Otakon
Pookah and I attended Otakon this year (along with our friend JF, and thousands of other con-goers). It was my first time back since 2006.
The grandparents chipped in and babysat the kiddos, so that we could go solo Fri. and Sat., including attending longer workshops/episodes/signings as desired. Sometimes we stuck together; sometimes we split up to do different things in the same time slot, then met-up afterward. I opted for no costuming this year; I preferred low-key prep after we got the kiddos fed and settled. (And Fri. I was coming off an early-morning stop at TotSwap with J, and bringing back one big and a few small finds from there.)
We arrived shortly before lunchtime each day, so we caught stuff mid-day and early evening before heading home. The only signing line I got in was to hang with pookah while he waited for his turn to talk to Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh on Friday. Anime-wise, I caught an episode of 'Bamboo Blade' (eh, not that impressed), and most of the 'This is Otakudom' parody (which amused me). I'd tagged a couples others as possibles, but it didn't pan out. Although now having seen the intro. and intro. song for 'Eden of the East', I'm intrigued and will keep an eye out for it when it comes out in September. (Pookah's interested, too.)
But event wise, my favorites were definitely the panels for 'What's the Point of Anime Intro and Ending Themes?' (good presentation and mix of historical reference and clips) and 'Anime in Academia' (packed room, good mix of panelists, ongoing notes/asides, etc.). Pookah and I also had hopes for 'Bending the Elements: Kung Fu and Asian Influences in Avatar: The Last Airbender', and JF tagged along. But the panelists, however knowledgeable, were really bad at presenting (dry run, anyone? :-P). I learned which kung fu style was aligned with which elemental style, but it could have been SO much better.
Wandering artist alley, the art auction, and the merch room was fun, and we picked up a few art pieces for our binder at home (as we're pretty much out of wall space). We saw Little B at his AA booth for Amu's World. And, in the main merch room, I scouted for a Kurogane and/or Fay figurine (from 'Tsubasa: RC'). No dice, but I found a Fay one (circa 2006) after the convention, via Ebay, but I'm not sure a corresponding Kurogane one exists.
And a favorite part of any anime convention (for me) is looking at all the costumes, both well-done and not-so-much. I don't know as many newer anime titles/references as pookah and JF, but regardless, I love costuming detail when done well. (And sometimes, pointing out the 'holy crap' when it's done badly.) One of my favorites this year was a 'simpler'-looking costume that looks like it took a lot of time/TLC -- a Final Fantasy tonberry! Also in the FF vein, I encountered a very well done FFX Lulu (with whom I chatted about the logistics of hanging the belts in the skirt, etc., as it's a favorite FF character of mine), and later Auron. Also two good two-person costume combos -- Jin and Fuu (from 'Samurai Champloo') spotted in the merch room, and Kurogane and Fay (from 'Tsubasa') randomly spotted outside. The latter was Sat., after everyone had to vacate the convention center after someone pulled a fire alarm (boo for stupid people, but yea for lucky costume find!) Here's the photos I took at Otakon.
Food-wise, we did runs to Harborplace -- an Irish place for Fri. dinner (eh, not that impressed, places closer to home are better), Hooters for lunch following the fire alarm (actually, my offering, as I like their food, and don't mind the atmosphere), and Noodles and Co. for Sat. dinner.
-sb
P.S. We'd originally thought of bringing the kiddos Sun. to walk around and people-watch, but I opted to stay home that day, and pookah went for 1-2 things and then came home. So they got a pass on the masses and busy hallways of Otakon. We'll try bringing them to a smaller convention in the coming year.
The grandparents chipped in and babysat the kiddos, so that we could go solo Fri. and Sat., including attending longer workshops/episodes/signings as desired. Sometimes we stuck together; sometimes we split up to do different things in the same time slot, then met-up afterward. I opted for no costuming this year; I preferred low-key prep after we got the kiddos fed and settled. (And Fri. I was coming off an early-morning stop at TotSwap with J, and bringing back one big and a few small finds from there.)
We arrived shortly before lunchtime each day, so we caught stuff mid-day and early evening before heading home. The only signing line I got in was to hang with pookah while he waited for his turn to talk to Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh on Friday. Anime-wise, I caught an episode of 'Bamboo Blade' (eh, not that impressed), and most of the 'This is Otakudom' parody (which amused me). I'd tagged a couples others as possibles, but it didn't pan out. Although now having seen the intro. and intro. song for 'Eden of the East', I'm intrigued and will keep an eye out for it when it comes out in September. (Pookah's interested, too.)
But event wise, my favorites were definitely the panels for 'What's the Point of Anime Intro and Ending Themes?' (good presentation and mix of historical reference and clips) and 'Anime in Academia' (packed room, good mix of panelists, ongoing notes/asides, etc.). Pookah and I also had hopes for 'Bending the Elements: Kung Fu and Asian Influences in Avatar: The Last Airbender', and JF tagged along. But the panelists, however knowledgeable, were really bad at presenting (dry run, anyone? :-P). I learned which kung fu style was aligned with which elemental style, but it could have been SO much better.
Wandering artist alley, the art auction, and the merch room was fun, and we picked up a few art pieces for our binder at home (as we're pretty much out of wall space). We saw Little B at his AA booth for Amu's World. And, in the main merch room, I scouted for a Kurogane and/or Fay figurine (from 'Tsubasa: RC'). No dice, but I found a Fay one (circa 2006) after the convention, via Ebay, but I'm not sure a corresponding Kurogane one exists.
And a favorite part of any anime convention (for me) is looking at all the costumes, both well-done and not-so-much. I don't know as many newer anime titles/references as pookah and JF, but regardless, I love costuming detail when done well. (And sometimes, pointing out the 'holy crap' when it's done badly.) One of my favorites this year was a 'simpler'-looking costume that looks like it took a lot of time/TLC -- a Final Fantasy tonberry! Also in the FF vein, I encountered a very well done FFX Lulu (with whom I chatted about the logistics of hanging the belts in the skirt, etc., as it's a favorite FF character of mine), and later Auron. Also two good two-person costume combos -- Jin and Fuu (from 'Samurai Champloo') spotted in the merch room, and Kurogane and Fay (from 'Tsubasa') randomly spotted outside. The latter was Sat., after everyone had to vacate the convention center after someone pulled a fire alarm (boo for stupid people, but yea for lucky costume find!) Here's the photos I took at Otakon.
Food-wise, we did runs to Harborplace -- an Irish place for Fri. dinner (eh, not that impressed, places closer to home are better), Hooters for lunch following the fire alarm (actually, my offering, as I like their food, and don't mind the atmosphere), and Noodles and Co. for Sat. dinner.
-sb
P.S. We'd originally thought of bringing the kiddos Sun. to walk around and people-watch, but I opted to stay home that day, and pookah went for 1-2 things and then came home. So they got a pass on the masses and busy hallways of Otakon. We'll try bringing them to a smaller convention in the coming year.