First and foremost, I offer my sincerest apologies for the belated nature of this article. Some things in life take precedence before anything else, as was the case here. Financial responsibility coupled with family troubles made me realize that adult life was catching up to me much faster than I was ready for. Again, I am sorry to all from the panel with whom I made prior commitments. If you wish, contact me and we can clear matters. "Baltimore is Tissue Cuts" A “Metal Gear Solid: The Unofficial Site" Review of the 2005 Otaku Convention
Assuming for a moment that Hideo Kojima had his way, Otacon (Hal Emmerich) would be a balding, overweight man with an affinity for chocolate bars. Instead, series artist Yoji Shinkawa opted for the somewhat malnourished semi-youth that has since become a sort of icon. I find it fitting then that, namesake aside; the first convention sponsored Metal Gear discussion panel took place at the Otaku Convention or “Otakon”. Moreover, the Games Convention in Germany was taking place on that very weekend, where the latest Subsistence and AC!D trailers were revealed. These events, combined with the staggering attendance record of 22,000 at Otakon, made for the perfect opportunity to shatter my nerves. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Friday morning at around noon , after putting up with a Greyhound driver who ran countless lost circles around Silver Springs, I finally arrived five hours late with my girlfriend at the Baltimore Convention Center . Already surrounded with costumed attendees, we made our way towards registration and were granted our choice of ten different badges. Once registered and checked into the nearby Wyndham hotel, it was time to enjoy the convention. Sightseeing was integral, as we had to wait until the discussion panel started later that afternoon. Very quickly, we began to see a few Metal Gear cosplayers. One impressive cosplay was of “The End”, complete with Mosin Nagant, though he may have taken the name “Moss Camouflage” a bit too literally. Sadly, I was unable to snag a photo before he vanished into the jungle of people. As 4:00PM came round, a mesh of Metal Gear fans and cosplayers began to merge around the panel room doors. The predominant theme this year appropriately seemed to be “Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater”, as Naked Snake cosplayers came in like a stampede. Curiously enough, they all seemed to have different types of camouflage. At this point, I was able to meet up with the panel founders; Aa-chan and J’aime.* We talked for a moment before we began to set up for the Panel, and even now I’m impressed with the quality of the presentation they had prepared. Posters, promotional items, and even prizes in the form of "Metal Gear Solid 2" Medicom figurines made their appearance on the display table at the front of the room.
The panel was about to start, and not being too familiar with this type of event, I was expecting 20 or so people (namely, the Snake cosplayers I had just met) to show. Needless to say, I think that we were all a little surprised when every seat available was literally filled, with people even standing in the doorway. Everybody seemed excited over the idea of a wide discussion on the series, and while Aa-chan and J’aime ( *² ) were readying their papers, I was setting up my laptop for video previewing, nervous as hell. And seeing as how I had decided to dress up as Otacon for the event, I thank almighty God I didn’t piss my pants. Some things can be too appropriate.
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