The anime convention summer series is will underway, with some of the largest conventions of the year taking place within a couple weeks of each other.
Anime Expo, the largest convention in the states, was this past weekend and over 44,000 people were in attendance. It was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This side of the country is ready to hold the largest anime convention on the east coast coming up next week.
Otakon takes place July 17-19th and will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The convention began in 1994 and last year was host to over 26,000 people. You can find out more information at the Otakon website. Registration is now closed, but at door registrations are available starting at 8:30 AM on Friday and Saturday, and 9 AM on Sunday. The cost of the tickets at the door is $65.00. Registered members can pick up their badges starting at 5PM on Thursday.
Some of the guests heading to Otakon this year include:
- Crispin Freeman, who has been portraying characters in animation, anime and video games for over 10 years
- Kikuko Inoue, who is best known for portraying goddess Belldandy in the popular Oh My Goddess
- Masao Maruyama, The founder of Madhouse Studios who has produced an amazing library of animation including Barefoot Gen, Record of Lodoss Wars, Vampire Hunter D, Cardcaptor Sakura, Trigun, Chobits, Abenobashi Maho Shotengai, Ninja Scroll, Beck, Monster, Devil May Cry, and Death Note.
- Travis Willingham who is best known in the anime world for his character Colonel Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist
Can’t make it to Otakon this year? There are several other conventions on the east coast within the next few months, including the largest multi-media, popular culture convention in the United States, known as Dragon*Con. It focuses on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film. It takes place in Atlanta, Georgia on September 4-7 and guests include Barry Bostwik, Voltaire, Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, and more. The convention began in 1987 and has sence seen upwards of over 30,000 attendees.
Other conventions are:
ConnectiCon – July 31-Aug 2
Anime Weekend Atlanta – Sept 18-20
New York Anime Festival – Sept 25-27
For a complete listing of conventions go to: http://www.cosplay.com/calendar/
Comments
AX 2009 was awesome. Hope for the same in Baltimore.
radicalpatriot.vox.com
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