Inner Harbor is a nice place for photos if you arrive at the right time. Saturday was the big Sailor Moon day. We had time to kill before the first event of the day. Inner Harbor was close to our hotel. There was hardly anyone there at 8:45AM (save for some marathon runners and Yaya Han's film crew). This was a nice place to get some photos taken of cosplay. Super Sailor Moon is versatile enough to go with any background (after all, evil could be lurking anywhere!). Professor Tomoe looking evil anywhere is just epic in itself.

Sailor Moon Cosplayer Meet Up and World Record Attempt by Scarlet
Because Anime Expo had their Sailor Moon Day, Viz proclaimed that August 9 would be Sailor Moon Day for the east coast. The first festivities included a Sailor Moon cosplayers photoshoot at the terrace levels at 9AM. Otakon staff was helping direct traffic so that Sailor Moon cosplayers knew where they were going. For 9AM Otakon had a very massive turnout of Sailor Moon cosplayers - sailor guardians, villains, and the occasional side characters. There was much confusion if Viz was gathering all the Sailor Moon cosplayers for a group photo, but a Sailor Uranus cosplayer stood up to the plate to get the shoot going. Additionally, there were videographers pulling in Sailor Moon cosplayers for their music video project. Though it is uncertain if this meet up broke the Anime Expo record, it was nice talking to and meeting new friends.

Dealers Hall by Jared
Being one of the largest anime conventions in the US it is no surprise that the dealer hall would be very large and offer a variety of booths. You could find clothes, figures, and manga easily, but there were only industry booths offering anime DVDs. There was enough space to prevent crowding for the most part and it was generally easy to find the booth you are looking for. The hall also included the autograph lines which were very well organized and easy to find for those looking to get an autograph from their favorite guest. Easily one of the best dealer halls we have come across this year.

Sailor Moon Dub Premiere by Scarlet
Moonies were lined up all morning to get a glimpse of the new Sailor Moon dub. Now that Viz was handling a faithful translation of the franchise, Moonies were super excited to watch the east coast premiere of the first few episodes. Though episodes 1 and 2 debuted at Anime Expo, Viz also showed Ami and Rei's respective debut episodes. Hundred of fans filled the video programming room as a chance to be the first to see the premiere of these episodes. While Viz already covered the first box set release of the first 23 episodes, it was just nice to be there to be excited with other fellow Moonies. Members of the new cast, Stephanie Sheh (Sailor Moon) and Robbie Daymond (Tuxedo Mask) were also present in the audience.

The premiere itself was pretty mixed. While fans cheered each time Sailor Moon and the Sailor Guardians transformed and attacked, some people in the audience noted that it would take time adjusting to the new voices. However, I really did like Ben Diskin as the nerdy Umino. He played him like a typical low-nasaly nerd. His performance was very enjoyable. Danielle Nicole's Naru also stood out; the Long Island accent is gone and we had your typical teenage girl voice. I'm not sure who plays Motoki, but he was also fairly memorable in this new dub. Kate Higgins played Ami very shy and demure. I really liked Cristina Vee's Rei; her last line in the episode solidified that Rei is a fierce bitch (why are the guardians friends with her again?). Michelle Ruff's Luna is growing on me and it was nice to see a quick snippet of Johnny Yong Bosch as Artemis - yes that is him as Central Control!

Jojo's Bizarre Adventures: Stardust Crusaders Dub Premiere by Jared
One of the biggest fan favorite shounen series is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures and many fans were excited to see the dub premiere of the new series. The room was crowded and there was excitement to hear the English voices for the popular Stardust Crusaders. Three episodes were shown and the audience joined in when ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ came on as the end theme. The audience had a good time and everyone was talking about how they want to watch more.

Artist Alley by Scarlet
Right next to the dealers hall, one can find Artist Alley. Like last year, it's still a little bit disorienting for me to find the Artist Alley. I think if you're familiar with the Baltimore Convention Center, you can find it like that. Yet, for a second timer, it takes a while to orient oneself with the basement Artist Alley. Artist Alley had your standard fare of fan art from various artists across the eastern seaboard. However, I was also introuced to Yume Lacquer. This company makes shoujo themed nail polish. I picked a few Sailor Moon themed nailpolish for my collection. The Artist Alley also had some Lolita accessories such as Moss Marchen and Belladonna. Otherwise, it was nice to browse around to see what was available and what current fandoms are selling.

Also in the Artist Alley, you could also view a live chalk draw of the Otakon mascots in the Mission 2014 con theme.

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