Otakon 2019 – we went to an anime convention!
The weekend after my fight, I went to Washington DC with my best friend Serena and we participated in Otakon!
First of all, HOW AWESOME and CUTE ARE THESE LITTLE KIDS?!?
okay, continuing…
Otakon the “Japanese anime convention for the Otaku generation,” and what I believe is that the age group is mid 20s to late 30s. (except those kids lol) I think it’s because that’s just about when anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion became available on VHS in video stores, and Dragon Ball Z was shown on TV. People of my generation (I’m mid thirties) were shy about even admitting that I liked anime. I had a Dragon Ball Z T shirt but was embarassed to wear it in public when I was in middle school, like it was some secret cult thing. I dunno, seems weird now to say that, but I got teased a lot. haha
It was honestly just what I needed. I’m in a lot of emotional pain from losing my fight, and wanted to train so badly, but couldn’t yet. This was a great distraction and helped me be more positive, although I struggled with feeling a little down still. It was really hard to feel down at such a cool convention, though!
So it was SUPER COOL to see people my age walking around the convention halls, down the streets, and in restaurants and hotels cosplaying (wearing costumes). 🙂 I even saw some obscure anime references, like Ginko from Mushishi. I LOVE Mushishi, but it’s relatively unknown.
So I went with my high school friends in 1999-2000 (twice, I think, these years?). I flew once (from Massachusetts) and drove with them once. It was SO AWESOME. Therefore, it was so cool to be brought back to Otakon as guests to work at the con! Serena and I dressed up as My Hero Academia characters and demonstrated MMA moves, also doing a panel where we talked about anime, MMA, our careers, weight cutting, and anything else the guests/fans requested.
I also got to hang out with Photographer and staff member Nikki, and got to see Joshua and Cat from the seminar I did in College Park MMA, in Maryland, exactly one year ago!
I meet nice people wherever I go, and it’s great to know I still have bonds with them. 🙂 Kizuna are great.
I still had a black and and swollen nose. lol But it was awesome.
Serena and I didn’t spar like we did last time, but there were a few guys who came on stage who actually trained. I kinda sorta ended up rolling with two of them. I dunno how that happened!
Serena and I could tell they trained immediately! One dude was was dressed up as Ryu and he actually did Muay Thai.
He came back the next day for our demo AGAIN and dressed up as Deku-colored Spiderman (which was the best thing ever) AND THEN slid on Muay Thai shorts! Dude….like…can we PLEASE be friends?!
OUR PEOPLE! I feel like they are my people! 😀
These guys dressed up as My Hero Academia characters, same as Serena and I!
This Itachi costume was creative!!
We had a great time! Thanks to Nikki for helping sort out organization, and Ethan and everyone else involved for bringing us out. We got a lot of positive feedback from our demos.
Thanks also to my blog sponsor My Consumer I.T.! https://www.mcithouston.com They provide network support services to businesses, Server and computer set up and support, and other I.T. Services!
