Almost a week has passed since I began yet another excellent Otakon adventure. I can scarcely believe I’ve been driving there and back from Chicago every summer for the past 5 years. Happily, this year that driving did not involve getting a speeding ticket!
All in all I had a ridiculously good time. Things got off to a less than stellar start though with a 90 wait in the pre-reg line. This lead to my missing dinner with the Mega Tokyo crowd and I also skipped the pub meetup which due to the pre-reg line delay started a lot later than I could stay up. But from those hiccups came the secret of my Otakon 2009 fun, think different!
I decided to do things a little differently this year, go to some different panels than I might normally choose. I was not disappointed. I saw Kikuko Inoue, soooo cute! Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, awesome! And Crispin Freeman, cool cool cool! MELL concert, OMG!
The main changes I made were skipping the rave and masquerade on Saturday night in favor of other things. Friday night’s rave was so crowded I literally could not dance and what little room I had left was taken up by the break dancing circles. The final straw was the truly horrid mix played by the DJ during the time I was there. It was the same beat over and over again. So, given the extra 5000 people that seemed to be present, I doubted Saturday would be any better.
I ended up using the Otacafe and karaoke as my main activity hub between panels and taking pics of cosplayers and showing off my own cosplays. I’m sooo happy at how well received my Princess Sakura cosplay was! I worked late night for two weeks straight finishing up the costume before the con. But the boots totally killed my feet, lol! Looking back, I must have walked a mile in those boots before returning to my room to change into my flats and hose as planned. I knew the boots could be trouble, so bought some matching flats at the last minute.
The gothic lolita look must really suit me, because I got a good number of compliments and picture requests. And I think there was even one guy who seemed to particularly like me dressed up this way… I was so happy with the outfit and the reaction that I wore it again on Sunday.
I usually shop and try to get in some last karaoke on Sunday. I got to sing two more songs that day, including the very last song of the con before the Otacafe shut down. That still gives me a warm glow because everything was nearly perfect. I sang Shizukana Yoruni from Gundam Seed which is one of my favorites and went well with my Princess Sakura cosplay.
In the end, there are always a billion things I would have liked to have done, but couldn’t. But that’s just life anyway. I had a really good time meeting old friends, making some new ones, and doing the things I enjoy the most. What more can anyone ask for from life?
2 replies on “Otakon 2009 Aftermath”
Hey, I think I saw your Sakura costume briefly at Otakon. Very cute! I am actually making that costume for someone right now, are there any other reference pictures of it, ones that show the back of the dress? Thanks!
Thanks! I have a couple of pictures from the manga that show the back. It is cut lower in the back than I did in my version. I’ll email you the pictures that show it.