Even Baymax came to Katsucon!

Another February and therefore another Katsucon have come and gone.  Two weekends ago, geeks from around the country descended on National Harbor, Maryland for a very frozen convention weekend.  The convention didn’t play host to the US’s round of the World Cosplay Summit this year but that certainly didn’t seem to put a dent in attendance numbers.  In fact, the convention seemed bigger this year both in terms of attendance numbers and the scale of the con itself.  There was a nice variety of programming that ran through a good 2/3 of the day if not more.  One of the best programming selections were the various cosplay construction lectures that covered everything from basic cosplay advice to how to build armor.  There’s always something for everyone.

The dealer room was especially good this year and much larger than in years past both in terms of the number of vendors (or so it seemed) and there being enough aisle space to move comfortably.  One of the best additions though was definitely the space set aside for the Men at Arms: Reforged folks.  They have a YouTube show in which they recreate fictional weapons, often with a twist.  One of their latest was the scissor blade from Kill la Kill which they decided to make out of actual melted down scissors.  How cool is that?  They even brought the blade with them and let con-goers pose with it.

Unfortunately, registration continues to be an issue.  The lines to get badges seemed to be an eternal fixtures on the lower level with the line usually going to the other end of the corridor.  Wait times were measured not in minutes but rather in hours.  It is my hope that for the sake of the con goers that Katsucon sits down and reevaluates their badge system.

On the cosplay front, the costumes worn by so many attendees were amazing as always.  The best costume of the con was, without question, this gorgeous La Muerte from The Book of Life.  The pictures don’t even do her work justice.

Picture by Rich and Strange Photography

Katsucon is known as one of the premiere cosplay conventions in the country for a reason.  While Frozen continued to have a strong showing like last year and Sailor Moon (always a convention staple) had an even larger presence than usual, it was the sports anime that was literally everywhere.

Sports Jerseys and Bike Gear as far as the eye can see…

It wasn’t all just sports anime though.  The Official Marvel photoshoot had a spectacular turnout with over 200 cosplayers showing up.  Not bad for an anime convention.

Don’t worry though: Star Wars was still represented too!  The Kyrimorut Clan hosted a Star Wars gathering on Saturday afternoon.

Lord of the Rings

And of course, the big fandoms were hardly the only ones around.  After all, one of the best things about conventions is getting to see all the variety!

And then some pictures just happen because conventions.