I first heard about Katsucon from my colleagues at Chocolate Covered Cosplay when they were competing in the World Cosplay Summit in 2012. When we interviewed them for our Zero Hour show, I was amazed by how Chocolate Covered Cosplay described the Gaylord - beaches, villages, fountains, anda gazebo. Not to mention, it seemed there was a ton of late night madness provided by the convention. I just had to check out Katsucon.

Traveling - Logan to Regan

I left Boston by taking an evening flight out of Logan airport. I took Jet Blue to Regan airport. The flight was a smooth hour; I had time to catch up on a sitcom or two. I landed in DC with no problems. However, getting the Super Shuttle was another story. If you plan to travel out to Katsucon, book your shuttle in advance and budget about $40 to go to and from the Gaylord to the airport. It was a rather lengthy wait; I did not get into the Gaylord until 11:30PM when my flight landed at 10:05PM.

Entering the Gaylord

My zen micro shuffled to Justin Timberlake's "Suit and Tie," appropriate entrance music as I glided across the marbled covered lobby of the Gaylord. Before getting to my room, I just had to explore the hotel. Though it was in the evening hours, there were plenty of sights to check out - the cherry blossom foyer, the atrium, the convention center lobby, the main hotel lobby, etc. I can see why cosplayers and photographers see this as photo op nirvana. To wind down the night, I went to the National Pastime's Sports Bar for pink lemonade (on the house) as I watched the Clippers beat the Lakers.

Go Go Gjinka

As someone who penned an article for Inside AX on Gijinka Cosplay (or how to make inanimate and non-human characters into human cosplay), I thought it would be interesting to hear this perspective of Gijinka cosplay. Shortly after getting my press badge, I donned my Gijinka Mew and grabbed a good seat. The panelists discussed about what Gijinka cosplay is. Discussion on thinking of what a human version would look like and how they would dress. The panelists stressed that Gijinka cosplay is more than just puttin on a bra and short skirt. It takes design and imagination to create a human version of a Pokemon or My Little Pony character. Audience discussion followed as the panelists asked what Gijinka cosplays the audience had in mind. One group mentioned a martial arts themed My Little Pony team. People in Gijinka cosplay also went up and discussed the planning and design behind their Gijinka designs.

Live Action Anime

I popped into the live action anime panel for a little bit to see what it was all about. While I do host "WOWOWTF Manila" where we do play clips from Boys Over Acting and Lupin, I wanted to see what this East Coast group would cover. For the most part, it was live action adapations of anime and manga in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea. Incarnations of Asian dramas were discussed and live action movies.

Skimpy Cosplay and Modesty

Rufflebutt Cosplay hosted an hour long panel on how to cover up and carry yourself while you're in a costume that tends to show off the female figure. While I normally don't cosplay skimpy character designs, I actually found some of these tricks of the trade useful. The panelist emphasized on using flesh tone dancer's tights to flatter the legs and also flatten the mid section. Toupee tape was also discussed on how to keep from falling out of your cosplay. Rufflebutt Cosplay had plenty of great stories to share from conventions and wearing heroine costumes. Aside from craft advice, Rufflebutt Cosplay also talked about how to deal with creepers. The approach she suggested was to just ignore them - block them if you have to; don't create a scene in public. Discussion on recent slut shaming, fake geek girls, and cosplay as fetish was also addressed at this panel. The most memorable part of this panel was when a random guy crashed the panel room in nothing but a pair of trunks exclaiming, "I don't need this panel!" Additionally, thanks to Rufflebutt Cosplay for the strips of toupee tape.

Japanese Cultural Institute
Unfortunately, I missed out on signing up for the workshops for the Japanese Cultural Institute programming track. However, I did explore the area that hosted the hands-on Japanese culture workshops. I thought it was nice that Katsucon did have programming that promoted Japanese history and culture. This was very interactive and it was not just your typical origami workshop. There were lessons on how to wear a kimono (plus a photoshoot for participants), how to create Japanese hair pieces, and general cultural classes. Katsucon does intend to expand on this programming track next year. They expressed they wished they had more room and more programming time. We look forward to see more interative cultural workshops next year.

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