Otakon 2011 At a Glance

P-Chan2011, Main Leave a Comment

There have always been several things about Baltimore’s Otakon that have made this convention, above all other cons, my favorite:

1)      It was my very first con and, much like your first love, its difficult to find fault with its overly romanticized image.

2)      The culture at Otakon is one of the best. When we nerds speak of the fabled “Nerd culture” we aren’t speaking of some parallel reality, where we all bond over plushies and sake, but an atmosphere of mutual respect and acceptance. Otakon is, without sounding pedantic, a nerds utopia. At least for what could be considered a larger convention.

3)      I just love to watch the unsuspecting Baltimore masses look on in utter confusion, as their city is overrun by otaku. There is no greater spectacle than watching poor pedestrians panic as a seven foot tall Domo-Kun stalks then down Pratt Street. Seriously. Just watch the sheer horror from a sky walk just once!

The Ninja Legion arrived at Otakon 2011 in full force, starting things off like all other con goers, attempting to get our panel badges on Thursday night. Oddly, they neglected to inform panelists that they had decided to skip Thursday and start preregistration on Friday. Not the best start to my favorite convention but from there it was pretty smooth sailing. Well, except for the fact that most of the guests were announced two weeks prior to the convention and, after taking the time to submit our desired interviews, we never received any kind of reply. You can choke that up to a change in head of press or a vital lack of communication which seems to be all the rage with conventions nowadays it seems. There seems to be a bit of a loss of focus going on at Otakon, especially in the Dealers Room. There is a shift from Otaku based interests to profitability and crossing nerd genres. At least five tables in the Dealers Room were selling wares that, to my opinion, had little to do with “The Otaku Generation.” Again, not a problem just a concern.

I have always enjoyed the layout of Otakon. The Baltimore Convention is the perfect setting for the event with more than enough space and almost no bottle-necking and congestion. But a new trend has suddenly appeared. Panels and press were held at The Sheratan and Hilton hotels rather than the convention center. While I can understand the theory behind the move, it was slightly inconvenient to have to move between three different locales. The Ninja Legion however viewed this as just a part of our quest. I know it seems like I’ve had nothing good to say about Otakon but, truth be told, it was standard fare. We did the same activities we’ve all done for years prior and, though we’re now on the other side of the panel table, it still doesn’t feel at all that new. I think that’s we’re all missing. Conventions need new life breathed into them. We need to be as excited about devoting our time and money to conventions the way we used to.

OneUps Review at Otakon 2011

P-Chan2011, Main, Sector-J Leave a Comment

OneUps ReviewAt a glance, The OneUps are like any other Nintendo era tribute band; an average looking collection of sincere nerds keeping true the source material that they grew up with an love. But take another look. Take a good hard look. Take a moment and actually listen as your favorite 8-Bit masterpieces get a little…funky. Yes, you heard me right, funky. This band gives you your cool and chills it to twenty below with a seemingly effortless integration of classic sounds, funk, jazz, and rock. Call it “Nintendo Neo-Soul” if you will. The One Ups bring you something truly original in a genre that is, at its roots, as original as it gets. Take everything you knew about the MIDI and 8-Bit music of your youth and utterly forget about them. Why, you ask? Well, The OneUps are about to make your childhood a hell of a lot more cool than you ever remember them!

Otakon 2011 Jam Space Playlist:

Metroid
Contra
Punch Out
Paperboy
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Mario Bros.
Legend of Zelda
Tetris
Toe jam and Earl
Duck Tales
Guitaroo Man

Nergasims with Nobuo Uematsu

Alora Phacia2011, Alora Phacia, Main Leave a Comment

One thing everyone knows about me is that I worship the ground Nobuo Uematsu walks on. He’s an inspiration to all and has changed my love of music every since I was a small child. So when I got the chance to cover the Q&A, I leapt at it like a cheetah tackling a gazelle. But before the man of the hour relieved his smiling face, we were told that we would not get to get autographs unless we asked “good” questions. Two seconds later ensued a shuffle on chairs to jump onto the two microphones on the floor. Causing me to panic to think of a “good” question to ask my personal god. Luckily as the mass crowd of super nerds RAN to the microphone, I got golden news. Press gets to go first! But I felt bad for a girl, so I let in before me. The first few questions nearly put me to sleep. The same old same old, what was your inspiration, do you realize Final Fantasy VII would inspire so many people, and then it was my turn. And here was the question verbatim, ” Hello, I’m from the Ninja Legion. And the one question we really want to ask you is in the United States, what is your favorite beer?” Mind you I was a little nervous to say it, but at the same time we are the Ninja Legion. It’s how we roll. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an enter room laugh. He laughed, smiled and answered promptly, ” Samuel Adams.” Many more random questions, such as ” Have you ever cosplayed?” “Which do you prefer Coke or Pepsi?” A couple that caught my attention were,

“What video game music do you enjoy that isn’t your own?” “The music from Professor Layton.”

“We know you haven’t played all the Final Fantasy’s, but of the ones that you have played. Did you have a favorite character?”

The answer did make my soul cry. Aerith was the answer.

But soon it was time to stop asking the same thing, over and over again but in a different way. And I had to run to get my items to get signed and have all my inner nerdiness satisfied. With my trusty ticket, I walked around asking where I needed to go. And then I got to line cut and meet him for the second time. I was a lot less nervous this time around and actually spoke with him. He still had to get his translator but it was still fun and I didn’t shy away this time. But I had the golden ticket, I was the very last person to meet him!