Otakon 2013!

Chris and I arrived in Baltimore for Otakon on August 8 (which happened to be my niece's 11th birthday. I left her gift with my parents ahead of time). It was the first time we'd ever gone to a con a day early. The Dealer's Room was epic! I found and purchased "Lupin the 3rd: Red vs. Green" and the latest DVD of the "Fairy Tail" anime, as well as some hentai. I was also able to (FINALLY!) buy a copy of the book "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle! I even got to have my picture taken with him! Also interesting was watching my cousins enjoy a showing of "Lupin the 3rd: The Secret of Mamo." (It was their first anime con ever!) Of course, no con would be complete without cosplay outfits! I dressed as Toad ("Super Mario Bros." video games), Rei Ayanami from "Neon Genesis Evangelion", & my purple and black outfit that makes me look like either a ninja or one of the female characters from "Mortal Kombat." I made it a point to take a lot of pictures. Ironically, one of the funniest occurrences happened not in the BCC, but in the hotel room I shared with Hubby Christopher Wanamaker, our friends Kofi & Anwar, and my cousins Rasheena & Tammy. We were all settling down to go to bed for the night, but we were too excited and wound up to sleep, so I pulled up an audio recording of Samuel L. Jackson reading "Go The F*** To Sleep" by Adam Mansbach. We were all cracking up laughing! Unfortunately, that's all the fun that my cousins were able to have. My cousin Lonnie had to pick them up the following morning (Saturday). Saturday was fun for me. I wanted to attend 4 panels, but ended up missing 2 of them (Darn!) The "Ghibli Girls" panel was interesting. As the title implied, it was about the central female characters in movies released by Studio Ghibli. The "Lupin the 3rd" panel was also a treat. Incidentally, "Lupin the 3rd: Red vs. Green" was one of the DVDs I managed to find in the Dealer's Room. Also among my purchases during the con were the 5th "Fairy Tail" DVD and some hentai (some for me, and one for a friend! Don't judge us!) I would have finished this blog post earlier, but it's been utter chaos since Chris & I came back from Baltimore! Among the chaotic moments were coming back from Baltimore to find that my father-in-law went into the hospital the day after we arrived in Baltimore for the con. He has since been moved to another facility, but he is still recovering from pneumonia! Also, we spent September 7-8 back in Baltimore for Baltimore Comic-Con. The best thing I can say about that con is that I got some great 80s stuff on DVD from the Dealer's Room there. ("Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling, "The Hugga Bunch," and "The Popples" were among the DVDs I found). Anyway, now that I have FINALLY finished this blog post, I can concentrate on preparing for Anime USA! Let the fun begin! Oh! By the way, the dates for next year's Otakon have already been announced! August 8-10, 2014! For information on Otakon and other anime conventions, you can go to http://animecons.com/

Otakon 2012

Post-con fatigue has prevented me from posting the details of my weekend at Otakon 2012 until now. July 27-29, 2012 represented the pinnacle of the summer for me. Over the weekend, the city of Baltimore was overflowing with OTAKU! The biggest highlight for me was getting the interview with Peter S. Beagle that I was unable to get last year. I even managed to get someone to videotape it for me! Unfortunately, somebody cancelled the interview I was supposed to have with Jason David Frank, best known for his role as Tommy Oliver in the long-running TV show "Power Rangers." Dammit! I had even remembered to bring my VHS copy of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie" for him to autograph! Of course, I spent (or rather my Hubby did) a few dollars in the Dealer's Room! My purchases included several DVDs: 1. Season 2 of "Black Butler," 2. Discs 3 & 4 of "Fairy Tail," 3. "Unico In The Island Of Magic," and 4. 2 discs of "Princess 69." (Don't judge me because I like hentai!) And, yes, I did cosplay! Once again, I donned the personas of Toad from the Super Mario Bros. video game franchise, and also Rei Ayanami from "Neon Genesis Evangelion." I also picked up a new cosplay outfit in the Dealer's Room. I plan to debut it at Anime USA this year, which is being held from November 9-11, 2012! As usual, I made it a point to attend the Funimation industry panel on Saturday. I was ecstatic to learn that there would be a second season of "Fairy Tail," as well as a movie based on the series! I also made it a point to attend the Cosplay Masquerade. However, I was not impressed by the entries this year and left before the skits were done. Clearly, I had a good time at Otakon 2012 and can hardly wait for Anime USA to get here. In the meantime, I think I have enough anime to keep me occupied and to keep this blog interesting!

I Want AGO Home!!!!!!!!!!!!! And It Comes Close!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've looked forward to last Thursday night's episode of AGO ever since I saw the bus at Otakon last Summer!   The AGO crew spent Week 5 of their search in Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC; and  New York!  Since I live in that area, I expected to see at least one person I recognized!  And I was not disappointed!: My husband, Chris Wanamaker, the President of the DC Anime Club (http://www.dcanimeclub.org/), turned out to compete for the coveted title of "America's Greatest Otaku!"   If anyone embodies the Otaku Quality of Participation, which is what the Otaku 6 Challenge of the Week was based on, it is definitely Christopher Wanamaker (and I'm not just saying that because I'm married to him)!  Not only is he the President of the most active anime club in the nation, but he also attends several anime cons throughout the year!  I attend at least 3 with him: Katsucon, Otakon, & Anime USA.  Also, he participates in  events such as "Animania" at the FYE stores, as well as the Japanese Street Festival during the Cherry Blossom Parade.  Perhaps I'm biased, but I think my hubby has a real shot at being declared "America's Greatest Otaku!"  Only time will tell, though, so I'll move on to some of the others  vying for the coveted title! Jasmine Salters, an aspiring ainme creator and manga designer, has also created a few plushies.  Some of her spare time is reserved for drawing several times a week, even creating her own characters and stories.  Does she have a chance to win the coveted title of AGO??????????  Who knows?????  And as for Dianna Santodonatto, AGO's New York candidate, she and Salters have something in common: they both love to make plushies!!!!!!!!!!!  As for what separates Santodonatto from the rest of the crowd, it's the fact that she can play songs from popular anime on her flute!!!!  Wow!!!!!!!!!!  And of course, the search for "America's Greatest Otaku" would not be complete without some maids & music!!!!!!!!!  Reni Mimura is both! The Japanese Cosplay Singer  specializes in Moe style performances, a genre that emphasizes the cute look of Japanese pop-culture with the hip appeal of Japanese animation! Mimura is a very busy maid!  Right now, her schedule reveals that she is slated to appear at Jaycon in Pennsylvania on March 26, and a Maid Show the following day in New York!  If she can maintain a busy schedule like that, she definitely has a good chance of claiming the title of "America's Greatest Otaku!"  However, only one person can be declared "America's Greatest Otaku"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Who will it be?????  Only time will tell, so I'm going to keep logging in every week to http://americasgreatestotaku.com/ until the contest is over and a winner is declared!!!!!!!!