Otakon is always energizing, but it’s also exhausting. That’s why after Otakon 2013, John and I promised each other we wouldn’t go this year.

We preregistered by June. Something about the weather getting warmer made it harder and harder for me to resist. From there, everything came together. We didn’t have a hotel room, but Patches had room at his house. I missed the panel deadline, but I still ended up presenting one!

Due to family obligations this was my shortest Otakon yet, only 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday. Here were some of the highlights:

• Presenting on Mike Toole’s panel, Write About Anime For Fun And Profit. I found out about an hour before but for a topic like that, I would have come with a minute of advance notice! Myself and the other panelists have all written for Otaku USA, but we each ended up there in very different ways. There’s more than one way to write about anime professionally, and I learned some things, too.

• Hanging out with Kevo of Anime Maru in person. I’ve interviewed him on this blog, but I hadn’t really “met” him until now.

• Dinner with Tony of Manga Therapy and our mutual friend, Bobbie, which made it apparent that yes, we can talk about Yowamushi Pedal for two hours without running out of stuff to say.

• Drinks at the Alewife with half of Anitwitter. If you’re ever wondering who all these people with moe girl avatars actually are, @GNitro‘s annual Otakon gathering is the place to find out what they really look like.

• Finding the complete guide to every Gunpla model ever made at the Kinokuniya booth. It’s gonna be sooo helpful for updating Gunpla 101, and I swear we will be giving that site an update this week.

• This car. Update: it belongs to Cosplayer Kyo! He calls it “a 14 year dream in the making.”

• Finally getting over myself, at age 27, and buying doujinshi from the extremely loud vendor with the rainbow YAOI flag. I’m sure you know who I mean. Using it to practice my Japanese but let’s be honest, we’ve got plenty of raw Gundam manga around the house that I could have used instead. Unfortunately, I did not buy so much hentai that the vendor took me out to dinner.

• Handing out shiny new Otaku Journalism flyers like, everywhere.

I’m sure a lot of people are wondering what happened with Dave Lister, and whether he made an Otakon appearance to demo his game. I did not see his booth in person or on any maps, but I did hear this from friend and trusted fellow journalist Tyler Waldman: “Otakorp’s president declined to comment on the game in detail, saying it’s the subject of pending legal action and they expect a resolution in the next few months.” That’s all I know right now.

I wrote about attending Otakon in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010, but I think I’ve been there 8 years in a row now, ever since I was 19. Every few years there’s something, like the fire alarm scare in 2010 or the long lines this year, but nobody can deny that it’s the most iconic anime convention on the east coast. We’ll see if I manage to sit it out next year.