Otakon Highlights - Day Two - Aug. 8, 1998

The flood of cosplayers to Otakon was unrelenting. Here we take a look at some of the people who arrived in costume early on Saturday...	...and we continue our costumers' survey with a glance at the rest of the early Saturday cosplayers at Otakon.
The lights were dim for the masquerade but the spirits were high - and the corps of cosplayers was large. Here's a look at the first groups who performed in the costume contest...	...followed by the pictures of the second groups of performers at this link...
...and images of the third groups which took to the stage can be found here.	At the end of the night, the judges bravely strode forward to confer their awards in front of a passionately yearning audience.
Manga artist Hiroshi Aro had never been to the U.S. until his trip to Otakon. He was pleasantly surprised to discover the number of fans who had demanded the release of his Futaba-Kun Change.	For most anime fans, the series that started their fandom was Robotech. Shoji Kawamori created the mecha that made Macross memorable and continues to carry the Macross name into the future of anime.
Does sex sell? The American anime companies said it does - but cuteness and adventure and comedy also sells. They're bringing all of that from Japan to the U.S.	You see them at the tables in anime convention halls. They're the men and women who are looking for a break in the comics industry. What stories do they tell?
The number of anime titles sold in the U.S. grows by leaps and bounds, but it's not close to matching the tsunami of titles available in Japan. Experts looked at the trends developing in those series.	Steve Bennett took his cel painting workshop to Otakon, where people learned how to have fun with anime - even if they have no artistic talent.

Otakon Day One Otakon Day Two Otakon Day Three