Otakon day 3 by stats

• # of Jimmy John sandwiches consumed: 2
• # of meals at the con: 1
• # of tweets at home: 16353
• # of autographs: 3
• # of handshakes: 7
• # of UOs burned through: 4

Otakon day 3 by Tsuritama cosplayers

Otakon day 3 in a paragraph (or 3)

Aya Hirano went overdrive and signed a billion autographs. There were a lot of happy fans. Jim Vowels finally announced his J-music festival. There were a lot of happy fans. It’s one thing to bid farewell to friends departing the con, it’s another to say “see you in November” to them. Thanks Otakon! And all it took was to wait until after the closing ceremony before leaving the con! If there was one “I wish I had” moment on Day 3 for me, it is missing out entirely on the Charity Auction. Which, in retrospect, might be a good thing.

PS. I listened to a bunch of iM@S music on the way home. In fact, the entire way home. Two observations: First, I really do like the iM@S 2 related tracks much more. Second, it is probably because they are better produced. Maybe by “second vision” it actually does mean something, something that kicked into effect in 2009 or 2010. Because it is just outright so much better than their previous string of stuff.

PPS. I listened to a lot of iM@S music on the way home because I feel yet again a severe lack of iM@S content. I did see some couple Ps with their iM@S shirt. A particular person on twitter wore Iori and the other guy (friday) wore Makoto. I tried unsuccessfully to search/stalk for an iM@S cosplay gathering and I guess there was one but I probably should’ve asked someone working the ACP or something. Which is funny, because I do know someone!

We ended the night spending 3 hours at a tapas place, chatting and drinking. It was actually quite pleasant and I would love to do it again when I’m not running on fumes. When we got back to the hotel room, well, there was this still.

As for the con, it was fairly condensed. Content ran from early in the day (NISA’s first East Coast anime panel complete with audience plant for Umineko’s announcement) and ended also early in the afternoon (was done after Maruyama’s MAPPA panel/Madoka autograph, unless you were pressed into doing Yuuka’s, er, press events–all by 6pm or earlier). Well, 6 was kind of late. Instead I played Tanto Cuore at the dealer’s room and spreading that Love maid love. Only wish if I had a chance to play some Riichi with all those mahjong addicted guys. I guess we could’ve played tenhou IRL, which is less pathetic than tweeting across the dinner table.

Ai Nonaka’s panel was quite something. I’m obviously way biased as a long-time fan, but it’s not usual when the Japanese seiyuu guest goes on the stage and says “take lots of photos!” and goes double-V for all the guys in front. Well, there were a couple girls in the front row after all. That’s just the start. Her English was passible although she stuck to very simple phrases when she could, and went to the translator (Taka) for the rest. It was an early-morning panel and she was very full of energy. Possibly one of the best seiyuu panel i’ve been to for a girl.

Yuuka’s panel was fairly predictable, but she played it straight.

Aya Hirano’s was actually also predictable. She’s a good sport and very pro at this stuff. Katja line required some guts! I think she got in the spirit of thing while keeping it under control. Definitely pro.

Can’t complaint. I got my main targets today. Urobuchi’s interview went well, although I could use another 10 minutes, if not an hour. He’s “one of us” in a lot of ways.

Lots of MJ and Tanto. Good times.

Actually I was already in Baltimore by day -1. Day 0 was mostly enjoyable for a sweltering-hot day at the Camden Yards. James Shields pitched into trouble and that was the end of that. I also realize how tough it is to be an O’s fan. I hope they make the playoffs this year.

“I don’t need THIS ONE!”

By Day 1 I was able to meet/greet most of the internet/twitter dudes I wanted to see. Hopefully I can catch the rest tomorrow. For now, a little bit of sleep.

Nanri Yuuka, when dolled up, is a little exotic actually. She’s got this natural beauty that doesn’t show up on pinup shots. But at the same time I don’t disagree with Momotato’s “type 3″ cute estimate. Not that I know what he means. When she’s just walking around the con, you would barely notice this 4’11” Japanese woman just walking around.

The Aniplex guy working with Urobuchi recognizes my script from AX, LOL. Maybe when the time is right I might donate it. I’m in that kind of mood. For that to happen more people need to watch Fate/Zero. By that I mean having it being a meaningful donation and would fetch a higher price.

This Mikako Joho girl is pretty okay.

Best part of the day that I can blog about was probably when the Baltimore Fogo had no lines, and is $30/person. A+ deal will do it again.

Here’s the deal.

All vitals are on their website here.

There are a lot of details about Kakihara’s autograph session, the best thing to do is read Loy’s post. The key takeaway is that for both of his sessions, there will be no more than 1 hour or 100 autographs, although in times past the autograph staffers have powers to make a plea and if the guest’s management is nice enough, the autographing will extend to accommodate as reasonably possible. The booth Kakki session is with Bandai and require a purchased item for a ticket, which probably limits you to just Gundam related items for autograph. (You can find more details about that if you read the same thread.)

For everyone else, expect the usual treatment. To spell it out– be ready 90 to 75 minutes before the con autograph session time. Session will last for an hour. Same location as last year. Most likely not ticketed. Contact autograph staffer at location for specifics. For booth deals, consult specific booths for their location and time, but most likely the English-language dudes as well as Aipon, Butch, and Kakki (as mentioned before).

Bandai Visual has outed some guests and autograph session details besides what Loy has posted publicly. That includes a Sasaki Shin autograph session at their booth Friday at 6pm,with Sinterniklaas. Sinterniklaas also will have a session Sunday at 11. I’m going to assume they are signing official goods only at their booth, and will have freebies to provide if you don’t have something.

I haven’t read anything from NISA about Otakon specifically, in terms of what they have in store for the con. I guess that’ll be on their agenda hopefully before Wednesday’s out. On that note, I looked for NISA on the dealer room listing, and I didn’t see it. This probably means they won’t have a real booth, and may sell through another retailer at the con. It may also mean they will just do their ninja stuff for the two panels they have Saturday and be done with it. I don’t know, they haven’t said anything to any degree and it doesn’t look like they need to. Maybe they still will.

Aniplex is fronting the Madoka guests, and their panel time and detail can be found on their calendar/website. To summarize, there is one booth session for Nonaka at 3:30 Saturday and another booth session for Urobuchi at 5 on Saturday. Both require a ticket, which comes with purchase. And, yeah, that means you have to buy Madoka BD/DVD for Aipon and Madoka BD/DVD or Fate/Zero BD for Butch. Hah. I’m going to say that at the con, they might have more things to sell that may come with tickets, or they may be giving tickets to people who do certain things at their panels and booth shows (like they usually do). But a copy of Madoka on DVD is not ridiculously expensive.

Unfortunately, that second Aipon session lands right smack in the middle of the Maruyama panel I wanted to go to, and may cut into the Hirano panel. Bah, I might go anyway if by that time I am “satisfied.”

Funimation isn’t doing anything special that isn’t handled by the con. They are doing the usual con-special bonus item stuff, including leftover Panty Stocking stuff, but new with One Piece bonus items and something for Steins;Gate? Nothing looking very interesting. No more Fractale bonus items, I see. Which means losing that $60 plastic bag at AX kinda sucks… [Totally side note, while looking for some Lost & Found function at AX, I came across this, the guy who bought the Takeuchi sketch from Otakon 2011 (at a low price to boot). He also had the “high score” at this year’s AX auction.]

The Matsuri would be a good way to kill time. It’s located in the First Mariner Arena parking deck. I don’t know how that works, but given the ~100 degree weather you might be experiencing on Thursday, it would be more preferable than out in the open. Kind of interested in Hsu-nami but blargh.

There’s some details on the charity auction already, but hopefully it will pile on with the donations from the attending industry and guests. Will the East Cost wota gang continue their quest for full concert wardrobes? Aya Hirano probably won’t have the time to donate her sweat-drenched gear given the timing, so too bad! If a certain somebody’s mannequin had a head, he could buy, say, Aipon’s hat?

I wonder if I will have time to make it worth the while of carrying around a copy of Tanto Cuore. Speaking of maids, maybe the Maid Cafe is worth a visit, to just go and chill. It could be a more baller location, even with the $10 cover charge. Well, I’ll think about it. The karaoke room/Otacafe is always a good fallback.

Lastly, there’s going to be an Otakon…video game. I don’t even.

Personally, my schedule is not set. I have at least one commitment and probably two that I have to go to that isn’t set in stone. Most likely I will try to catch a game Thursday, get some nice dinner on Friday, hang out at the late-night panels Friday and Saturday, and hit Aya Hirano’s show. For loot, I really want at least get Butch to sign my AX loot, and get my Manabi Straight DVD set up to 3/5. I did buy the blu-ray and that shipped last night. The odds of me getting it by tomorrow is pretty slim but I should be fine without it. I would be elated to just set eyes on Nanrietta, to be honest. Autograph is a bonus.

Hope to see you there! James Shields is pitching Thursday, which means that I would have seen every one of their quality starter in the past few years, which is amazing–just how many games did I go see in the past few years? Not very many at all. But what I do not want is an extra-innings affair when it’s going to be like 99F outside. Speaking of hot and humid weather, that’s something Ichiro now has to live with, huh?

[Updated: NISA newsletter]

There will be a “special anime announcement” at NISA’s anime panel. I guess it can’t hurt to check it out. Saturday 9am! Plus the usual giveaways, I’m going to assume.

Here we go again.

As usual the otakon forums is a wonderful resource, and even if I am by proximity not that far from it, it’s still a good 3-hour drive. That’s like almost as far as Shimoda to Tokyo! [/Natsukise]

Oh, first of all, they have now officially released the schedule. They are saying they will use Guidebook, but on the app it only lists Otakon 2011 and it’s showing the old schedule on there as of this writing (11am Eastern).

And as usual, all of this is subject to change. And I mean all of it.

Guests and pawprints and Hancocks

• Aya Hirano doesn’t seem to have a standalone autograph session. When she was first announced way back (good job on Otakon for outing this one early) the word was already that she will autograph after her concert (assuming with the usual sales of goods–and all its potential stipulations) and maybe a separate autograph session. I think that is a safe bet, given how typically this has happened in times past. For some reason I have a hard time finding the concrete start time for her concert, but it is on Sunday afternoon. The only remaining question is if she will sign just anything, or it has to be something you bought with her new label.
• Ai Nonaka and Gen Urobuchi are visiting Otakon on behalf of Aniplex and their Madoka effort. Great! Because that probably means they will have a booth autograph session. I’m going to guess that will also include the dub actress for Kyoko, Lauren Landa. But checking for booth times? You know the drill.
• Since the cat is basically out of the bag, Otakon debuts its first Korean act, VIXX. That’s the “guess the guest” answer (or so we think) for their ongoing contest. It’s kind of a game changer, yeah? They have not announced the other guest for their Friday night concert, but she has an autograph session on Sunday at the same time as Maruyama and Nonaka. And yeah, that might be another opportunity right at/after the concert!
• Otakon is probably going to announce more guests this week. There might even be some music acts for their Thursday matsuri thing, which hopefully will also involve a better list of food vendors. Last year it was kind of pathetic.
• Lastly, get a refresher on the autograph policy. Note that depending on how they run it, there could be tickets and non-tickets. I read somewhere it may be a system where they will give tickets to people who are not in the first line, if the autograph line runs too long. The usual 1-hour lineup time stands as previous Otakons, so there’s no real major reward for getting there more than 2 hours before start time. But who knows how these things will go?

Panels

Well, this is more like advertisement than something to check out, but if you find yourself looking to do something, and the time fits, check out these guys.

• Dave and SDS are doing their mahjong show again. I hope they showcase at least a little of that advance MJ play we see in Saki Achiga-hen. I might even be there!
• Super Rats is up for being harassed by you at the figure panel he cohosts with Andy and jdcseiken. The timing is unfortunate but I hope they get a nice crowd going. I mean, I’m pretty sure there will be some giveaways. Maybe.
• There is a Satelight panel. I have no idea what it is but people are suspecting it is an industry panel given the description was written.
• Mangagamer’s panel coincides with my friend’s panel on ero for the ladies. Otakon is neat in that they run “serous” content even at 1AM. Mangagamer’s panel, at Otakon, tend to be a snore though. It’s just a question if they can announce anything there or not. Certainly something to do after an Oriole’s game.
• NISA has their anime and game panels back-to-back. Looking forward for something cool there. If I recall correctly last year they were pretty much missing at Otakon. Hopefully they can engage the East side a little more? I probably should look up what their dealer room presence is.
• Funimation is throwing a Geneon retrospective panel on Sunday. That is kind of funny.

Food and others

• The skybridge is in the process of being removed. I think Baltimore realized those bridges are kind of dinky and no longer trendy like how they were in the 70s. Also they want to funnel more traffic to the ground level…which is to say it’s kind of lame. This actually just means the bridge to that cool Korean food-by-the-pound place, coming from the ex-Windham/now-Sheraton is gone, so you will have to walk on the ground level for part of it. I believe the skybridge connecting the Hyatt and Sheraton, as well as the whole plaza area towards the inner harbor are still intact, but the future looks grim for those things.
• The inner harbor pavilions have some updates. I believe one of them were renovated earlier this year? Anyways, more food options.
• The food truck scene in B-more has improved since last year. With the O’s in town for a homestand all weekend (Thursday is a day game versus the Rays, and then a weekend series against the A’s–check out Calaggie’s plans for that, LOL) you can be sure there will be some of that if you walk just towards the park around the Hilton. Hm, wonder if any Japanese guests would be into that.
• The most exciting food news this year is how Otakon runs right in the middle of the Baltimore restaurant week. In typical restaurant week fashion, participating restaurants will offer prix fixe meals at a fixed, uniform price; 15 something for lunch and 20 or 30 something for dinner. Reservation is typically highly recommended. Best thing to do is scope out the menu and offerings on the official site, and call ahead no later than probably Monday.
• It’s going to be pretty hot this year, but I don’t think an extra 5 degrees make all that much of a difference to me. I’ve already optimized my Otakons to avoid the heat. All the more to thank the Ice Cold Water For Only One Dollar dude.
• The Matsuri on Thursday is promising real improvements from last year with better food options. It’s something to do instead of waiting in line, for sure. They just haven’t announced all the details yet. So far I hear some more food options and more bands, rather than just one band last year. There will be a Taiko drums thing first up, then a workshop, then a DJ, then band #1 (a 3-piece VK outfit), then DJ again, then band #2 (A Chinese traditional/rock band). They’re still signing those bands I guess but a “guess the artist” thing is running in the forums, for any Matsuri attendees who can go and claim their prize.

A lot of this stuff is in flux, so most like I will just do a follow-up post for Otakon prep rather than update this one.