Otakon 2024 was officially held from Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 4 this year, but welcomed back its annual opening Matsuri on Thursday, August 1 on the lawn in front of the Apple store, across the street from the Walter E Washington Convention Center.
Cosplayers inside the Apple Store/Carnegie Library
Otakon is an East Asian pop culture and anime convention that was formed on July 29, 1994, run by the Pennsylvania-based non-profit Otakorp, Inc. From 1999-2016 it was held at the Baltimore Convention Center and has since been at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. During its first few years, it was located at the Days Inn and Penn State Scanticon in State College, Pennsylvania, Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn, and Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, Virginia. From 2014-2018, Otakorp also had an Otakon Vegas at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendance for Otakon Vegas did not pass 2,500.
This year, attendance was 46,000, toppling 2023’s 42,101. This includes staff, dealers, artists, industry, contractors, guests, and registered press. Similar to last year, entrance lines went smoothly, although this time, registration began at the back of the building. Those who already registered were able to enter in the front.
On the main floor was the 30th Anniversary exhibit, displayed in the form of a museum. Inside were displays celebrating moments from the past three decades.
This year marked the first time Otakon held Matsuri since it was in Baltimore. Located across the convention center, in front of the Apple Store/Carnegie Library, attendees could purchase dinner at the food trucks, participate in crafts, games, kids activities, and sidewalk chalk, and watch sumo and shisa performances as well as the main performer, aLf. Matsuri kicked off with a performance in the main tent by Chin Daiko at 4:15pm. Other events included presentations by the Embassy of Japan, Otakon’s Maid Cafe, Idolspace performances, DMV Sumo Wrestling, and more.
This Otakon had a lot of guests with a large number representing the Final Fantasy series. Otakon always has a large variety of guest types and this year was no exception, with representatives from the voice acting, production, fashion design, computer graphic, art, music, and many other industries. We interviewed CG Director Akihiko Orikasa and VFX Director Kensuke Yamamoto of Orange; Producer Takuma Kishida, Voice Actress Aino Shimada, and Voice Actor Kikunosuke Toya of TMS Entertainment; Seiyuu Uki Satake, Voice Actor Hideo Ishikawa, and Fashion Designers Haenuli & Iris Garden. These interviews will be available soon.
Otakon hosted a Lolita Garden, a Lolita Tea Party, a sold out Maid Cafe, Manga Library, Otacafe (Karaoke), Otachan for kids and family, Lyra’s Formal Ball, Burlesque, and more.
This convention always has a wide variety of panels that run almost 24 hours. Friday morning simultaneously started off at 9am with Autism in the Anime Community, BIology of Cells at Work!, Contemporary Dance for Cosplayers, Fictional Death, Genuine Grief, Freedom’s Destiny: 20+ Years of Gundam SEED, Ghibli Alternative, Make a Book using Japanese Stab-binding, Shogun: Show vs History, Weird Kpop Dance Moves, Bocchi the Rock!, Otaku no Video, Dear Brother Ep 1-4, Household Origami, and AMV Contest Non-Finalists. The point of this is to show that within the first hour, the organizers tried to break apart the scheduling to include anime music videos, arts and crafts, dancing, history, science of manga, mech, Ghibli, emotion in anime, and more so there would be something for everyone. 18+ bracelets were handed out to those interested in adult panels held mostly at night.
Friday night’s main concert was the rock band FLOW, who has written anime songs for Naruto, Code Geass, and more.
Masquerade was held on Saturday evening and consisted of a cosplay contest and skits.
The arcade was open 10am-1am and also hosted tabletop gaming.
At the back of the room were two rows of itashas, including the 86 from Initial D. Many of them belong to the local DMV Itasha.
Some of the cars listed were a 1986 Toyota Corolla ae86, 1991 Suzuki Alto, 1992 Mazda Miata, 1993 Daihatsu Hijet Firetruck, 1993 Suzuki Cappuccino, 1994 Nissan Silvia S14 Zenki, 1994 Toyota MR2 GT-S, 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 RS, 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL Coupe,
2013 Volkswagen Jetta Sportswagen, 2018 Honda Civic Coupe, 2018 Subaru WRX Premium CVT, 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance, 2019 Dodge Challenger, 2019 Honda Civic Type R, 2020 Subaru STI, 2022 Subaru Forester, 2022 Toyota GR86, 2023 Toyota GR Corolla, and a 1997 Suzuki Cappuccino.
The arcade was where many of the official cosplay photo shoot meetups were held such as Genshin Impact, League of Legends, One Piece, and Chainsaw Man.
The Dealers Room and Artist Alley were connected within the bottom floor of the convention center. Most guest autographs were setup in the middle of the two, separating them. Artist Alley is where most hand drawn artwork and prints were sold, while the Dealers Room is a space to find video games, toys, plushies, shirts, and other collectibles. Stores and locations included Anime Palace, AnimeNYC, Amari Apparel, Bandai Namco, Closet Geek, LLC, Console Yourself Soap, Hashtag Gaming Area, and more.
Unlike Awesome Con, which is also held in the same convention center, Otakon rents space in the Marriott which is connected underground. Photographers are able to take pictures there, panels are held in the hotel, and Otakon Press operates on the overlook. Within the lobby of the Marriott was an atrium with a two story sculpture that shoots past the overlook. This and the church and Apple store across the street are where many of the photo shoots take place, and also where people lobby con. This means to hangout at a convention without purchasing a ticket. Most people that do this just want to see their friends or take/receive photos. The Marriott has better lighting than the convention center and more iconic places to shoot, including the elevators, stairs, above the escalators, and overlook.
Cosplayers and photographers asked to move downstairs at the Marriott at the end of Otakon on Sunday at 4pm. The rooms in the background are used by Otakon Press to conduct guest interviews.
Otakon allows attendees, also called members to show their badges at local restaurants to receive discounts. This year participants included Bantam King, Chopt Creative Salad Co., Dos Toros Taqueria, Fogo de Chao, Haikan, and Hard Rock Cafe.
Next year will be held August 8-10. Pre-registration begins on November 20th at 10am. Badge mailing is free and attendees are able to skip badge pickup lines if they register by May 22nd. The first 500 badges sold will be at a discount at $70 down from the early registration rate of $85.