Otakon 2011, with a crowd of over 31,000 attendees, was without a doubt one of the largest events of the summer for fans of Japanese popular culture. Fans from across the country crowded Baltimore's inner harbor to view films, attend panels, and interact with both American industry guests and ones brought over from Japam. Fans and industry representatives joining together to show the best the community had to offer.
Otakon 2011, with a crowd of over 31,000 attendees, was without a doubt one of the largest events of the summer for fans of Japanese popular culture. Fans from across the country crowded Baltimore's inner harbor to view films, attend panels, and interact with both American industry guests and ones brought over from Japam. Fans and industry representatives joining together to show the best the community had to offer. During the three day convention, I was able to attend three concerts and several panels, and I am happy to have had the chance to share some of that experience here. In the first of my Otakon 2011 articles, I will give a general overview of this year's convention. Panels and feedback will be covered later in the series.
Otakon occupies the entirety of the Baltimore Convention center, which offers a large number of rooms ranging from small panel rooms to ballrooms and enormous exhibition halls capable of holding thousands of attendees. The BCC is generally a clean, well-maintained venue and is capable of supporting the masses of people in attendance. During peak hours, the hallways can get very crowded, especially with people stopping to socialize, check schedules, and a variety of other activities, but convention staff are always around to encourage people to keep moving and not crowd vital areas
The convention staff, industry representatives, and fans involved in planning the convention carefully ensure that there are a variety of panels, showings, and workshops offered throughout the weekend. There is far too much for one individual or even a moderately sized group to find a way to attend even the events that cater to a specific fanbase. This year's lineup was as packed with content as usual, with prominent companies such as Bandai Entertainment, Viz Media, Funimation Entertainment, Aniplex, and even Japanese giant Sunrise in attendance. A number of American voice actots were on hand, as were Japanese guests such as directors Makoto Shinkai and Noboru Ishigoro.
One of the amazing factors in play at Otakon is the diversity of the fans that flock to Baltimore for it. Some attendees forgo the many panels and other organized events completely in favor of meeting up with other fans with similar interests. Some attend mainly to show their love of series costumes they have made, or to photograph other cosplayers. Nearly all attendees, however, end up in the Dealer's Room, and many also visit Artist's Alley. These are the commercial heart of Otakon, where vendors and independent artists come together to peddle their wares.
The Dealer's Room at a large convention like Otakon is one of the best places outside of the Internet for locating Japanese merchandise, tracking down hard to find DVDs and graphic novels, and Is all-around an amazing place for an anime fan to spend money. This year, several major companies had booths offering their latest titles, in several cases before the official release. Bandai and Aniplex shared a large booth and and held events including autograph signings, cosplay gatherings, mini-concerts, and even a Stamp Rally to receive a free pencil board. Funimation, which also had an oversized booth, offered autograph signings as well.
Artist's Alley is akin to a smaller sibling of the Dealer's Room, with a lower number of vendors, most of which consisted of individuals or small groups. Some stalls sold creations such as shirts, bags, and pins of original characters and creatures, but the majority of artists instead sell derivative art featuring popular characters and series. Some extra activities such as an art show and auction are held in Artist's Alley as well, but despite being open longer hours it remains a far less active and crowded place than the Dealer's Room.