“Ten years later, and here I am, back at the scene of the crime. I can’t help but be drawn to this place, this sleepy little community at the end of the Light Rail. My palms are sweaty, my breath short, my heart skips a beat. The ghosts of my past haunt me, compel me to pay homage to the events of a decade prior.”

 

So much can happen over the course of a decade. Lives change, fads come and go, companies rise and fall and new companies take their place. A hobby can grow into a full-fledged obsession, while a small, intimate gathering of like-minded individuals can turn into the must-attend event of the year.

 

In the spring of 1997, I happened across a small slip of paper that would seriously muck up my life. It doesn’t sound like much, just a flyer for an anime convention in a small suburb north of Baltimore. After all, Otakon was a fledgling con, drawing fewer than two thousand attendees, and I was a fledgling fanboy, the ultimate newbie, a fringe player in a fringe culture. Fast forward a decade, and Otakon is more populated than most American towns, while I’ve become an otaku in the truest Six Degrees of Megumi Hayashibara *, Japanese connotation of otaku sense.

 

I like to think that in a way, Otakon’s growth has matched my own. The fan culture, and Otakon’s place in it, has become much more mainstream; I’ve become much more involved in the culture, and in creative ventures as a whole. (Also, Otakon’s become physically bigger, as have I – this does not please me as much.) With that in mind, I’ve decided to a meander down memory lane, starting by visiting the site of my first anime convention ten years ago.

 

Just a Taste – Otakon 1997

Hunt Valley Inn, Hunt Valley, MD

 

“Come on, drive faster, we’re going to be late!”

 

In 1997, I was still an anime neophyte: I didn’t have a single wall scroll, model, figure, plushie, laserdisc, soundtrack, cel, pencil board, art book, fansub, etc., etc. to my name – of course, back then, I didn’t know much about the trappings of a true fan. Let’s just say I was proud of my Tenchi collection, and leave it at that. All the warning signs were in place, though – I lived with my mom, I never had any cash, and I thrived on Saturday morning cartoons. I was on the threshold of otakudom, and Otakon ’97 would be my gateway con.

 

For you see, O ’97 was the perfect size for a n00b’s first convention. Back then, Otakon drew 1,750 attendees (less than a tenth of the number expected this weekend), so one could take it all in without getting completely overwhelmed. Still, there was so much to see – cosplayers, artists, voice actors, music videos, the dealer’s room – I was in love. Oh, and Ippongi Bang in a Lum bikini – that was pretty memorable, too.

 

How could I not come back?

 

Brother, Can You Spare a C-Note? – Otakon 1998

Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA

 

What defines an addict? Is it someone who will do anything to get the money to pay for a fix? In that case, I’m an Otakon addict. In August of ’98, I had been out of work for four months, completely unable to pay the rent or for food. It was only by the good grace of my friends that I wasn’t totally despondent. I couldn’t ask them for the money for Otakon, though, so I wound up turning to family. I made my case, by which I mean I practically got on my knees and begged, and my mom lent me $100 for the weekend. Yes, that’s right, I had $100 for Otakon; good thing it was practically in my backyard.

 

Turns out being broke was the best thing to happen to me. I had enough for registration, and enough for eats over the weekend, and just enough left over for a con t-shirt. Otherwise, I was pretty limited in what I could do. I decided I would go to the Magic Knight Rayearth marathon, but when I got to the video room, another show was on – a little comedy called Kodomo no Omocha (aka Child’s Toy). I fell in love with the show instantly – from the opening sequence to the goofy cliffhangers, Sana’s manic singing to the deep emo stuff. But alas, alack, Kodocha wasn’t commercially available*! I wanted it, I had to have it, and so, I wound up deep in the world of fansub distribution. It wasn’t long after that I started buying collectibles from import houses, tracking down hard-to-find CDs, and dropping what few dollars I had left on eBay. The face of my fandom had been changed forever.

 

Back and Big Time in Baltimore – Otakon 1999

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

In 1999, Otakon traded up. No longer able to be confined to a single hotel, O ’99 was held at the Baltimore Convention Center for the first time.

 

Now here we were, smack dab in the heart of a major American city, walking distance from a major tourist attraction in the middle of summer. Needless to say, the Inner Harbor was not ready for the Invincible Otaku Army. Picture yourself – OK, maybe not yourself but your sweet grey-haired great aunt – walking along the Harbor, buying tickets to go see the sharks at the Aquarium, when all of a sudden, you spot a guy with spiky blonde hair and a ginormous sword walking toward you. Do you:

1. Run
2. Stare
3. Engage in polite conversation
4. All of the above 

Now that the convention was located on the Inner Harbor, people-watching became elevated to the level of Olympic spectator sport.

 

Growing Pains – Otakon 2000

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

I’m sure our hosts won’t want to hear this, but in 2000, I started to worry that maybe Otakon was getting too big. Like most cons, Otakon’s attendance was growing from one year to the next; however, nobody could have expected Otakon tripling in size between 1998 and 2000. We still only used a part of the BCC, so attendees were literally butting heads to get from one side of the con to the other. Take me, for example – I had gone to the bôa* concert at Opening Ceremonies in Main Events. The next event in that room was MAT3K – something I had NEVER missed – but when I got out of the concert, the line was already practically out the door. Much to my shame, I did what no self-respecting otaku would do when confronted with a line: I bailed.

 

Also, it was the only time I’d ever heard of a fast food restaurant running out of food. The Burger King across the street had to close; oddly, I derived a bit of perverse joy out of that. I felt we, the I.O.A., had arrived as a defining force. Ready yourself, gird your grills, for WE are coming.

 

Now, I don’t want to sound like I didn’t have a great time – of course I did. bôa was incredible, the Dealer’s Room was astronomical, and for the first time, I get to experience the madness that is the cosplay. It only took me four years to see a cosplay – it would be another three before I donned a costume myself, but that’s another story and will be told another time.

 

Um, Who Could’ve Known? – Otakon 2001

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

It’s hard for me to remember a lot about Otakon 2001. I remember that it was my “10/5” – my tenth anime convention and fifth Otakon. I remember dragging along a coworker who’d never been to an anime con before. I remember the Boston Red Sox were in town to play the Orioles, and I remember there being an underground explosion that shut down the street behind the BCC, which, looking back, was an eerie omen. The weekend itself – not so much. What I do remember clearly is what happened about a month after the convention. I live in DC, and back then, I had to commute through the Metro station at the Pentagon to get to work. I also have friends in New York, so the morning of 9/11 was spent furiously calling people to either assure them I was alright, or check to see if they were alright. Con-going didn’t seem as important anymore, and I sank into a depression that I wouldn’t shake for several months, or until…

 

The Year of Conning Dangerously – Otakon 2002

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

I had to get myself out of the house – I’d been cooped up too long. So when I went out, I went out with a vengeance. Otakon was one of eight conventions I attended in 2002, and the biggest, and the best. I’d ranged as far north as Hartford, CT, as far south as Orlando, FL, and as far west as Dallas, TX, and for my money, Otakon was still tops. Example: the morning of the convention, I was standing in line to register, when out of nowhere, we were hit by a storm I affectionately dubbed Hurricane Baka. We all got soaked – I had an umbrella and still got soaked – when Otakon and the BCC opened the doors an hour early and brought everyone in out of the rain. That’s the kind of organization and awareness that you don’t see at every con.

 

It also led to one of those “I could just kick myself” moments. While we were inside, I spotted a Sakura Kinomoto cosplayer in line ahead of me. She had on the schoolgirl outfit, complete with the hat, and she was looking out the window forlornly at the rain. There are people that can make a costume right down to the very smallest detail and miss the mark once they put it on, but this girl had the very essence of Sakura-ness down pat. It was like a scene straight out of the show, and it would have made an incredible candid shot, maybe one of the best cosplay pictures ever, IF I HAD ONLY BOTHERED TO BRING A CAMERA!

 

Oh well. Maybe next time.

 

Who Wants to be a Cosplayer? – Otakon 2003

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

I have a dream. If I ever hit the lottery, I want to buy a block of seats at an Orioles game and fill it with cosplayers. I want a message on the Jumbotron – “The Orioles welcome the Invincible Otaku Army.” I want to be on the local news, no, I want to be on ESPN! I want Stuart Scott to give the highlights: “And in Baltimore, a foul ball was caught by a man wearing a sailor fuku.”

 

It’ll never happen, but it would be cool.

 

In 2003, my sister and I cosplayed for the first time. She dressed up as Ed from Cowboy Bebop – back then, of course, you didn’t have to specify which Ed, it was assumed that you meant Cowboy Bebop. I dressed up as Kabapu from Excel Saga. I’d never seen anyone do him before, I was the right size, I had the gold suit, we could make the wig and mustache, no problem. After all, we had the base, the real hair, and the glue. It’ll be a piece of cake. Wrong. We decided we were going to cosplay on Saturday, so we would put everything together Friday night. Twelve hours later…

 

If you’re going to cosplay, keep in mind that you really won’t be able to do much of anything else. Between the picture requests, the constant adjusting, the itchiness, etc., etc., I was way too distracted to fully enjoy the con.  Still it was worth it – we had lots of fun, lots of laughs, and I have a professionally taken picture of myself I cannot show to anyone. The kicker? Someone had cosplayed as Kabapu on Friday. D’oh!

 

Anime + Music = AMVs. The World Can Be Saved By AMVs – Otakon 2004

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

So, way back in ’97, I’d fallen in love with AMVs. I’d seen the hobby evolve from the two-VCR method, through the video toaster, into the computer age. Anyone with a fairly fast processor and enough memory can make an AMV these days, so in 2004, I decided to try my hand. If you saw the contest, naota’s lament was mine – I tried to take FLCL in a different direction, away from the frenetic pace of the show into something a little more sedate and nostalgic. I was proud of my video, and excited to be in the contest, but I became a little obsessive. It was all I could think about; after all, Otakon’s AMV contest is one of the biggest in the country. I spent the whole weekend alternating between nervous and boastful, and I’m pretty sure I drove anyone around me crazy.

 

To take my mind off of the contest, we decided to spend some time away from the BCC. We took the water taxi over to Fells Point, wandered the edges of the Harbor, and ate in Little Italy. Oh, yes, we also went to a very scary Safeway. Baltimore has a lot to offer, and we took full advantage. Bopping around is an excellent way to decompress after a particularly long day of con-going, and I highly recommend it. 

PS: Honorable mention, Romantic/Sentimental. Not to brag.

 

All Your Inner Harbor Are Belong to Us – Otakon 2005

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

2005 was a watershed year, for myself and for Otakon. For the first time, Otakon had to put a cap on attendance, and for the first time I spent more time away from the convention than at the convention. That’s not a reflection on Otakon – once again it was incredible – but a reflection on myself. I had another AMV in the contest, but otherwise, I didn’t have any plans for the con. Could it be? Was I burnt out?

 

Nah. I don’t think so. I think it’s that when I go to Otakon nowadays, it’s more a vacation than a convention. So we wing it a little bit, explore beyond the walls of the BCC, check out other parts of the city. We leave the lines and the crowds to the kids, and we hang with the citizens. Oh, we still have fun – remember the crab statues around the Harbor last year? I have a whole series of pictures of cosplayers “scratching my crabs.”

 

But in the ten years since my first convention, I’ve seen the whole anime world change. Anime has migrated from VHS to LD to DVD, effectively rendering the whole sub-versus-dub argument moot. Manga has moved from the back of the comic book shop to the front of major chain bookstores. Fansubs, once sent to you on tape in the mail, are now easily downloadable from the Web – but they’re just as illegal. Anime’s place in popular culture has grown from mere Saturday morning fare to Oscar-winning full-length films. J-pop bands now schedule American tours. Anime conventions make the news. And Otakon has grown from a small con with 1,750 attendees in 1997 to a major event that will draw 25,000 this weekend, an event that brings tens of millions of dollars into Baltimore’s economy.

 

I’ve changed, too. I’ve learned how to travel, how to plan and budget, how to edit and how to sew, even how to socialize through my experiences at conventions. I’ve been to places I would never have visited, I’ve seen things I would never have seen, and I’ve done things I would never have done.

 

I’ve become involved.

 

What’s Next? – Otakon 2006

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

 

I don’t know. That’s what I’m here to find out.