vanguard of assaults in the latter years of World War I. Juuuuust a bit bombastic, don't you think? 😀 Though I'd say that we're definitely much more in the Happy Lands nowadays than back then. Congrats on 30, Otakon! See you in July for our 30th anniversary! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Clutch 64 Posted October 20, 2023 Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 We were the 300. 😀 Wasn't there a comic book store near the Days Inn where we were looking for a Ranma book? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Attendee7000 18 Posted October 20, 2023 Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 And sadly the Days Inn was demolished last summer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Perales 95 Posted October 23, 2023 Report Share Posted October 23, 2023 I have an idea: Otakon should bring back these life-sized anime character boards and display them throughout the convention center. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Clutch 64 Posted October 25, 2023 Report Share Posted October 25, 2023 On 10/23/2023 at 8:53 AM, Daniel Perales said: I have an idea: Otakon should bring back these life-sized anime character boards and display them throughout the convention center. They had Bean Bandit, Lum, and Ranma-chan, if I recall. Maybe if they made them into sign posts it would be worth it. Otherwise, those have limited novelty to today's anime crowd. You would also have to pay licensing fees for their use today. Back in 1994, Otakon was flying under the radar and could get away with using the character boards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Perales 95 Posted October 26, 2023 Report Share Posted October 26, 2023 20 hours ago, Clutch said: They had Bean Bandit, Lum, and Ranma-chan, if I recall. Maybe if they made them into sign posts it would be worth it. Otherwise, those have limited novelty to today's anime crowd. You would also have to pay licensing fees for their use today. Back in 1994, Otakon was flying under the radar and could get away with using the character boards. I think they also had Priss from Bubblegum Crisis" as well. I can picture Anya Forger from "Spy x Family" pointing the entrance of the "Otachan". Lawrence and Holo from "Spice & Wolf" leading everyone to the Dealer's Room. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Attendee7000 18 Posted October 26, 2023 Report Share Posted October 26, 2023 I'm glad I remembered to get pictures of some of them. These were from 2009 when Otakon was auctioning the remaining standees off. https://imageupload.io/en/l0RMlDU1GMYgMeb https://imageupload.io/hFbc2Y45Jmh5Xg4 https://imageupload.io/V6RzMx3EhbaGfZp https://imageupload.io/GAn1nTRABDnI77r https://imageupload.io/VYH2HWMCXsNWbL1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zeeba Neighba 22 Posted October 28, 2023 Report Share Posted October 28, 2023 On 10/26/2023 at 6:50 PM, Attendee7000 said: I'm glad I remembered to get pictures of some of them. These were from 2009 when Otakon was auctioning the remaining standees off. https://imageupload.io/en/l0RMlDU1GMYgMeb https://imageupload.io/hFbc2Y45Jmh5Xg4 https://imageupload.io/V6RzMx3EhbaGfZp https://imageupload.io/GAn1nTRABDnI77r https://imageupload.io/VYH2HWMCXsNWbL1 Welp...I tried to view those images in my browser, but they got blocked by my antivirus program because of "riskware". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KyoKyo 41 Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 It's funny, back in 1994 Otakon was probably viewed by the locals as some fringe gathering of geeks and weirdos. Now, when I walk into my local Five Below they have Miku posters and my local Target has Spy x Family manga right on the "featured" front shelf. By 2007, Best Buy had an entire aisle devoted to anime DVDs. It's crazy to think how quickly anime has become popular. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Clutch 64 Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 1 hour ago, KyoKyo said: It's funny, back in 1994 Otakon was probably viewed by the locals as some fringe gathering of geeks and weirdos. Now, when I walk into my local Five Below they have Miku posters and my local Target has Spy x Family manga right on the "featured" front shelf. By 2007, Best Buy had an entire aisle devoted to anime DVDs. It's crazy to think how quickly anime has become popular. I think anime/manga peaked and is on the downward side of the curve. F.Y.E., Spencer's, Hot Topic, etc. started carrying anime related material when it became hot, but the selection is going down slowly. Now it is just one genre out of other popular ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Revan 38 Posted November 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 23 hours ago, Clutch said: I think anime/manga peaked and is on the downward side of the curve. F.Y.E., Spencer's, Hot Topic, etc. started carrying anime related material when it became hot, but the selection is going down slowly. Now it is just one genre out of other popular ones. I'd say the merchandise selection being lower is because shopping online has become more prevalent over the years, especially with the lockdown in the past few years. Then again, I've seen anime T-shirts at department stores, the local Barnes & Noble has a section for manga that's the same size, if not larger, than their science fiction section, and there's stuff like Pokemon merchandise in grocery stores and places like Target. There is still stuff out there, but it's not as concentrated in big displays in stores as much as little things here and there. (I was just at a gem show over the weekend, and someone was selling carved figures of Sailor Moon and Pikachu along with the dragons and animals.) As for the 'downward side of the curve', I'd say it's just the opposite now. Back in the early 90s, I got anime at local comic shows, getting tapes through fansubbers in the mail (I was a member of Anime Hasshin back then. I still treasure my copies of the Seishun Shitemasu collection that I was able to get through them.), buying them from Suncoast Video ($30 for 2 episodes on VHS, at times), or occasionally finding tapes when Blockbuster was clearing out old stock. Today, I can go on Amazon Prime and watch shows, my TV gets Pluto and Tubi which have a lot of different shows both streaming and on demand. (I just finished my watch of the original Sailor Moon, and am currently working on season 2 of Jojo.) That's not even including dedicated services like Crunchyroll. Viewers have more choices available now than ever - there are so many popular shows at this point that I probably couldn't name more than 1/2 the characters in the photos I take at Otakon. (I still take the pix even if I don't know who they are - I just like the costumes.) I'd say we're closer to the 'Promised Land of the Otaku' from the message in my opening post than ever, and I'm glad to have been on the ride. N.B. @Clutch It isn't my intention to dunk on you with this. I just got a little long-winded as more examples came to mind as I was typing . I tend to ramble in my old age. 🥰 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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