A Convention In Review
by Lee Hambly

Another year another convention season, and it always starts at Katsucon. Normally I could never justify being at a convention from
Wednesday through Sunday, but this time there was a very good reason for it. Peach and I had decided to meet up with Tristan
MacAvery early since he would be arriving on Wednesday instead of the usual guest arrival of Friday. Now most of this time was private
and solely for the three of us to remember and enjoy for many a year. However, the two parts that need to be mentioned are the desert
and dinner we had Wednesday and Thursday. Ok, I am sure you are all sitting there grumbling, wondering what this has to do with the
convention. Bear with me, it has an undertone that speaks volumes. Wednesday we had a wonderful dish called a mud pie, four
different kinds of chocolate served with a mound of whipped cream. This was one of the greatest deserts I had ever eaten, and the time
we spent having this allowed one of our members whom had never had the chance to formally meet Tristan and get to know him better. 
The next night was more spontaneous than was expected. Never had any of us eaten at the restaurant at the top of the hotel, now was
our chance thanks to Justin Musterman, our treasurer. Willing to spend the amazing $200 dollars to feed six of us at this restaurant we
had one of the most delectable meals ever had by the group of us. Three of us indulged in the nirvana that was the New York strip steak,
another having a delectable chicken dinner, and another with a salmon to die for. All this was complimented by the beautiful view of
Downtown DC, and if you looked at the just the right spots, all the major monuments. Before the convention had even begun we had the
most fun that the group of us has had in quite sometime. This was a great thing, for some of us truly needed to relax and find the
emotional support to feel better about ourselves. Getting this time was not to be easy for the remainder of the weekend, so we milked
those first few days for everything they had, and we are thankful for them. 

Day 1 

As the day began it was beyond confusion. Waking at nearly 5:30am in order to get the three of us that needed to go to class in time
(one in Loyola, the other two at Anne Arundel Community College) Class was the easy part of the day, we had much in store for us and it
was not going to be easy. After waiting around till roughly 4:00pm for Justin to arrive home from school and picking up his newly
repaired Jeep (a long story of another sort that was brought about by the blizzard we had in Maryland) we finally set out on our way. 
Arriving at the hotel once again at 6:00pm we had actually missed nothing. This was becoming a tradition with Katsucon, open as late as
possible on the first day, this way you can have tons of problems, because what good is a convention without problems to complain
about? I should not really complain, because they do make up for this mistake rather well, unlike some other conventions I have been
to. After dropping off the bags we escorted Tristan down to the opening ceremonies, which were summed up in two sentences: 

1) Not another Matrix parody!?! 

2) I need an exit, STAT!! 

Usinig these two sentences the Katsucon staff could have abbreviated the cerimony to simple introductions, instead of gimmicky stage
productions that no one was prepared to perform. A bonus to the whole thing was Tristan's idea to use an expanding ball for his
introduction, "This is your brain," expand the ball to full size, "and this is your brain on animé! Any questions?" That made the entire
opening ceremonies enjoyable, considering that everything else was made from recycled speeches that have been at every convention for
years. On this first day the staff managed to make the experience that is Katsucon as enjoyable as possible for fans, and this seemed to
be the last time they would be polite for the remainder of the weekend. Though there was a good amount of entertaining programing that
was being shown, and the always eventful Karaoke studio was going on strong, we had decided to end our day early and retired back to
our rooms to relax with friends and prepare ourselves for the next day. 

Day 2 

First things first, we had to catch the Directors Cut panel that Tristan had managed to turn into a trademark show. The very same
panel that was at Neko-Con R, and that he wrote out in article form for us, was what we had managed to go see. We were there mostly
for moral support though, but none the less the panel was interesting once again. He informed the small crowd about how he could
manage to make more subtle jokes or add more intriguing bits to the story by modifing a sound here and a sentence there. The crowd
was small for three reasons: 

1) The ADV panel was moved to the same time 

2) the music videos were moved to the same time 

3) And at this convention the attendees did not seem to care as much as Neko-Con R 

Just before the panel ended I had managed to drift away to sleep. A young man in the panel (roughly 10 years of age) caught the
group off guard with adorable musings and questions ("My friends and I thought there was nothing wrong with the cover of Devil Hunter
Yohko, until we watched it. Yikes!"). The roar of the crowd (and insistence of Jimmy) roused me from my deep slumber. Though I
spent the remainder of the day apologizing for this, I still managed to enjoy what I saw of the panel. 
From here we retreated from the hotel once again for lunch with Tristan and V.A.S. (Virginia Anime Society) Though they did not
wait for me (aside from a very polite Justin, thank you) I still managed to find the group and enjoyed a complaint session about fast food. 
Considering we had nearly no money and the only real options were fast food or Seven-Elleven, I was fine with it, the others were more
of the health nut so that is where the real complaints came from. Once finished here we raced back to the convention, Tristan had a
voice actors panel to attend in a half hour, and I wanted to see the dealers room. Easing my way into the large sized dealers room (Being
able to go into the room by skipping to the front of the enormous lines for the dealers room, the lines of that length were just uncalled for,
is a bonus of having a press pass) I chose to examine the art room just before I crused the dealers room. This was the most impressive
art room I had seen in quite some time. Of the artists entries, one artist had entered several beautiful oil paintings that were absolutely
amazing eye candy. Yet another artist had entered a set of water colors that we perfectly laid out show as to display the time and effort
put into making such paintings. Most of the exhibits had very impressive coloring, superb detail, and a loving touch that is rarely seen in
the art rooms. Of the resins, the most impressive was of Deedlit seemingly gliding on a swing made of vine. 
The dealers room was not quite as impressive as Otakon 98 had made it. Otakon 98 used the space to the fullest possible extent with
what they were given. Katsucon had a lacking area. Admittedly bigger than any other Katsucon I have been to (Katsucon 3-6) the actual
things that were there were not to impressive. Of the few exceptions, the dancing game Dance Dance Revolution which used the pad that
plugs into the Playstation and is used for the game. They have come a long way since the idea was used for the original Nintendo for the
olympic games that never seemed to work right. As with every dealers room, there is always the one that does not seem to belong, this
year it was the S&M table. Nothing but whips, cat o' nine tails, chains and other such devises. This table sold them solely for the uses of
sexual purposes. A suggestion for the future of Katsucon, screen the people that want table space, do not just say yes because they will
pay you. Whom you invite to the convention, whether guest, dealer, or staff, reflects on your overall appearance (If you had not read it,
there was an article in the Washington post the day after the con that made the whole convention and fandom seem low and despicable,
using the S&M table as the focal point). 
From the dealers room we went on to the voice actors panel, which was something I could have quoted from memory. This panel had
some new faces, but I had heard nearly everything they had to say in some form or the other. Because of this I left early to catch the
You're Under Arrest movie. This was a movie that any fan of the series would love. A definite must see, and one of the more
entertaining things I did at the entire convention. Though it was good (and only an hour) it did not kill enough time until the cosplay, so
we ducked out for dinner. Tensions rose hear, but that is another private matter, and was settled in no time at all. With 46 entries this
was a huge cosplay, and it took forever because of the lax time limit. Several were amazingly good, one of those such examples was the
eight foot tall mech robot that stole the show. Others that stood out, the Five Star Stories skit with the entire roadie speech from Waynes
World 2 modified for the skit. The best overall was the Sole Caliber skit, "You must press a series of 600 buttons, sever a limb, and pour
your blood over your system to get this special introduction to the game." The audience favorite, however, was the simplest one of them
all. Two adorable 20 something girls come out doing a pour bit about a viagra pill for a limp monkey. A few minutes after they throw it
off stage a African American gentleman comes out, lifts the girls onto his legs and gets the crowd to chant, "Monkey, Monkey,
Monkey!!!" The, "monkey," had managed to stop the show three times all together with this bit, and it was well worth it. 
The remainder of the night Justin, Jenn Vohs (a new club member), and myself enjoyed the dance hall that had a good DJ this year,
and sat around the lobby till around 5am. This was interrupted only once with a quick walk to 7 eleven for some chilly dogs with Brad
"Wolf" Kane from VAS. Meeting up with him was purely on a chance basis. We did go to the VAS party, but this year we were all so
tired that nothing interesting could happen, even though we tried. 

DAY 3 

We all know that nothing really happens on day 3. All the events are tightly wrapped into the first two days like a well made jelly roll. 
This time around not much had changed, aside from the fact that the Music Videos had been placed on final showing on Sunday. The
Best of The Decade was wondrous, showing many a good video, such as Lupan III The Fuma Conspiracy done to They Might Be
Giants: Spider. The most beautiful was Laputa (Castle in the Clouds is the Disney name) done to Diana Ross: If We Hold On Together,
and certainly the most humorous was Golden Boy done to Bluemchen: Bicycle Race (remix). The actual convention videos were not to
bad this year (unlike Katsucon 5). Though I was never given a sheet with a list of the videos on it, I would have to say that the best of
those I remember was Akira, and Lain set to a Nine Inch Nails song. This was the absolute best video I had ever seen, and the editing
techniques were beyond belief. It had the feel of being made in a professional studio, and left you with your mouth hanging wide open
after the video finished. Aside from the videos was the Voice Actor Workshop, though we did not stick around for this it is usually one of
the more entertaining workshops the convention has and is a must see. 
All good things must come to an end, and conventions are no exception. Once again people had to leave early so as to be home for
V-day, except for us since we only live 45 minutes away. Still, even with there being no rush to leave, we had very little reason to stay. 
We said our good byes, shed a tear or two for the time that will pass until we meet again and set off. Katsucon was, for all intents and
purposes, a good convention. Conventions for R.E.A.L. Anime are now more of a family reunion than a convention, but all in all it is a
most enjoyable experience that everyone should try at least once in their lives. Until the next one, I bid you, farewell.