The Otakon banner. Anime newsgroup veteran Steve Pearl and Richard "Pocky" Kim.

Otakon ‘96 was a success. The formerly Pennsylvania college-town based convention moved into the larger and more accessible Marriott in Baltimore this year, and the transition has helped it grow into a better event. The hospitable staff and guests returned this year, and Guests of Honor of the show were manga artist Masaomi Kanzaki, best known for STREET FIGHTER: RYU and Adam Warren, writer/artist for Dark Horse's DIRTY PAIR comics. Other guests included Robert DeJesus, Steve Bennett, C. Sue Shambaugh, Jeff Thompson, Steve Pearl, Neil Nadelman, John Staton, and Matt Lunsford.
In a year of corporate downsizing, Otakon, too, has found that a leaner convention brings a larger return. The guest list was reduced, as well as the video and panel programming. Organizers were not as ambitious this year, and 24-hour video programming was reduced. Greater effort was put into maintaining the organization of all events and Dealer's Room. The end result: a well-run, efficient, and thoroughly enjoyable convention.
Attendance was very strong this year, with a total count of 1200+ anime aficionados participating. The Marriott Hotel was a great bonus for Otakon, providing the convention with good function space and equipment.

Videos

Although there was less video programming this year, the Otakon Staff managed to still pack a lot of quality material into the time allotted. Fan favorites, including such popular series as BAKURETSU HUNTER, FUSHIGI YUUGI, KEY THE METAL IDOL, and ESCAFLOWNE, were in abundance. Highlights of the video programming included the screening of the Tenchi Muyou movie, previews of Episodes 8-10 of SLAYERS (courtesy of Software Sculptors), and the premiere of WEATHER REPORT GIRL (from The Right Stuf International).
Otakon did not limit itself to showing anime. Video programming also included a healthy dose of Live Action movies from the East, including: GOJIRA (read: Godzilla), GAMERA, CITY HUNTER (with Jackie Chan), THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, DRAGONS FOREVER, LONE WOLF AND CUB, HARD BOILED, and surprisingly, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN.
And of course, what Otakon video program would be complete without the annual showing of OTAKU NO VIDEO 1982 & 1985 courtesy of AnimEigo.

Celpainting, anyone?

Panels

A glance at the Program Book would yield some surprising panels. Humorously irreverent titles were given to the not-so-standard fare here: "Jigoku no Otaku: Fen You'd Like to Forget", "Short Attention Span Theater", "Manga You'll Probably Never See", "Mobbing Bob (Robert DeJesus' Panel)", and "Disney Can Bite Me".
Some panels were humorous, others were informative. Antarctic Press announced that they had acquired license to publish new ROBOTECH stories. AnimEigo announced that they had acquired the rights to the LONE WOLF AND CUB live action movies, as well as the classic anime CRUSHER JOE.
And for the inquisitive fans who want to know how to do this or that, plenty of interactive workshops were held in various subjects. From katakana to costuming; from cel painting to modeling. If you wanted to know how it is done, there was someone who would show you.

Buzz Lightyear from TOY STORY in the Cosplay.

Events

From its inception, Otakon has always been very fan-friendly, sponsoring contests which allow fans to show their skills and dedication to the fandom. Contests this year included: the Music Video Contest, the Model Competition, and the Masquerade.
The Music Video Contest winner was Duane Johnson, and his video was set to "I'm Gonna Be" by The Proclaimers and used footage from Ranma ½. This was the last song on the program, and through overwhelming audience reaction, was able to take top honors in the contest.
The winner of the Best of Show award at the Model Competition was Bruce Oberst, for his stunning model 'Dragoness', which featured an excruciatingly detailed tattoo of a dragon encircling the figure's body.
The Masquerade certainly was much more efficient and advanced this year. The costumes in the show were well above last year's standards, both in quality and in presentation. The Masquerade winner for Best of Show was Andrew Bergstrem, for his costume of Buzz Lightyear (from Disney's CG TOY STORY). More than one person commented on the accuracy of the costume. Andre Germain won the Craftsmanship award for his excellent rendition of Tenchi in Battle Dress. Best Presentation went to Rob Lantz for his excellent stage performance as Yellow Belmont from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (Yellow Dancer/Lancer from ROBOTECH, for those unfamiliar with the original Japanese series). In all there were 27 entries, with approximately 60 contestants.

Videogames galore!

Fan Fare

If none of the above suited your fancy, many other option were available, including the inevitable Dealer's Room, a Video Game Room, and a Karaoke/Filk Room. The Video Game Room was well stocked with PlayStations and other systems, and was doubtless one of the more crowded of the convention. The Karaoke and Filk room was a strange experiment in that it was open for most of the convention, instead of the usual 1 or 2 hours given at other conventions. Last but not least was the Art Show, Live Action Role Playing, and the countless people gathered around playing the Ani-Mayhem Collectible Card Game.
In short, Otakon was a convention filled with things to do, see, and experience. For those of you already planning to attend next year's convention, check out the Otakon Home Page.