Japanese guests are a mainstay for any and all conventions I attend, this goes double for Otakon. Whether I know a lot about the guests or are curious to find out more, they elevate the convention and make it even more memorable. I found myself at more than a couple Q&As for Otakon 2012 as well as in the autograph line and at a live musical performance. Every one of the guests was quite lively this year giving me and the other attendees much to be happy about.

I think I am fairly immune to the Otakon Guest Cycle at this point. For those not in the know the Otakon Guest Cycle is a phenomenon that happens every year in the fandom with con season. Since Anime Expo happens before Otakon everyone is wowed by the guest line up at Expo because it is usually rather spectacular. The stunning Sakura-Con line up while being earlier in the year usually gets thrown in conversation as well. Since Otakon usually waits to fairly close to the con to announce any guests the Otakon Guest Cycle starts about two months before Otakon. Everyone gets really nervous that THIS is going to be the year that Otakon has no good guests. I see a good deal of panicked tweets and IMs. Eventually Otakon starts announcing guests and they are usually fairly mid range guests and people get even more worried. “Is this all we are getting!” is the battle cry. Since you have to book your hotel (and apply for press and panels) long before the guests are announced you can feel the palpable tension as no big guests are announced. Then they eventually throw out a few big names and everyone breathes a sigh of relief and is usually pretty happy. And so the Otakon Guest Cycle goes into hibernation until the next year.

But as always Otakon has come through. Clearly Gen Urobuchi was priority number one. Having not only written Fate/Zero but being currently involved with Red Dragon made him the one guest I wanted to see most of all. Hidetaka Tenjin was also fairly cool. As a mecha fan I always enjoy mecha related guests. Also while Masao Maruyama is always at Otakon he is never an unwelcome guest. He is one of those guests that is more often than not willing to shoot from the hip but at the same time is involved with enough projects to always be interesting. My only regret was events conspired from me seeing Maruyama this year. Hopefully I will be able to catch him next year. There were also some talented voice actors and musicians this year but since they are a lower priority for me I was not able to see any of them. Thankfully enough of my friends either attended their panels and concerts or interviewed them so I captured some of that energy and experience. But it is just more proof that there is always more things you want to do at Otakon than you ever have time for.

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Another Otakon and another year where I was overwhelmed with all the convention had to offer. From lovely guests to great friends the entire weekend was a big hit! As per usual I spent a lot of time visiting fan-panels and Japanese guest Q&As. As an added bonus I also ended up in the autograph lines more than I normally do. I spent some time just walking the convention taking pictures and chatting.

The atmosphere of a con is really unique. After four days of sensory overload the real world looks a little funny the week after a con.

After a little snaffu with getting my badge I realized I have been going to Otakon since 2006. (By the way that is when they had Ayako Kawasumi so it was an excellent time to start coming.) Since then I have attended almost every year except for 2008 due to some poor timing and scheduling. But I have always been attracted to the amount of things to do every year. Otakon always has a great lineup of Japanese guests and some of the best panels around. I always have something to do. In fact I wanted to check out the game room, visit the new maid cafe, see concerts, or take in about a half a dozen other events but never was able to do any of those things. Time, food, sleepiness, and the need to socialize meant that sacrifices had to be made. I never understand how people have nothing to do at Otakon.

The most unusual part of Otakon is it is less like a tropical vacation where you spend your time mostly relaxing on the beach a more like hiking adventure where you come back more tired than when you left. It is almost a bit of a test of  endurance. But along with the physical and mental exhaustion comes a feeling of your spirits being renewed. You might be spent but in return you are given a pleasant glow from that effort. I tend to run through Otakon at a fairly hectic pace as I am going to panels, seeing guests, and a million other things almost constantly and usually fairly late into the night. So I often come back a bit more worn than most. Heck I felt sort of like a zombie on Sunday. But I would not have it any other way.

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