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When: February 14-16, 2014

Where: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD

What Is It: Katsucon is an annual 3-day fan convention held in the D.C. metro area for multicultural enthusiasts and entertainment.

Review: by Anthony and Lee

Embracing our inner Otaku, we've really decided to make a go of this whole con-goer thing.  This year, we've decided to hit as many cons as feasible, and first on our list was Katsucon, a new experience for both of us.

In addition to our written review below, we sat down with our friend and co-contributor Garid, who was a volunteer worker at Katsucon XX and thus was in attendance all three days of the convention, to discuss all of the panels and events that he visited.  We also included more in depth discussions about the panels that we attended.

Listen to an audio review here:

What We Liked:

The Panels

Similar to Anime USA, Katsucon had a much smaller attendance than Otakon, which again was a good thing because it meant that there was plenty of room for all in the panels.

Rikki Simons (left) and Richard Horvitz (right)

The first panel we visited was Invader Zim with Richard Horvitz and Rikki Simons, better known as Zim and Gir.  While Anthony did not have the fabulous experience of having watched Invader Zim, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the two go back and forth in their characters’ voices.  Rikki Simons, unfortunately, did not do a whole lot of Gir lines, but the ones he did were a treat.  Richard Horvitz, on the other hand, not only used Zim’s voice frequently but also slipped into and out of several of his other very recognizable character voices, such as Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Alpha-5 from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and Dagget from The Angry Beavers.  The pair entertained several questions, and interacted very enthusiastically with the audience, particulary Richard Horvitz.  Audience members learned the hard way not to walk out on Mr. Horvitz before he was finished with them.

Keep up with Rikki Simons here: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Keep up with Richard Horvitz here: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Next, we visited the FUNimation Industry Panel, which was pretty typical for what it was.  It was basically an introduction to the various anime collections they had available for sale in the Merchants Hall.  Each item was announced and a short clip was shown.  Those featured were their very own The FUNimation Show, which features interviews with voice actors, con-goers, clips from conventions, and more, Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail,  One Piece: Strong World, Wolf Children, Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess, the first season of Dragon Ball Z on Blu-ray, Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians, One Piece: Season Five-Voyage Five, Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, the first season of High School DxD, seasons 1 and 2 of Jormungand, a box set of Kamisama Kiss, Robotics; Notes – Part 1, the premium edition of Psycho-Pass, the complete series of We Without Wings, and Heaven’s Lost Property.  One other announcement was made that did not pertain to their merchandise, however, and that was that the English dub version of Attack on Titan will premiere at Anime Boston.

Finally, we visited Super Art Fight, which came highly recommended by Darren.  We really enjoyed it and were sorry we missed part of it while we were eating lunch.  This was definitely the most packed panel we saw, but it was for a very good reason.   An art showdown between six very talented individuals, each with unique personalities, could be nothing less than spectacular, but they really put on a show.  The announcers were enthusiastic and funny, and the artists were extremely creative not only in their drawings but also in their attire and interactions with the crowd.  There was definitely a lot of crowd participation and excitement going on, and we found ourselves chanting “Wheel of Death” along with the rest of the audience as a new random challenge such as “Daleks on Vacation” or “Nick Cage Match” was selected.  I’m not sure what we were expecting from this panel, but we definitely got more than we bargained for.  It was a great time, and I think we both look forward to the next one.

Find the guys at Super Art Fight here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

The Events

The events were pretty typical.  We only took a quick stroll through Artist Alley and the Merchants Hall, but they were set up pretty similarly to the other cons we’ve visited; although, there were definitely different dealers and artists.  We didn’t see some of the artists that we normally see in Artist Alley, but there were some booths set up in Merchants Hall that I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen before.

Only Anthony set foot in the Video Game Hall, but he reported back that it was pretty normal aside from the fact that they had XBOX Ones available to play.  I can assure you that security was tight because I was not allowed inside with my backpack.

The Cosplay

A con just wouldn’t be complete without cosplay, and there were plenty to see at Katsucon XX.  Heavily featured were Frozen, Attack on Titan, and Sword Art Online cosplays, but they were very varied in terms of depth and creativity, making each one a new discovery.

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What We Didn’t Like:

There wasn’t much not to like, as long as you like anime conventions.  The only complaints I could think of would be that there was not enough information readily available to us as we arrived on Saturday.  We had to ask a few different hotel workers for help in finding the registration area.  Also, the whole not being allowed to enter the Video Game Hall with a bag thing was a definite hassle, though the Katsucon employee who was on guard was very polite and apologetic about the whole thing.  He even offered to get me a bottle of water while I waited.