Katsucon 2015 Convention Report

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

Continue reading

Katsucon 2014 Report and Cosplay Roundup

Another February means another Katsucon.  It’s one of the largest anime conventions on the East Coast and makes its home at the Gaylord Hotel and Resort in National Harbor, MD, just outside of Washington DC.  This year, it was quite the frozen convention to say the least (you’ll get that pun in a minute) with a massive snow storm bringing the East Coast to a standstill.  Hundreds of eager con-goers found their travel plans suddenly thrown into chaos as flights, trains, and buses were cancelled right and left.  While there are undoubtedly plenty of attendees who weren’t able to make it, the convention was still rather filled with more and more people trickling in over Friday and Saturday.  Friday was, however, a good day for costumers who wanted to get pictures in the famed gazebo.

Continue reading

Katsucon Cosplay Round Up

This past weekend was Katsucon, an anime convention held just outside of Washington DC in National Harbor, MD.  In addition to being a great anime convention in general, Katsucon also has the distinction of making its home in the Gaylord, one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing which makes for some wonderful photos.  It’s also a nice sized convention that feels neither small nor overcrowded.  (Yes, walking is totally possible here!)  From the panels to the maid cafe to the artist alley and dealer room to simply people watching, there was something for everyone last weekend.  If you live in the area or simply want to check out a fun convention at the most gorgeous hotel of all time, I absolutely recommend checking it out next February.

One of the wonderful things about conventions is the variety of costumes that convention goers (and the innocent people who wander into the hotel) get to see.  Despite being an anime convention, Katsucon boasts a wide variety of costumes from every anime and manga imaginable to western television shows and comics.  Obviously, anime and manga costumes ruled here but there are some fandoms that will always have a presence such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Disney, Homestuck, and both Marvel and DC comics.  This year, I also noticed a solidly large gathering of costumes from last fall’s Rise of the Guardians film and Adventure Time along with a ton of Kid Loki and Korra cosplayers.  And, of course, Sailor Moon continued to have a solid presence, something that is likely to only increase with the anime’s return this year.

(Just as a note, please let me know if you recognize yourself or others in any of these pictures.  Unfortunately, my plan of trying to get cosplayer names mostly backfired due to being in costume myself for much of the convention and touchscreen phones do not work with gloves.  Please feel free to comment though and I’ll be more than happy to edit credit into this post!)

Because we are primarily a Star Wars blog, I’m going to start with some of the great Star Wars costumes I spotted this weekend.  (I did my best to sprint down the corridor after most of the ones I saw but undoubtedly missed a few.)  Check out these Star Wars costumers (and many more!) after the jump! Continue reading