4:00pm: I arrived at Otakon. There was almost no line for registration, but there was already one heck of a crowd. After seeing the registrars, I understood why.

After checking in, I headed on to the press room. With the cancellation of Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade, I had no interviews lined up. The staff in the press room was nowhere near as pleasing to look at (unless you're into 30-40 something men), but they were very helpful.

I asked if there was anyone that I could interview and they told me that Scott Houle would be available in a few minutes.

The guy next to me asked, "Who's Scott Houle?"

A voice from the doorway responded, "Some washed up old has been."

The voice, of course belonged to Scott.

4:30: This good-natured man with a an easy manner turned out to be the man behind Coastal Recording Studio, a studio that specialized in ADR (Automatic Dialog Replacement) for 17 years.

Wonderful, right? So why is this guy at an anime convention you ask?

ADR studios dub anime. Coastal Studios has done some wonderful dubbing work including "Ah My Goddess", "Lupin the Third", "Kite", "Blue Submarine No. 6", and "You're Under Arrest."

5:00: I decide that it's time to get around to one of the screening rooms.

I headed to screening room 4 and watched 2 episodes of "Zone of The Enders: Delores." It's magnificently drawn, written, and animated. Unfortunately, they only showed the first DVD, but it looks promising.

6:00: Time to walk around.

The DJ booth was playing dance music, J-Pop, and theme songs from all kinds of anime. I'm just thankful that they didn't get around to Pokemon or Sailor Moon.

There was plenty of dancing and the music wasn't too loud.

I moved on to the dealers' room for a while. I was stunned by the size of it. It was 1 1/2 times the size of a football field.

Bandai had one heck of a set-up. They had karaoke around the back and a screening room for their latest trailers in the center.

ADV had teamed up with Suncoast and the Anime Network to have the second most impressive display... booth-wise. ADV had the most impressive display personnel-wise.

7:00: Time for the "Webcomics Versus Webmanga" panel

This panel was moderated by Fred Gallagher (Megatokyo), Pontus Madsen (Little Gamers), Ian J (RPG World), and Matt Boyd & Ian McConville (MacHall).

8:00: After schmoozing with the artists for a few minutes, I decided that it was time to get seriously into Otakon's wildlife.

I discovered many of the con goers resting and relaxing in the OtaCafe. Apparently, these creatures have an affinity for anime theme karaoke. I was a strange phenomenon, but most of the performances were better than your usually drunk karaoke performer.

For the rest of the night, I wandered from screening room to screening room enjoying some new and some old anime. It was an all around good time for any Otaku.

All in all, it was a satisfactory first night. I couldn't wait to get back the next morning for my visit with Fred Gallagher and the Fan Club Summit with the guys from Dub This!

Go on and read Day 2 >>

Article and photographs © 2003 MillionairePlayboy.com