Held yet again at the Baltimore Convention Center, Otakon is situated in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Pulling into the city you'll likely think, wow, this place looks like a real dump. You couldn't be more correct, as the majority of the city of Baltimore consists of places you'll probably want to avoid. However, when you pull into the inner harbor, you'll think you're in a different city. The 2-3 blocks around the BCC are gorgeous with plenty of scenic photoshoot areas and decent places to eat.

Setting a record this year with over 26k attendees, this Otakon was a surprising hit. The line situation, almost always a sticking point with the convention, wasn't nearly as bad as in previous years. The sweltering heat and mass amount of people often make the line a disaster, people getting so excited with the ANIME FEVER that they forget they're going to be waiting 6 hours with no shade in 100 degree humid heat. This year, however, the wait time was reduced quite a bit, as the line seemed faster and more efficiently handled. The only real complaint heard about the line situation was that the special needs badge booth was understaffed and went by slower than the normal registration line. Which makes perfect sense, doesn't it, since the special needs people have their own line because they can't wait in line as long as normal needs people. I guess the convention wanted to toughen them up a little.

Suck it up, cripples!

The most mind-boggling change of the whole weekend was the dealer's room location. For years, it's been in the same location. This year, the only thing there was a staffer who had an inability to give the simple directions, "Cross the street into the building, walk forwards until you see the staircase." Instead, the directions received by myself and multiple other sources appeared to include going upstairs, past registration, over to the rave area, downstairs, then looping back. Utter nonsense and quite confusing. FYI to staffers, if you're going to be in charge of redirecting people, you might want to consult a map at some point.

The weapons policy and costume policy were similar to previous years, however, it seemed like it wasn't enforced very strictly. That sounds like a bad thing, but anyone that's cosplayed has likely been hassled by staff at some point or another for their belief that some part of their costume wasn't on par with the rules. It was a breath of fresh air to not have someone on the security staff, given the first tiny amount of power in their lives, trying to crack down on anything and everything.

The Cosfu experience at Otakon has always been top notch. One of the largest Cosfu gatherings of the year, including ADMIN CREW, is more or less guaranteed at this convention. This time, it was themed with Pokemon hoodies and a squishy boob. The late night gathering near the fountains is a very convenient view for both the few amazing late night costumes as well as what's seen more often, the late night costume disasters. It also happens to be the spot where the late night parties start forming and where all the incriminating pictures taken at Otakon come from.

Gotta catch 'em all!

This year, dozens, if not hundreds of congoers got to experience the sheer joy of being stuck in a Greyhound station for the better half of Sunday as they shut down all service due to, well, who the hell knows what since the people in charge of selling tickets vanished into the back room of the station when asked any questions. Given that this is one of the primary means of transportation to the convention, most congoers would do well to avoid the incompetent service at Greyhound if possible.

All in all, a pretty chill convention, decent location, and lots of familiar faces to hang out with. Otakon 2008 gets an official Cosfu recommendation.