Montreal Otakuthon and the Con Life

Disclaimer: I am more of a North American comic book fan than I am an anime or manga fan. 

After many years of working for comics, then with comics, and eventually managing a comic shop, my opinion on conventions has started to become a cold operational breakdown. For shops or vendors the process of preparing and setting up for a convention is an elaborate affair. Many larger companies will have a more permanent convention set up that is replenished by their warehouse or physical shop as required. For smaller shops, the process of deciding what will draw customers in and how to maximise the use of physical space can take weeks of planning accumulating in a mad dash to load everything into a truck and set it all up for the opening hours. All to take it all down again after three days to be back to work the next day.

My aim in sharing this information is to help you understand that one aspect of working conventions is fatigue. Deep deep fatigue. The thrill of being surrounded by fans who share your interests and access to other vendors, panels, and artists can carry your broken and tired form through a full weekend of jam packed days, but copious amounts of coffee might still need to make the difference. It was in this hyped barely functioning state that I first came across a group of Otaku’s at the Montreal Comic Con in the early 2010’s. It was late Sunday, in the final hours. The pace of the con had slowed and a large group was performing a choreographed dance in front of the bathroom with the vigor of someone who had just arrived. The only way to move past the group was to move in motion with them, as their laser-like focus could not be paused for base necessities.

My younger brother has always been a big anime fan, with myself being a casual fan as I come across series from time to time. But he leans more to the side of a gamer than a dancer, so there was a lot I had left to learn about Otaku. We started going to Otakuthon together for my brother’s birthday in 2017. Initially we would go for one day and would mostly take advantage of the principal floor/hall. One thing that Otakuthon and Comic con share in common is that the artists selling their work always creates something new and exciting to see. After many years you might be more familiar with the artists that attend, but it is still an opportunity to see what new items they have created. There are also a number of regular vendors with interesting products that you might have thought about all year round.

The growth of the Montreal Otakuthon seems to have taken a very different direction than that of Comic Con which was always tied into a broader North American Comic Con tradition. The 2010’s saw the rise of the marvel movies and independent comics following the success of the Walking Dead. These changes saw even larger celebrity presence, more inclusion of women and subsequently all genders, but also a significant change in how people collected comics. Many were left lamenting the decline of the single issue and diminished celebrity of comic artists over movie stars, among other complaints.

Otakuthon is listed as an anime convention, but Otaku by definition encompasses so many different interest points. Comic con also has a broad area of interests that intersect with Otakuthon; such as board games, figurines, collectables, etc. Otakuthon seems to be ever more excited by whatever is added into the suggested interests. A broader celebration of Japanese culture, as well as web based fandoms has been included. During Otakuthon you can eat at the Otaku lounge where you are greeted upon entry and exit. A special menu is made for the event that can be eaten to the sounds of Japanese karokoke. I have been disappointed that I don’t see more broader choreographed dances, but I have been exceptionally impressed with its ever growing offering of tutorials and planned dance demonstrations.

Post-Covid my brother and I started attending for the full three days to make up for lost time. What we discovered is a wide range of panels and tv show screenings, as well as events. This last year my brother tried his hand at a One Piece tournament. He normally plays Yugioh, but apparently due to pricing for decks, it was not included this year. Despite not having a One Piece deck to play with himself, someone provided him with one so he could participate. He had studied the rules for the game online prior to the convention, and was really excited about playing more card tournaments in the future. 

I love this about Otakuthon. It has a DYI feeling to it, with enthusiasts and professionals participating and presenting their offerings and interests. In a panel for upcoming anime being released this year, the back and forth between the team doing the research and the audience provided a more robust experience. I had previously participated in Comic Con panels that were no less engaging. But I will say they had a more polished convention vibe to them than what I have been experiencing at Otakuthon. If I compare it more closely to a tea ceremony we went to, I feel like the activities at Otakuthon are meant to engage attendees more actively than other conventions I have attended.

Written by Natasha Melbrew