Otakon 2025 Recap! Favorite Anime, K-pop Demon Hunters Reaction And More!
Exploring the world of Anime is new and exciting for Young Bold And Regal. As the newest correspondent of Young Bold And Regal, Kelli Hunter thank you very much, I take you into uncharted territory at the Otakon 2025 convention. Delving into anime, Asian pop culture and all of your favorites let’s see how we can stretch your imagination. Ready?! Start your engines, prepare for the ride and enjoy my top five moments!
1. Finally breaking into the anime convention world after eighteen years as an anime fan was a big milestone for me. It is crazy that in my whole life I have never been to an anime convention let alone Otakon in my own hometown in DC. Otakon was very well organized although vast and so much to take in as a newbie to the experience. Now I’m excited to explore more and dive deeper into this space and now have a new outlet to enjoy a past time I love but have not been able to fully tap into. And even being able to experience this in a dual way (as a fan and as a media correspondent) was very cool. Now you can count me in as a regular Otakon goer in the years to come! I can’t wait to come in with the best cosplay at the con, especially knowing how to prepare myself. The weekend is jam packed with such amazing and engaging activities and programs, and you want to make the most of it all.
2. Also getting to get immersed and exposed to the cosplay world. I’ve always have wanted to try cosplay but never saw myself as being creative enough to come up with a cool look concept. I don’t consider myself creative in the craft skills sense or makeup and wigs or artsy at all. So now I’m excited to take a whack at it myself . I had some last minute hiccups with trying to pull together my cosplay look and couldn’t get it together in time. But now I have plenty of tips and inspo straight from all the cosplayers I had the chance to see in full force and even better talk to and learn how they have brought such awesome and high effort looks . The creativity , commitment, and passion of the cosplay community to express themselves in what they love was amazing to witness . Otakon is now my catalyst to start my cosplay journey in a couple of weeks for my next anime convention adventure here in the east coast . Make sure you all stay tuned In for all the fun to come!
3. Getting to tap into my love of anime and Asian culture with the Otakon fandom . Pretty much in my day to day life I don’t have many in my family or friend circle to really bond and engage with about all things anime, Asian pop culture and things. So it was so refreshing and exhilarating to be so immersed in it all like I’ve never been before . Throughout the day I was on an adrenaline rush and excited to explore and connect which i did plenty of. It was so fun and just felt great to have that space for dialogue on so many similar interests, trends, our same likes of characters (even those we might be crushing on haha) , shows, the storytelling of it all, the music. I was able to truly express myself. And even highlighting some of my onsite preliminary coverage on social media , I was able to discover others in already connected to online who actually do enjoy anime as well. So it shows there are more people I can relate to. And now some of my friends are interested in giving Otakon or other local conventions a try when they come next year
4. Getting immersed in the Otakon fandom. I loved being able to see All the other fans at Otakon and so many new people I met and had the pleasure to connect with were so welcoming and inviting. The whole energy of the anime and cosplay community there at Otakon was infectious. Everyone was so friendly, down to earth, and encouraging to a newbie like myself . And from all the conversations I had with people throughout the days (and not even just in interviews) you could feel the positive energy and vibes in the air, the camaraderie and true sense of friendships and ally ship . It was all about coming together to have fun, reunite with old friends, make new friends, and take part in being able to enjoy our passions and express ourselves. It wasn’t lost on some of us the irony of this convening even happening in the nations capitol where there is a lot of conflict and turmoil happening on the local political front. Otakon was a truly vital time to release and just alleviate much of the stress and things we are going through at the moment. And thats the whole Crux of why us fans of anime love it so much. It’s a way to escape into other worlds and just get away from reality for a bit and also be a little slice of happiness, humor, adventure, or inspiration that sometimes we need in this crazy thing called life.
5. Getting to experience all the vast activities . There was no shortage of things to do for whatever you might be keen to do. I was awestruck by the merchant space (dealers alley), the artists alley, the gaming hall, the cosplay photo shoots, car show. It was so much to take in , in so little time especially after spending time to do interviews, capture footage and navigate the huge venue, I unfortunately didn’t have time to attend the panels or workshops on Saturday when I attend to cover the event but I hope to next year to see and hear from the innovators and creators and voice actors. But you truly feel immersed and like you have a little taste of Asia with you here in dc. Getting exposed and on this level of thr culture here in dc is great since I haven’t met my dream of getting to Tokyo as of yet. But now this might be a sign Im that much closer.
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