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Yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi 5
a month ago
Attendance at Otakon 2025 (August 8 - 10, Washington, DC) seemed to be down from last year's record number of 46,000 people -- well, that or the check-in/screening process has gotten even more streamlined, 'cause there was hardly any waiting in line for anything over the weekend. (I saw longer lines waiting to get into the revolving sushi bar in Chinatown than I did for anything at the con.)
Each year there's an overwhelming favorite among cosplay characters, and this was the year of Buggy the Clown -- a charismatic, self-obsessed fool who's somehow gathered a large, loyal crew of followers with an unshakeable faith in their leader's nonexistent wisdom and strength. The cosplayers were equally divided between Buggy in his pirate captain garb and Buggy in his prison uniform. Interesting. Conspicuous by his absence this year: Batman, although there was one guy in an excellent Superman costume.
It was
flatrat who uncharacteristically went on a shopping spree in the Dealer's Room, coming home with a cute Nanachi figurine and an armload of out-of-print Blu-rays, but even I managed to score a couple of discs I've been hunting, for a change. No such luck on the manga, though: it's amazing that so many vendors show up with the same shit, and not one of them carries any of the books I want to read. (This is why I still rely on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.)
Neither of us was up to wandering around the huge convention center in search of particular panels and screenings; we found the AMV theater and pretty much stayed there, enjoying a staggering variety of music videos. One of the standouts had Tony Tony Chopper singing "Let It Go," which made me wonder, why is it that two of the last three Disney animated movies -- Wish (2023) and Elio (2025) -- came and went without anyone noticing?
The show we sat through twice was "Anime Openings that SLAP!," a selection of anime openings with great theme songs. The shows are all over the map: comedy, horror, action, fantasy, romantic soap opera...any kind of show can have a rockin' theme song. It was a greatest hits lineup, including but not limited to The Apothecary Diaries, Beastars, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Black Butler: Book of Circus, Chainsaw Man, Dan Da Dan, Dr. Stone, Fire Force, Fullmetal Alchemist, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kill la Kill, Lucky Star, Mob Psycho 100, Naruto, Ouran High School Host Club, Soul Eater, Tokyo Ghoul, Vinland Saga, Yu Yu Hakusho, Btooom!, K-On!, Haikyuu!!, Yuri!!! on Ice, and Serial Experiments Lain (the opening is what finally convinced me to order this 1998 science fiction series that, along with Satoshi Kon's animated thriller Perfect Blue (1997), predicted how the internet would swallow us whole).
Sunday afternoon, we chose to pack it in and come home early. The previous day it had been very pleasant to relax in our favorite bar, but $60 plus tip was excessive for a couple shots of whiskey and a beer chaser. It was better to sit down and unwind at home, where the booze flowed freely (and much more cheaply), and where we could catch up on the isekai foodie show Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. Imagine a 21st century guy who likes to cook getting stuck in a D&D fantasy setting where his only skill -- the ability to magically order groceries from his homeworld online -- allows him to survive and thrive in a world of monsters. You either like this stuff or you don't. Anime has really grown on us.
Each year there's an overwhelming favorite among cosplay characters, and this was the year of Buggy the Clown -- a charismatic, self-obsessed fool who's somehow gathered a large, loyal crew of followers with an unshakeable faith in their leader's nonexistent wisdom and strength. The cosplayers were equally divided between Buggy in his pirate captain garb and Buggy in his prison uniform. Interesting. Conspicuous by his absence this year: Batman, although there was one guy in an excellent Superman costume.
It was
flatrat who uncharacteristically went on a shopping spree in the Dealer's Room, coming home with a cute Nanachi figurine and an armload of out-of-print Blu-rays, but even I managed to score a couple of discs I've been hunting, for a change. No such luck on the manga, though: it's amazing that so many vendors show up with the same shit, and not one of them carries any of the books I want to read. (This is why I still rely on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.)Neither of us was up to wandering around the huge convention center in search of particular panels and screenings; we found the AMV theater and pretty much stayed there, enjoying a staggering variety of music videos. One of the standouts had Tony Tony Chopper singing "Let It Go," which made me wonder, why is it that two of the last three Disney animated movies -- Wish (2023) and Elio (2025) -- came and went without anyone noticing?
The show we sat through twice was "Anime Openings that SLAP!," a selection of anime openings with great theme songs. The shows are all over the map: comedy, horror, action, fantasy, romantic soap opera...any kind of show can have a rockin' theme song. It was a greatest hits lineup, including but not limited to The Apothecary Diaries, Beastars, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Black Butler: Book of Circus, Chainsaw Man, Dan Da Dan, Dr. Stone, Fire Force, Fullmetal Alchemist, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kill la Kill, Lucky Star, Mob Psycho 100, Naruto, Ouran High School Host Club, Soul Eater, Tokyo Ghoul, Vinland Saga, Yu Yu Hakusho, Btooom!, K-On!, Haikyuu!!, Yuri!!! on Ice, and Serial Experiments Lain (the opening is what finally convinced me to order this 1998 science fiction series that, along with Satoshi Kon's animated thriller Perfect Blue (1997), predicted how the internet would swallow us whole).
Sunday afternoon, we chose to pack it in and come home early. The previous day it had been very pleasant to relax in our favorite bar, but $60 plus tip was excessive for a couple shots of whiskey and a beer chaser. It was better to sit down and unwind at home, where the booze flowed freely (and much more cheaply), and where we could catch up on the isekai foodie show Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. Imagine a 21st century guy who likes to cook getting stuck in a D&D fantasy setting where his only skill -- the ability to magically order groceries from his homeworld online -- allows him to survive and thrive in a world of monsters. You either like this stuff or you don't. Anime has really grown on us.
Like you said, it's hard to tell if there were more or fewer people there this year because of the ease with which we were able to move around. The check in and security measures they've set up this year speeded up the process of everything! The Friday crowd was huge but the Saturday crowd was the most crowded we've ever seen it! Didn't stop things from moving smoothly though. You really gotta give credit to these OTACON crowds; they know how to behave themselves and treat each other with good natured courtesy and respect! The very real possibility that the attendance was lower this year could have a lot to do with the economy. Attending a show like this would cause a big hit to anyone's pocketbook and things look a little chancy right now. We're so lucky this is in our backyard!
The AMV's we attended were a lot of fun but the most fascinating one for me was the "MAKE YOUR OWN AMV "program! The moderators of this panel literally guided the near capacity crowd toward the making of a unique AMV done within the hour! The crowd, with the help of the moderators, created a song about a bad cat, wearing sunglasses, who had lived a terrible life and was down to the last of its nine lives. It was incredible to watch the music artist create a theme song using the computer tools that must be the standard in the recording industry now, and assemble it all in such a short time. An artist was there creating an "anime", for the soundtrack but, at the last minute, they couldn't get it to load to the website the moderator was using so we didn't get to see the anime. WE did get to hear the finished song and it was hilarious! Interestingly, I heard part of a discussion on NPR on Monday about how the "MUSIC INDUSTRY", that has always controlled things, has now, because of AI, LOST control of music creation and distribution and the "INDUSTRY', now had to find some way to re-establish its hold on things.
Yeah, it was nice to sit and have a relaxing drink in our favorite bar on Saturday but the price surge on things like the quality alcohol we now drink, (and that I'm now drinking because of YOU), make it all the more plain that the best place to drink quality is AT HOME! We also took advantage of the situation to have top quality SUSHI at our favorite restaurant Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, it makes the stuff we've been getting at Whole Foods look pretty lame and unappetizing!
This weekend was SO GREAT! The weather was cool, the con was FUN and the food was top rate! And, I got to go with YOU! What could be better than that?!