Sunday was the quietest day of the con. Everything was shutting down by 2PM. Most attendees went on Saturday when there was more to do. There were only a handful of programming going on; some autographs here and there, Funimation Q&A, Vic Mignogna on Star Trek, etc. Dealers Hall and Artist Alley were also closing up shop before 3PM. The Planet Hollywood convention center had very few people on the last day.

Hidden Gems in Steven Universe by Eri Kagami
No doubt, Steven Universe is one of the biggest fandoms of 2015. As we’re going into 2016, it’s tough to tell if this fandom will continue on. However, one must wonder what a Steven Universe is doing at an anime event, particularly one where focus on anime is key. That’s the point! Hidden Gems looks at classic anime and video games referenced in Steven Universe. There are a ton of references if you look hard enough. There are some that are obvious – Utena and Evangelion. There are some that are subtle – Mobile Suit Gundam and Mazinger Z. Otakon Vegas served as a nice test group to get younger audiences to learn about classic anime and video games.

Dealer Hall by Jared
One of the advantages of a smaller convention is that it is much easier to navigate the dealer hall.  While many smaller conventions have very limited dealer halls Otakon Vegas had a good variety of booths in their hall.  There were several apparel booths, a couple figure booths, and a good amount of anime merchandise booths as well.  One of the more unique booths offered Question Blocks tha held everything from figures to posters to rare cosplay toys.  There wasn’t much crowding, but it was obvious which booths were more popular.  The biggest problem with the dealer hall this year was the lack of DVD and manga selling booths.

Artist Alley by Jared
One of the things that make Otakon Vegas unique is that the artist alley was located outside the main convention center where it could be visited by the regular Las Vegas tourists as well as the attendees.  The booths ranged from the standard art prints to more unique items like jewelry and watches.  This area was always crowded and at times it was difficult to get to some booths.  Hopefully this will remain the way they run artist alley as it allows for more foot traffic as well as a way of building interest for the event from the regular tourists.

Closing Ceremonies by Jared
It doesn’t feel like a complete convention without watching the closing ceremonies.  This time around they began by having a few of the guests say their farewells.  It was nice to hear the guests talk about the fun they had and make a few jokes.  This was followed by the staff dropping some hints about next year and giving out the final numbers for the event.  This was a humble close to a small event, but the audience was happy to see all the guests one more time.  The closing ceremonies were followed by the ‘con gripe’ where people voiced their concerns about the event.  While most of the feedback was positive, there were a few people who had issues that they’d like to see resolved next year.

Otakon Vegas came to a quick close. By the time it was noon, badge security personnel dispersed. Artist Alley was slowly packing up and moving out. As we exited the convention center, floor runners were being marked on the hotel floor making way for dealers to haul out. Otakon Vegas came to a close, but Las Vegas is always open.

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