Katsucon 2024
The cosplay convention that's also an anime convention
Another Katsucon has come and gone. It seemed to fly by so quickly. It’s like a black hole of conventions, sucking up my time and energy and leaving me wondering where it all went. I spent the whole weekend walking around and I didn’t see half the people I knew were there. I saw their Instagram posts and stories after the fact. It seemed impossible that we would completely miss seeing one another. The building isn’t that big.
The three day anime convention held at the Gaylord National hotel and convention center in National Harbor, MD is best known for the cosplayers it draws. The resort is magnificent and well-decorated, with its awesome glass atrium and marble flooring. If you’ve spent even just a little bit of time in the world of cosplay you’ve probably seen photos from Katsucon. The famed gazebo still isn’t worth the wait, but you probably stood in line anyway. It’s just what you do when you come to Katsucon.
If you sit down and look at what Katsucon has to offer outside of cosplay photo ops, you might be surprised. There’s a distinct lack of panels, guests (both foreign and domestic), and other events common to most anime conventions. It’s like the staff have accepted this convention’s role as the place to be seen and just phoned in the rest. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to discount the hard work that staff do. Conventions are difficult to run and there’s still so much that goes into putting on a con like this. It's just that everything that isn't cosplay seems to take a back seat.
For example, I’m sure there’s a gaming room (right?), but I couldn’t tell you where it is or what it offers. There are panels. Yes. There are, but I’ve never set foot in one. I can at least say I’ve been to the vendor hall and artist alley. They’re of decent size and have good offerings.
For a con of 25k+ attendees, you might expect more. More guests, more panels, more fun things to do other than dress up in cosplay and take pictures. Relative to other cons of its size, it’s quite lacking. Combined with the crowding, I always tell myself “I’m not coming back next year!”, and yet I still do. Why?
The real draw of Katsucon are the attendees. It’s a major networking event. A place where you meet new people and perhaps become good friends. It's people watching turned up to 100%. You don’t really mind spending all day in the atrium, traversing the escalators and elevators among its four grand floors. You don’t even feel guilty for not looking at the schedule of events. You aren’t going to break away in the middle of the day to learn about Japanese ghost lore. That instructional panel about foam crafting will have to go on without you. You have people to see.
Katsucon has a magical appeal. You look forward to it with a mixture of excitement and stress. If you’re a cosplayer, you’re planning your biggest and best cosplays around this con. Con crunching is an Olympic sport thanks to this con. You want everything to look its best for all those photos that will be snapped, regardless of whether you’ll actually get them back (looking at you and photographers 👀).
With only three official days on the schedule, you pack your days with shoot after shoot. You run yourself ragged, moving outdoors to brave the unpredictable weather, then back inside and up to the glamorous ballroom level. Those heels look so good, but you’re paying for it dearly. “It’s worth it if the photos turn out”, you tell yourself.
Before you know it, it’s Sunday afternoon and things are winding down. The con is officially done by 3pm and then it truly is just cosplayers and photographers. That’s okay. The crowding thins out and there’s finally room to move around and get good shots. You stay up late hanging out and chatting with friends new and old. You feel the post con depression is starting to hit. If you’re a little bit crazier than the average attendee, you stay until Monday or even later. There’s a few people still cosplaying, but the hotel is prepping for its next convention and it feels different. The weeb atmosphere has cleared and it’s just another hotel now, albeit a beautiful one.
That’s the real Katsucon. If you’ve been there before, you were probably nodding your head while reading this. It’s not the best con, but it’s better than many. You might not have the best experience there, but you'll talk about it often. It wasn’t made for cosplayers, it just became that way after moving into the Gaylord National. And that’s okay. You might not be too keen about cosplay or the cosplay community, which can be toxic and full of people climbing the ladder of social media. That’s completely understandable. You might still attend for the non-cosplay events, and that’s great. As long as you find a way to enjoy yourself, it can be a worthwhile experience.
The room block will be open before you know it and you will race to get one of the coveted Gaylord rooms. It’s a stressful event and there’s not much of a strategy to it. I previously wrote a whole article about room blocks and I was still wrong about how it actually works. You just click buttons and hope, heart racing. I’m not going next year, but I’m gonna try to book a room anyway. And I’ll probably see you there next year. Sigh 🤦
The Cosplayers
As always, a massive thank you to all the cosplayer who recorded with me. You are amazing! Catch the full cosplay music video right here!
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