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Good morning and welcome to this week’s podcast! Last weekend, Claudia and I took the girls to Otakon, the largest anime convention on the East Coast. This was our third time attending this particular convention and our 10th (or more) convention since 2019 or so. We would have gone to more but, you know, Covid.
Otakon is HUGE, with an attendance of over 40,000 people, and we had a couple of conversations about how wildly different conventions are now compared to how they were when I was Anastasia and Lila’s age. So Lila and I decided to do a podcast about it!
This is Part 1 and we talk about the Before Time, when conventions were the domain of teen boys and older men with nary a girl or a woman to be seen…except for Booth Babes. That’s a thing and it’s as sexist as it sounds. Also, Lila and I insult each other a lot. But in a loving way. :)
Just a heads-up, Part 1 is mostly me talking since Lila wasn’t around 35 years ago. Don’t worry, she still has a lot to say. Oh, and Lila makes her accidental singing debut!
Anyway! Enjoy this stroll down memory lane. Part 2 will be out tomorrow!
Things We Discuss In The Pod
Hatsune Miku is the most famous Vocaloid. She is 100% not real. Her voice is completely computer-generated. Anastasia and Lila absolutely adore her.
Naturally, with the popularity of Vocaloids comes rhythm games, which are popular here but insanely popular in Asia. This is Project Sekai, the game we mentioned.
Trunk-or-Treat is trick-or-treating in a parking lot when you don’t have a bunch of houses you can go to.
The 501st Storm Trooper Legion aka “Vader’s Fist”
Thousands of people belong to the 501st and they have chapters all over the world. It’s pretty cool.
“Booth Babes”
The DOA volleyball intro (barely safe for work)
Lila Explains Cons Pt. 1: What Conventions Were Like Back In Ye Olden Days