Katsucon day one began bright and early. Because Katsucon is known for being "cosplay central," we began to dress up. Scarlet cosplayed as Kaleido Ruby, Jared as Yankii J (to honor the late Jew Wario), and Harmony as Sailor Pallas of the little known asteroid senshi. People were beginning to gather in the Gaylord lobby. There were still some stragglers from the previous conference simply people watching unknowing what was going on.

Registration by Scarlet
The registration line began on Day Zero. Registered attendees waited a reported three hours to get their badge right before the convention. Attendees lined up in one of the exhibit halls of the Gaylord convention center. Though it was keeping them from the cold, the wait was still long. Even some attendees could not make it to the con due to the storm. Because of the February 1 deadline to refund your badge, no-show badges were not refunded. Registering for press was a different story; the line did not begin until noon, despite the fact that there were already panels and events going on prior to noon on the first day.

Latent Adolescant Fear of Females and the New 52 by Jared

Not every panel was dedicated to anime or manga some panels covered other aspects of the nerd world.  The panel took a general look at the mistakes made in the DC comic’s New 52 lineup.  Beginning with time line issues, character trait changes, and concluding with the irrational way many characters act.  This went into how female characters are being treated within the comics.  Issues covered included the usage of weird poses, the use of fan service, and how the relationships are very immature. 

The panel continued with a discussion about how some characters such as Catwoman, Starfire, and Harley Quinn are now shallow versions of their past selves.  There was discussion about how female comic fans are getting more alienated from the world of DC and how this seems to be the company policy.  The final part of the panel talked about the cancellation of the very popular Yung Justice due to the popularity the show had with the female demographic.  It was a very well handled panel and was built more on logical arguments rather than emotional arguments about the series.

Social Issues Within Cosplay by Jared
There has been more and more discussion about different issues that are coming up in the cosplay and fan community as of late.  However, this panel was built around gossiping about popular cosplayers and pointing out how all men are perverts.  The panel had a good concept, but terrible execution.  The hosts were spending more time bragging about their lives and gossiping than trying to bring up important social issues that are influencing the community.  While there are some groups out there that do a good job covering these subjects this group had no idea what they were doing.  Hopefully next year we can get an educated group talking about these topics.

Old Anime for New Fans by Scarlet
This was a panel we originally hosted at west coast cons such as Pacific Media Expo and Fanime. The aim of this panel is to educate otaku under 25 years of age on classic anime. Likewise, many old school otaku decided to show up for this panel for the sake of sentiment and nostalgia. This was my first time being on the panel - it's usually done with Jared and other S|R staffers - but I was able to talk about romantic comedies, love octagons, and the magic of magical girl anime. People in the audience were very helpful in chiming in where to watch some of these abadoned classics - I'm not quite familiar with what is streaming on Crunchyroll, but I am familiar with what's streaming on Hulu Plus and Netflix. Even one veteran anime fan mentioned the importance of making friends between old and new fans - to show a new generation of what us old schoolers considered classics so that the love never dies out.

More Awesome Animation not from Japan by Jared
This panel took a look at some really cool animated projects from around the world.  The one that really caught everyone’s attention was War of the Wrold Goliath a very intense looking steam-punk take on the classic novel.  There were also some strange animated projects from the UK that got laughs from the audience.  The presentation concluded with the very strange yet somewhat intriguing cartoon Burka Avenger.  This was a great panel and a fun way to see some interesting cartoons that you normally wouldn’t see.

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