From uunet!in5.uu.net!newsfeed.xcom.net!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!198.82.160.249!news.vt.edu!solaris.cc.vt.edu!gtebbett Mon Aug 10 12:58:16 1998 Path: uunet!in5.uu.net!newsfeed.xcom.net!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!198.82.160.249!news.vt.edu!solaris.cc.vt.edu!gtebbett From: gtebbett@vt.edu (Geoff Tebbetts) Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.misc Subject: [Otakon] Another Report Date: 10 Aug 1998 13:54:13 GMT Organization: Virginia Tech Lines: 71 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: gtebbett.campus.vt.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Newsreader: Yet Another NewsWatcher 2.4.0 Xref: uunet rec.arts.anime.misc:172791 Well, Monday morning, and I'm back from Otakon. And sick too. Just great. Friday, I decided to leave early to make it to the con and was impressed by the Hyatt, the hotel that contained the con. A nice design and escalators, for a change. The elevators were packed again, and the six in operation really felt like only two. The video and panel rooms were okay, but the AC couldn't stop the 90+ heat at times. There were plently of stocked water stations, so it wasn't extremely bad. After a few panels and a quick dinner, karaoke time. Probably the more disappointing part of the con, the sound system was very lacking, and the event took place in the con suite. The singers could be barely heard; I couldn't even hear myself sing, although I did get some compliments for my song. Opening ceremonies were held before the MAT3K (Mystery Anime Theater 3000) event, which filled the room up quickly. Hiroshi Aro, the creator of Futaba-Kun Change! and You & Me, was there, but Shoji Kawamori of Macross and Escaflowne fame was resting from his trip from Brazil. He crashed in his room as soon as he got there. The MAT3K performance started late, as did many things, but was very funny, a sporting look at Battle Arena Toshinden. Saturday. Woke up late, so rushed out to get lunch. A quick stop in the dealer's room, and then sitting in at Hiroshi Aro's panel. A quiet man, Aro-san had never left Japan until Otakon. He was surprised at the popularity of manga and anime in America, stating it "opened his eyes". I myself was stunned that he's never officially gone to a school for manga. Impressive. Shoji Kawamori's panel was so demanding that it had to be moved to a bigger room. The panel went smoothly after the delay of moving and Kawamori-san looked very pleased to be there. It ran more like a forum, and Kawamori-san had a lot of insight upon his work in Macross and Escaflowne, as well as his lesser-known work in "Kenji no Haru". The Cos-Play. They said it covered 100 costume participants. Some amazing, some not-as, some long. Best In Show went to a very good Doraemon costume, done rather accurately to scale. The other winners included a Sailor Galaxia costume with 30 pounds of hammered metal (!), EVA and Patlabor outfits with mechanical touches of genius, a very cute little Vegita tyke, an ever-neutral presentation by Ruri Hoshino, a roly-poly Genma costume, and a Priss hardsuit, complete with a motorcycle/Motorslave. No reports if this transforms. Sunday wrapped it all up. Another dealer's room trip, and two good interviews. Spoke with Tiffany Grant a little; surprisingly, the VA for Asuka in EVA has appeared in 70 roles in anime, as well as helping out with some subtitling for ADVision. Before, Kawamori-san held an interview, as well, holding it out in the pool area for the press. And no, no one tried to push Kawamori-san in. All in all, a good con. The hotel was very appropriate and the rooms weren't overcrowded. The neighboring Courtyard, where the other rooms were, was also quite understanding of the con, and the staff was very helpful. With the good impressions of the rooms, especially the game room and the dealer's room, there was disappointment, such as the con suite. It was certainly big enough, but I felt too much was happening there: LARP games, karaoke...some people want to go there more to relax. Too much was happening there. I hope Otakon keeps its format and its control. The staff, even with the delays, was under control the whole time. Everything ran how it was supposed to. Congratulations on the performance and hope the sixth and future installments of its kind work out. -- Geoff Tebbetts Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University gtebbett@vt.edu http://www.vt.edu:10021/G/gtebbett/Intro.html