From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Otakon
Status	Active
Venue	Baltimore Convention Center
Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Country	United States
First held	1994
Organizer	Otakorp, Inc.
Attendance	22,852 in 2007
Official website

Otakon is a fan convention focusing on the art of anime and manga, East Asian culture, and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku. Otakon is traditionally held on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in late summer at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district. It is considered the second largest and one of the longest-running Anime conventions in the United States.

Contents 1 Programming 2 History 2.1 Otakon 1994 2.2 Otakon 1995 2.3 Otakon 1996 2.4 Otakon 1997 2.5 Otakon 1998 2.6 Otakon 1999 2.7 Otakon 2000 2.8 Otakon 2001 2.9 Otakon 2002 2.10 Otakon 2003 2.11 Otakon 2004 2.12 Otakon 2005 2.13 Otakon 2006 2.14 Otakon 2007 2.15 Otakon 2008 3 Otakorp 4 Future expansion 4.1 Four-day convention 4.2 Facility Expansion Options 5 References 6 External links

As one of the longest running and largest conventions of its type, Otakon offers a very broad range of programming, exhibits, and other events. Typical Otakon programming includes:^{[citation needed]}

• Multiple video rooms in which anime and live action Asian films are shown on big screens throughout the convention. Fan-produced content including fan-parodies and anime music videos are also shown. In recent years, Otakon has also dedicated a theater to running 35mm films.
• Panels and workshops on subjects such as voice acting, how to draw manga, Japanese culture, and a variety of other topics. Industry professionals announce new acquisitions, and expert guests discuss or show tricks of their trade and field questions from the audience. Many panels and workshops are conducted by fans rather than pros.
• A "Dealers' Room" in which commercial vendors such as publishers and retailers set up booths and sell anime- and manga-related merchandise.
• "The Alley", an artists alley with writers, musicians, and craftspeople as well, and an art show for amateur artists to display, advertise, sell, and auction their artwork.
• A video game room for console, arcade, and computer games, with tournaments scheduled throughout the weekend.
• Musical performances throughout the weekend. Since 2003, there has been at least one concert at each convention featuring a Japanese musical guest.
• The "Otakurave", a late-night dance party hosted by Baltimore-Washington area (and sometimes national) DJ's.
• Cosplay and a skit-based Masquerade show. Many attendees spend most of the convention in costume as their favorite anime, manga, or video game character. Many enter daily contests, and some participate in skits in the Masquerade show, one of the largest convention events.
• Weekend-long anime-themed live-action role-playing with hundreds of participants.
• Opportunities to meet guests and collect autographs.
• A special children's track called Ota-chan.

Tens of thousands of people attend Otakon each year. Attendees arriving in the morning on Friday should expect to spend a couple hours in line to pick up their badges, though the lines are generally gone by Friday afternoon. Attendees who have pre-registered can arrive on Thursday to pick up their registration badges so they can gain instant access to all the convention events on Friday.^[1]

The first Otakon was held from July 29 to July 31, 1994 at the Days Inn hotel in State College, Pennsylvania with 350 attendees. Guests included Robert DeJesus, Neil Nadelman, Lorraine Savage, Sue Shambaugh, and Jeff Thompson. Programming included two theaters, two live programming tracks, a video game room, and a small art show.^[2]

In 1995, Otakon moved to the Penn State Scanticon hotel in State College, Pennsylvania and hosted 450 attendees. Guests included Teruo Kakuta, Toshio Okada, Toren Smith, and Adam Warren. Programming was expanded to three 24-hour anime theaters, a 24-hour Live-Action theater, three panel rooms and a workshop track.

This was Otakon's first and only attempt at a four-day convention. This was also the first year to have a dedicated live-action video track and the first year to feature live-action role-playing and a Masquerade.^[3]

In 1996, Otakon moved to the Hunt Valley Marriott hotel in Hunt Valley, Maryland and hosted 1,000 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett, Robert DeJesus, Masaomi Kanzaki, Matt Lunsford, Neil Nadelman, Steve Pearl, Sue Shambaugh, Jeff Thompson, and Adam Warren. Programming featured three anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, two panel rooms and a workshop room.^[4]

There was an impromptu rave at Otakon '96. Staffer Mark Sachs developed and released a custom DOOM level laid out like the Hunt Valley Marriott using the "Priss DOOM" WAD^[5], based on the anime Bubblegum Crisis and featuring the character Priscilla S. Asagiri.

Otakon remained in the Hunt Valley Marriott hotel in 1997, and hosted 1,750 attendees. Guests included Ippongi Bang, Kuni Kimura, and Matt Lunsford. Programming included four anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, and two workshops. The impromptu rave of Otakon '96 also became an official event.^[6]

In 1998, Otakon moved to the Hyatt Regency Crystal City hotel in Arlington, Virginia and hosted 2,500 attendees. Guests included Hiroshi Aro, Tiffany Grant, Shoji Kawamori, Kuni Kimura, Tristan MacAvery, Lisa Ortiz, and Jan Scott-Frazier. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, two panel rooms and two workshops.^[7]

Otakon moved to the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Otakon '99 hosted 4,500 attendees. Guests included Chris Beveridge, Tiffany Grant, Amy Howard-Wilson, Mari Iijima, Kuni Kimura, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Shin Kurokawa, Kazuto Nakazawa, Fred Schodt, and Shinichiro Watanabe. Also, Otakon had its first musical guest, with composer Yoko Kanno. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, two workshops and a concert.

1999 marked a year of transition for Otakon, as it moved from using hotels to a large convention center. The Baltimore Convention Center remains to this day as its official venue.^[8]

Otakon 2000 hosted 7,500 attendees. Guests included Yoshitoshi ABe, Mandy Bonhomme, Amy Howard-Wilson, Kunihiko Ikuhara, Ian Kim, Steve Pearl, Gilles Poitras, Yasuyuki Ueda, and Hong Kong action star Simon Yam. Programming included six anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, two workshops and a concert by the British indie band Bôa.^[9]

Otakon 2001 hosted 10,275 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett,Rodney "Largo" Caston, Jo Chen, Colleen Doran, Fred Gallagher, Tiffany Grant, Scott Houle, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Ian Kim, Shin Kurokawa, Masao Maruyama, Hikaru Midorikawa, Fred Perry, Gilles Poitras, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Adam Warren, and Pamela Weidner. Programming included six anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, three panel rooms, a workshop and a kids live programming track entitled Otachan. There was no musical guest this year.^[10]

Otakon 2002 hosted 12,880 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett, Chris Beveridge, Rodney "Largo" Caston, Fred Gallagher, Yoko Ishida, Wendee Lee (cancelled due to an injury), Masao Maruyama, Yutaka Minowa, Kiroyuki Morioka, Neil Nadelman, Yasuhiro Nightow, Fred Perry, Gilles Poitras, Tatsuo Sato, Lianne, and the crew from the DBZ fansite Twisted Worlds Message Board (TWMB), featuring Lourdes as Naga, Omega F, Zen "PimpWalk Blue Suede Boots" (commonly known as the Trifecta), and others. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, three panel rooms, a workshop, a kids live programming track, catered food from Kennedy Fried Chicken, and a concert.

This was the first year that Otakon occupied the entire Baltimore Convention Center, which is over one million square feet (93,000 m²) in size.^[11]

Otakon 2003, also referred to as Otakon X, hosted 17,338 attendees. Guests included Steve Bennett, Mandy Bonhomme, Johnny Yong Bosch, Justin Cook, Julie Davis, Robert DeJesus, Brian Drummond, Fred Gallagher, Scott Houle, Yoshiaki Iwasaki, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Itsuro Kawasaki, Tsukasa Kotobuki, Pontus Madsen, Masao Maruyama, Rica Matsumoto, Dr. Susan Napier, Satoshi Nishimura, Fred Schodt, Jan Scott-Frazier, and Pamela Weidner. Musical guests included Kristine Sa and T.M.Revolution. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, four panel rooms, two workshops, a kids live action programming track, and a concert.^[12]

Otakon surpassed Anime Expo as the largest convention in 2003 with 17,338 paid attendees, representing a 35% increase since the previous year. Anime Expo brought in 17,000 attendees that year.^[13]

Otakon 2004 hosted 20,899 attendees. Guests included Matt Boyd, Siu-Tung "Tony" Ching, Luci Christian, Koge Donbo, Richard Epcar, Christian Fundin, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Chuck Huber, Pontus Madsen, Ian McConville, Yutaka Minowa, Ichiro Okouch, Ananth Panagariya, Chris Patton, Monica Rial, Chris Sabat, Tatsuo Sato, Yuzo Sato, Lianne Sentar, and Matt Thorn. Musical guests included Angela and L'Arc-en-Ciel in their first U.S. appearance. Programming included five anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, three panel rooms, two workshops, a kids live programming track and two concerts. Also, Otakon featured a collectible card game tournament and a "manga library" in which attendees could read donated copies of various manga.^[14]

Japanese rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel made their first U.S. appearance as Otakon 2004's musical guest. Held in a separate venue, the nearby 1st Mariner Arena, the concert drew an estimated 12,000 attendees.^{[citation needed]}

Otakon 2005 hosted 22,000 attendees. Guests included Greg Ayres, Katie Bair, Matt Boyd, Brian Carroll, Luci Christian, Justin Cook, Richard Ian Cox, Huw "Lem" Davies, Ben Dunn, Christian Fundin, Fred Gallagher, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Yoshinori Kanemori, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Dave Lister, Pontus Madsen, Masao Maruyama, Ian McConville, Mike McFarlan, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Scott McNeil, Vic Mignogna, Mitsukazu Mihara, Seiji Mizushima, Ananth Panagariya, Fred Perry, Scott Ramsoomair, Xero Reynolds, Monica Rial, Michelle Ruff, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, and Toshifumi Yoshida. Musical guests included the Indigo, Piano Squall, Orin, Entertainment System, Pine*AM, and Kumiko Kato. Programming included four anime theaters, a Hong Kong theater, a fan/parody theater, a 35mm theater, three panel rooms, three workshops, a kids live programming track, and seven concerts.^[15]

Otakon instituted an attendance cap, limiting registrations to 22,000 attendees. The Baltimore Convention Center's maximum occupancy rate, depending on the layout and use, is somewhere between 23,000 and 25,000 (including all staff, guests, dealers, industry, and press). Otakon decided on the conservative 22,000 limit to ensure compliance with fire codes, as well as providing adequate crowd control and ability to provide for the public safety.^{[citation needed]} Otakon also phased out individual day passes, only offering full three-day passes.^[15]

Puffy AmiYumi, who briefly made a stop at Otakon during their tour, got a large article in the Baltimore Sun.^[16]

Otakon 2006 hosted 22,302 attendees. Guests included Christine Auten, Troy Baker, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Christian Fundin, Fred Gallagher, Caitlin Glass, Kate Higgins, Kouta Hirano, Hirotsugu Kawasaki, Ayako Kawasumi, Nana Kitade, Yuri Lowenthal, Pontus Madsen, Masao Maruyama, Mike McFarland, Mucc, Kazuto Nakazawa, Monica Rial, Antimere Robinson, Patrick Seitz, Makoto Tateno, Nobuteru Yuuki, and Yoshiki Hayashi.^[17]

Membership rates rose to $50 before July 7th ($60 afterwards). The attendance cap was raised to 25,000, mostly thanks to the space freed up by moving Masquerade events into the First Mariner Arena on Saturday of the convention.^{[citation needed]} However, Otakon did not reach the attendance cap.^[18] Also, the convention made use of a new concert venue (Ram's Head Live) for two concerts which featured the performing musical guests.^{[citation needed]}

Also, Aramark, the convention center's official food vendor, began working more closely with Otakon to answer attendee issues with their service. Aramark set up many booths in key areas of the convention (as opposed to only a handful of locations). The booths served sushi, Ramune, and again, Pocky. The food was also less expensive than in previous years. As Jim Vowles stated in a 2006 interview done prior to Otakon 2006:

Oh, most definitely. It's a totally different climate from someone who wasn't interested in working with us, to someone who's eager to do so. The old guard was unwilling to realize that we were unlike the "suit" conventions full of businessmen on expense accounts. The new guy, who's from New Zealand, brings a much welcome enthusiasm to the plate. His first words were "tell me how we can better serve your convention", and when we said "well first of all, be cheaper", he said "we can do that". We're looking at a much improved and increased presence — things like movie theatre snacks in the 35mm room, a food stand in the Art Hall, drink/snack vendors in the Dealer's room, better and more appropriate offerings in the main cafe. They want our business, and they want YOUR business, and they're prepared to act like it. Say goodbye to lukewarm, stale pizza; they're going to go for stuff that they're better at and that keeps better.^[19]

This article or section needs to be updated. Parts of this article or section are no longer up to date. Please update the article to reflect recent events, and remove this template when finished.

Otakon 2007 was held at the Baltimore Convention Center from July 20 to July 22, 2007.^[20] Otakon 2007 hosted 22,852 attendees. The Otakon 2007 guests included: English voice actors Steve Blum, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Aaron Dismuke, Vic Mignogna, Jennifer Sekiguchi, and Mike Sinterniklaas; webcomic artists Pontus Madsen and Christian Fundin from Little Gamers as well as Fred Gallagher of Megatokyo; Japanese voice actors Mamiko Noto and Tomokazu Seki; directors Morio Asaka (NANA) and Kenji Kodama (CITY HUNTER, DETECTIVE CONAN); YTV producer Michihiko Suwa and producer/webmaster Steve Yun (Robotech); manga-ka Maki Murakami (Gravitation); and live action director Ryuhei Kitamura. The Otakon 2007 musical guests were announced as pop band AAA (Attack All Around), a string quintet from Eminence Symphony Orchestra (performing classically-set anime and video game music), and composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer of Romeo x Juliet and Final Fantasy XII scores. Piano Squall also appeared in the Dealer's Room selling and autographing his new CD G.A.M.E. Many rooms held videos of anime such as Karin and Witchblade, while some showed classic Japanese cartoons. There was also an Iron Editor challenge, J-pop and J-rock stations, and an Otacafe for karaoke and relaxation.

Otakon 2008 is scheduled to be held at the Baltimore Convention Center from August 8 to August 10, 2008.^[21] This means that the opening day of the convention will be held on 08/08/08. It will also be the 10th anniversary of Otakon being hosted at the Baltimore Convention Center as well as Otakon's overall 15th anniversary.

Otakon is run by the Pennsylvania-based non-profit organization Otakorp, Inc.^[22] whose focus is on using Asian popular culture as a gateway to increase understanding of Asian culture.

Otakon is the annual meeting of Otakorp, Inc. Otakon attendees do not purchase "tickets" to Otakon; they actually become a member of the non-profit organization that runs Otakon with their paid attendance to the convention. Everyone who pays the annual membership fee to attend Otakon is also a supporting member for Otakorp and is able to participate in sanctioned events, contests, or giveaways that might occur during the year.

All staff are unpaid volunteers, although registration tasks are supplemented by temporary workers provided by the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association, and certain services such as legal and accounting work are by contract. Otakon 2006 listed over 500 staff on its roster, though not all work the convention directly.

Otakorp, Inc. also sponsors film screenings as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, and assists with programming at other film festivals.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2006)

In light of Otakon's consistent growth and the continuing popularity of anime in North America, Otakon expects to continue for many years, though Otakon itself may have hit a plateau in terms of attendance. The Baltimore Convention Center is likely to remain the primary venue for Otakon, mainly due to a lack of other venues of sufficient size in the area.

While the idea of a four-day convention has some support among the general membership (especially among younger members), the idea has been summarily dismissed as unworkable by Otakon staff. It was attempted in 1995, over a holiday weekend, back when Otakon fit comfortably in a small hotel, and even then it was an exhausting prospect that didn't pay off. In those days, the entire convention could be set up in a matter of hours, while it currently takes two full days to prepare the site. At its current size and functional requirements, Otakon would face a significant additional expense in running an extra day, and both industry and dealers have said that it would not be worth their time and money to attend a fourth day. Finally, it is clear that few staffers would be able to afford the extra day (most staffers already use as much as a week of vacation time to help run the con). With almost zero support from staff, industry, or dealers, there is virtually no chance that Otakon will ever attempt a four-day convention again. (This has been noted in Otakon's FAQ on the website.^[23] )

From various comments by the organization's senior staff, it seems clear that there are only two serious contenders for possible expansion of the convention: expanding within Baltimore to the new Hilton hotel (currently under construction and attached to the BCC), or moving to the much larger D.C. Convention Center. It also seems clear that while DC remains the most viable option if the convention moves, the new convention hotel would be a more logical expansion choice. (Other nearby locations such as Philadelphia are simply not large enough to accommodate Otakon, or have been ruled out as unsuitable.)

Otakon 2006 convention chair, Jim Vowles, has stated that there is no firm decision to move Otakon to the D.C. Convention Center due to cost and logistics. Vowles stated that "the move to DC would be a bigger challenge than some people think -- and the true cost is as yet unknown" and that it would take "at least a year to plan any such move", and that if Otakon does indeed decide to move from Baltimore "it should be considered a more or less permanent move if at all possible."

Mr. Vowles continues, "Realistically, unless the BCC is leveled and rebuilt, it will not be a serious competitor with DC, but it may continue to suit our needs for quite a while. Eventually, we're either going to reach the plateau of our growth, or we're going to need to move, and at that point it's pretty much got to be DC. But Baltimore and the BCC have been our home base since 1999, and we put in two years in Hunt Valley before our big growth in the mid/late nineties. I don't see us casually tossing that history aside. So in the meanwhile, we continue to investigate the options in ever greater detail. Real hard numbers are the next stage of the game." Later comments indicated that the differences in how the convention would use the space were likely to mean a significant increase in cost.

In a 2006 interview with Geeknights, Vowles again denied a possible move, and noted how determined Baltimore City was to keep the convention around. "Baltimore at this point is motivated to keep us, and they're putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak. This year we've seen a noted increase in city support for the event. And frankly, we know pretty much exactly how to use Baltimore's space, and we know all the local players, from hotels to venues to vendors."^[19]

The much-debated Baltimore Hilton Convention Center Hotel had broken ground by 2007, and is slated to open the week following Otakon 2008^[24], so the earliest it would be available for use is for Otakon 2009.^[25] (In fact, Otakon was mentioned often in local press coverage^[26] as an example of a city event that would make use of the facility.)

As Otakon has increasingly made use of the First Mariner Arena for large events, there is some concern about proposals to shut down or relocate that facility in the future. If so, the Hilton might offer an alternative venue for large events as well as providing a large block of rooms for convention attendees.

• Otakon official web site