Forum - View topicNEWS: Otakon's Attendance Rises by More Than 4,000 in 2018
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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On an anecdotal basis, I hear there were longer lines this year compared to last. Otakon still has substantial room to grow within DC, a goal that will only be hindered if the convention centre entrance and the Marriott prove to be physical bottlenecks.
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Manga Producer J.M.
 Posts: 32 Location: Longwood, FL, United States |
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As an early congoing 90s nerd fanboy social comics and animation pioneer who later met a community college social engineer (which didn't turn out as well),
I must say, Cons are still attendable for normal Joes still. So are car convventions. Kind of similar now. It's gotten so much safer post-ComicCon to the point where I was considering attending a much smaller less established local Orlando con again, but instead of Megacon I was contemplating trying to make it to an obscurer local anime convention with anime in the title. Quite different. But still similar in structure. You still have to figure out how to get there, plan your day. Main difference I was considering staying in a hotel and attending for 3 days after booking an Uber, instead of 2 hours for part of one day then going home with my dad when I was 13. But what am I going to do at a con for 3 whole DAYS! that's a TON of time. lounge out at the food court and hotel room AiFL style maybe? It was getting so serious that I was researching hotels and travel con videos online. Bring soap! lol |
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invalidname
 Contributor Posts: 2444 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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This was my first Otakon, and man that new convention center is nice (and crazy huge). I guess I dodged a bullet never having to deal with the legendary crunch in Baltimore.
For a top-10-by-attendance con, I thought the guest list was just a little light--the highlight was Shoji Kawamori (who was a delight), but there was no Japanese musical act (they just had the full orchestral version of the Final Fantasy concert, something that's increasingly ubiquitous around the country, AFAICT). Anyways, good to see that attendance is bouncing back, and doing so despite concerns about the alt-right rally nearby in DC (that turned out to be a big nothing). |
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3767 |
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They did have a number of Japanese musical acts last year when they had the Anisong World Matsuri there, but yeah I would tend to agree the guest list was a bit light. I’d say the premieres were a bit lighter as well, but it would be hard to match In This Corner of the World and E7 High Evolution (in size, not quality for the latter). I’m glad that rally went out with a whimper. There wasn’t much effect other than seeing some counter protesters and more police than usual on my way back to Northern Virginia. There definitely seemed like there were more people than last year, and I’m glad to see both that that was the case and that it was bouncing back in attendance. |
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razisgosu
Posts: 657 |
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So in short it wasn't really 4,000 increase. It was closer to a 2k paid member increase. That's a pretty significant difference. Guess Otakon must be trying to hide that their growth rate has been subpar for years now.
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3767 |
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No, that 24,894 includes those who purchased badges as well as staff, dealers, industry, contractors, guests, and press, per the linked article and Otakon's site. It's just that this year they also published the paid memberships in addition to the total number. |
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razisgosu
Posts: 657 |
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Ah. Very true. I still think there's there's probably some number fudging going on behind the scenes, but that's definitely speculation. |
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fuzzy nukes
 Posts: 6 |
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It actually is around a 4,000 person increase. I don't have exact paid attendance for 2017 but according to animecons.com, it was around 22,000 paid for last year. So with over 26,000 paid this year, its a 4,000 person jump. I just wish Otakon wouldn't be desperate and fudge the numbers like this.
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switchgear1131
Posts: 219 |
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That and the staff. There was a distinct lack of coordination between the different departments in the staff all weekend. If they can get that figured out they should be fine, but this year it really hampered the artist alley and art show at least (where my first hand experience is most prevalent). There were points over the weekend that the main entrance was just closed and the only way to get out was told to you by a guy shouting incoherently into a megaphone even if you were two feet from him when he was telling you. The dealer's room while very big was kind of a let down. I feel like they created a false sense of size by spacing all the booths further apart to fill the enormous room they were using. I don't even remember seeing crunchyroll there. |
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prime_pm
 Posts: 2336 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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Still felt empty this year for some reason. I mean I only attended Saturday and Sunday, but I couldn't help seeing fewer congoers at the convention. Maybe it was because of the longer lines or because the center itself is bigger? I don't know. And it's weird because there were fewer rooms than last year; they had extra rooms in the conjoined hotel but this year none going on. This contributed to the video rooms feeling smaller as well. And I have yet to enter either the Main Event or Featured Event Halls. Oh well.
I really think next year will be my last Otakon. Been going for 19 consecutive years. Twenty just feels right. I don't even watch much anime anymore. But next year I'll still go all out by attending all three days this time. Sort of a Otakon retirement so to speak. And there was no Crunchyroll present this year. Hidive was the one giving out backpacks instead. Not sure if I'd use their service, but it's a nice thought. |
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2190 |
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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It definitely felt more full this year. Last year a lot of areas were just empty. Whether due to different organization, more people, or a combination of both, it definitely felt more like the place was being grown into. Some lines were a little longer than I would like, but for the most part, I was still able to do everything that I wanted to. I guess having generally unconventional interests even within the anime community means that most panels and events I'm interested in are relatively low traffic though. The only exception being the burlesque show, I guess. Which I wouldn't have gone to if it was up to me anyway.
Hi Score Girl and Sirius The Jaeger were the only premieres that I even saw on the schedule, and they were hardly even marked as such! Plus, both can be seen through fansubs since they are being imprisoned by the ever wonderful Netflix. I did go to see the first two episodes of Sirius though, and quite enjoyed what I saw. That Ando action is always exceptional. As far as the quest list being light, I guess it was, but having Yoh Yoshinari and the LWA crew there with multiple panels, Tatsuyuki Nagai, and Shoji Kawamori, I don't think I could've handled having anyone else there. |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3767 |
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There was also K: Seven Stories (the second film of which for whatever reason), The Laughing Under the Clouds film, High Speed, and Release the Spyce, the last of which was prior to when it starts airing in Japan in October. Of those, only Hi Score Girl and K:Seven Stories were labeled as such. Despite likely being the first time - or at least one of the first times- Release the Spyce has been seen by audiences, it was the only one that I saw that didn't at least give out a poster or clear file or something (I also saw High Score Girl, Sirius, and K). Agreed on Sirius. As I have said elsewhere, I think it is unfortunate that it was licensed by Netflix, even though I will be waiting for them to drop it later this year, if I'm not mistaken. |
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Senpai17
Posts: 2 |
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I'd agree with you, however this was the first time in Distant World tour 10+ year history to hit a Convention. Even more of a pleasure to see Nobou Uematsu there as well. Though it would have been nice to see an artist or band, we don't get to see many orchestras at a con so a fine change of pace for me at least.
Someone reported on Twitter that they were having trouble looking for rooms because hotels were booked with people in cosplay. (Unconfirmed) |
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ManaKnight
 Posts: 4 Location: Maryland |
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