Otakuthon is

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

's largest anime convention promoting Japanese animation (

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

), Japanese graphic novels (

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

), related

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

and Japanese

pop-culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

(

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, cinema,

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

). It is held annually for 3 days in downtown

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

during a weekend in August. It is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, fan-run anime convention that was initiated by

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

's anime club, named ''Otaku Anime of Concordia University'' (''Otaku Anime'' for short). The name "Otakuthon" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsJapanese word ''" otaku"'' and "

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

". Otakuthon strives to be a bilingual (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

) event, having programming, the masquerade and the program book in both official languages. The first edition of Otakuthon was held in 2006 in mid-June, but later moved to early-mid August / late July from 2007 onward. Last year's edition, Otakuthon 2019, was held on August 16–18, 2019 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

Programming

As with most other anime conventions, Otakuthon offers a wide range of programming, exhibits, and other events. Otakuthon's programming consists of

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

events, a masquerade, vendors, an Artists' Area, panels and workshops, game shows, anime video screenings, dances,

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

and music concerts. New to 2008 were photo booths, a

garage sale A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale," "basement sale," "rummage sale," "thrift sale," "patio sale," "lawn sale," and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...

and a manga library. *Art: The Artists' Area is an artists' marketplace for illustrators, painters, writers, and crafters to display and sell their arts and crafts. A separate Art Gallery allows artists to display and auction their artworks. *Cosplay events: Otakuthon features a

Cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

Skit Contest called the Otaku Skit Show, a

Masquerade Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to: Events * Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event * Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa * Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...

, a Cosplay Chess and a Cosplay RPG Battle. Many attendees spend most of the convention in costume as their favorite anime, manga or video game character. Some participate in the Otaku Skit Show, the Masquerade (one of Otakuthon's largest events), the Cosplay Chess and the Cosplay RPG. There are also photo booths where attendees can have their photos professionally taken in costume, and the Cosplay Café, where attendees can enjoy Japanese snacks, meals, desserts and drinks while being served by volunteers in cosplay. New in 2014 was the Canadian Preliminaries for the

World Cosplay Summit is an annual international cosplay event, which promotes global interaction through Japanese pop culture. It developed from a cosplay exhibition held at the Aichi Expo in 2005. The WCS incorporated in 2012, by which time it had grown to includ ...

, where cosplayers from Canada compete and qualify to represent the country at this international cosplay event in Japan (see History section). *Gaming: Otakuthon has a large room for playing

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s on consoles and

PCs A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...

, with

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s scheduled throughout the weekend. It has also tables reserved for tabletop card-trading games such as Magic: The Gathering and boardgames such as Settlers of Catan. *Merchandise: The convention has a large Dealers' Area in which commercial merchants such retailers and professional artists and crafters set up booths and sell anime, manga and video game related merchandise. It is one of the main attractions of the convention. There is also a

section where attendees can buy used merchandise items. *Music: There are musical performances throughout the weekend. There is at least one concert at the convention featuring a musical Guest. Otakuthon also features

rooms and hosts the Otakuthon Idol singing contest and the J-Music in Motion show. *Panels and workshops: Otakuthon, like almost every convention, has panels and workshops on subjects such as various anime series, how to draw manga,

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...

and a variety of other topics. While Guests of Honour discuss and tell news or stories about their roles or occupations and answer questions from the audience, most panels and workshops are given by fans rather than Guests. *Saturday Night Dance: There is a late-night dance party on Saturday night hosted by Montreal area (and sometimes Guest) anime DJs. *Video screenings: There are many rooms in which anime series, films and OVAs and

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

J-Dramas are shown on projector screens during the convention. Fan-made productions such as fan parodies and

anime music video An anime music video (AMV) is a fan-made music video consisting of clips from one or more Japanese animated shows or movies set to an audio track, often songs or promotional trailer audio. The term is generally specific to Japanese anime, howeve ...

s (AMVs) are also shown. For those who prefer reading manga, there is a room where the entire manga library collection of ''Otaku Anime'' is at the disposal of attendees to borrow and read. *Sub-events: Each year, Otakuthon has hosted a number of sub-events, a series of programming and activities based around specific passions. To date, this has included Yaoithon, Yurithon, Dollfest, the Hakurei Shrine Festival, and Pokéthon. *Other attractions: Attendees can meet Guests and get items autographed, or engage in the weekend-long anime-themed Otakuthon Misadventures

live-action role-playing A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...

(LARP) game with dozens of participants. There are also various other games, events, shows and contests such as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the Fashion Show, the Sunday Morning Brunch, Trollball, Otakuthon Turnabout, the Anime Mystery Dating Game, Anime Name That Tune, Anime Win, Lose, or Draw, the Human Battleship Game, Yurika Kart, and DollFest activities.

History

Otakuthon evolved from the annual ''Animethon'' anime marathon presented by ''Otaku Anime of Concordia University'', held at the

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on the Sir George Williams campus. The anime marathon had over the years, used one or several screening rooms, over the course of one or two days, and had included ancillary events. In 2005, the 10th edition of ''Animethon'' was renamed ''Otakuthon''. In 2006, ''Otaku Anime'' joined with other local anime clubs and individuals to turn the annual anime marathon into a full blown convention. While convention membership at the 2006 edition was free, admission fees were introduced from 2007 and onwards. There was a pre-registration option for the paid memberships, and attendees who pre-registered could arrive on Friday afternoon to receive their membership badges in order to gain instant access to all convention events on the same day at opening time. Admissions for the Masquerade and J-pop concert were included in the membership fee. The 2007 edition's outstanding success prompted Otakuthon to move its venue from Concordia University to the much larger Palais des congrès de Montréal

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

in summer 2008. This allowed the convention to increase its capacity, concentrate the main attractions on a single floor instead of multiple floors at the university, as well as free itself from restrictions imposed upon by the institution. In the same year, ''Otaku Anime'' and the other anime clubs managing the convention formed the ''Quebec Anime Committee'', Otakuthon's parent organization. With a great number of out-of-province Guests invited in 2009, Otakuthon was upgraded from a regional-level convention to a national-level one.http://congresmtl.com/2010/05/le-palais-des-congres-conclut-des-ententes-pour-11-evenements-denvergure-qui-genereront-des-retombees-de-plus-de-23-millions-de-dollars-pour-montreal/ 2010 introduced a Thursday evening badge pickup option for pre-registered attendees, which alleviated the long lineups on Friday as well as provided them immediate access to the convention area when the doors opened on Friday afternoon. Year after year, Otakuthon has occupied more and more conference spaces and hallways of the convention center following an annual progressive growth; while in 2008 less than half of the 5th and 7th floors were booked, in 2010 nearly 80% of those floors plus the main exhibition hall of the 2nd floor (for Registration) were open for the convention. In 2017, Registration was moved to Level 1 to make space for expansion of the Exhibition Hall on the 2nd floor. Expansion of exhibit and conference space is expected to continue in the upcoming years as the convention continues to maintain a strong growth rate. In 2014, the ''Quebec Anime Committee'' became the ''Otakuthon Cultural Society'' and continues to manage the convention to this day. In 2018, Otakuthon started offering VIP passes called Premium Badges. A badge mailout option was also introduced to attendees pre-registering for the convention. Otakuthon has a relatively significant economic impact on Montreal, compared to other similar-sized national-level conventions held at the same location. In 2011, the convention generated an estimated $2,137,157 in economic spinoffs in the city, while in 2010 it generated an estimated $1,606,076. In 2020, Otakuthon was cancelled for the first time due to concerns over the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

World Cosplay Summit Canadian Preliminaries

Muramasa entry during WCS Canada at Otakuthon 2014

In 2014, the

(WCS) announced that Canada would join this international event as an Observer Nation in 2015. Otakuthon was selected as the convention to hold the Canadian Preliminaries for the WCS, starting in 2014. Winners from the Preliminaries at Otakuthon 2014 traveled to Japan to participate in the WCS 2015 events, but not compete in the Cosplay Championship. This was the first time a Canadian cosplay delegation represented the country at this international event, which has been running yearly since 2003. Since 2016, Canada was eligible to compete in the Championship and earn awards. The Preliminaries to select the team to represent Canada as a full-participating nation were held at Otakuthon 2015, almost a full year in advance. The World Cosplay Summit is generally held from late July to early August, with the 2016 edition held from Sat, Jul 30, 2016 to Sun, Aug 7, 2016. In 2017, the Preliminaries at Otakuthon were moved from Friday evening to Sunday mid-day, and the show was livestreamed to Team Canada's quarters in Nagoya; also that year, the Cosplay Championship was livestreamed to Otakuthon attendees in a special screening room.

Event history

Sub-events

Year after year, Otakuthon hosts a number of sub-events, a series of programming and activities based around specific passions. *Yaoithon: A celebration of all things yaoi, including shounen-ai, slash-related phenomena and related fandom and communities, with events such as panels, screenings and workshops. *Yurithon: A celebration of all things

yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

, including shoujo-ai and femmeslash, with events such as panels and screenings. *Dollfest: A celebration of both ball jointed dolls and Asian dolls. Events include panels, workshops, a doll masquerade and swap meet. *Hakurei Shrine Festival: Also known as TouhouFest, this sub-event celebrates the

Touhou Project The , also known simply as , is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man independent Japanese ''doujin'' soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. Since 1995, the team's member, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has independently developed ...

video games. Hakurei Shrine Festival first began in 2013 and has included panels, cosplay meet-ups, screenings, video game tournaments, and art and merchandise swaps. *Pokéthon: A

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

-themed sub-event that took place in 2014 and 2016. Pokéthon was the first series of Pokémon-themed fan-run events in Canada, and included panels, a video game tournament, card game tournament, trivia contest and cosplay photo-shoot. They also helped launch the Montreal Pokémon League.

Other events

Otakuthon's staff and volunteers also organize events in Montreal other than the main annual convention. Most of the con's staff and volunteers are present at these events. *Since 2008, Otakuthon has held an annual '
Halloween Party
'' on the Saturday before

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

. It is Montreal's second-largest cosplay event after Otakuthon, ahead of Montreal Comiccon, and second-largest costumers' gathering on Halloween after ''La Grande Mascarade''. The Otakuthon Halloween Party has changed venue every year in order to accommodate for increasing attendance. **Otakuthon Halloween Party 2008 was held at the ''Coeur des Sciences'' building of the '' UQAM''. **The 2009 Party was held at the Chinatown

Holiday Inn Select Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

hotel. The event sold out, resulting in attendees being turned away at the entrance, with some of them coming from afar. As people left, new tickets were sold, and some of those who were turned away came back and were admitted to the party. This prompted the organizers to find a much larger venue for next year's Halloween Party. **The 2010 Party was held at ''L'Espace Réunion'' reception hall, a much larger venue than 2009's location. New features included skill games and a food service area. **The 2011 Party was held at Outremont's Inter-Generational Community Center. It featured more skilled games and a larger food service area. However, no photo booth was installed. **The 2012 Party was held again at the same Outremont Community Center, with minor changes and additions. A Halloween-themed wide painted backdrop was available for open photoshoots. **In 2013, the Party moved to the larger Centre Jean-Claude Malépart and had minor changes and additions. **The same venue was used for the 2014 Party. **There was no 2015 Party, as the convention was unable to secure a venue that meets the scheduling, budgetary and logistical requirements involved in running an Otakuthon Halloween Party. *In February 2012, Otakuthon hosted a Manga Ball. Held at the ''

Grande Bibliothèque The Grande Bibliothèque is a public library in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its collection is part of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), Quebec's national library. Membership in the library is free to all resident ...

'' of the ''

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec ( 'National Library and Archives of Quebec') or BAnQ is a Quebec government agency which manages the province's legal deposit system, national archives, and national library. Located at the Gr ...

'', this

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

-type dance event coincided with Montreal's Nuit Blanche downtown-wide event. Additionally, they organize a
annual trip
each May to Anime North (AN) in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada's largest anime convention. The travel group is open to anyone, not just Otakuthon attendees. The Otakuthon staff and volunteers assigned to this trip, which act as brokers, receive trip signups and trip money from travelers, which is used to reserve chartered buses, book hotel rooms and make group registrations for the con. This travel group from Montreal is the largest, single group registration for Anime North, at about 50 people. Otakuthon's annual Anime North trip provides a cost-effective, centrally-managed opportunity for Montrealers to attend AN without the hassle of figuring out every detail of the trip, competing for hotel room bookings, getting together a group large enough to qualify for Anime North's group rate, and determining an itinerary from Montreal to the con's area, which is outside of downtown Toronto, requiring commuting or a taxi ride if the method of transport chosen is by bus or train, which have their terminals downtown. (Car travelers can drive directly to the con, while air travelers can land at Toronto Pearson International Airport, which is next to the con.) Signups for the trip usually open in January of each year.

Mascot

Yurika (pictured on the right), a fictional blue-haired teenage girl, serves as Otakuthon's mascot. She appears under many forms on Otakuthon booklets, badges, website, clothing and other wearables. She was originally created for the convention by local artist Jessie Rong.Otakuthon 2007 :: FAQ
/ref> Yurika has been drawn by various artists over the years and a mascot contest was even once held.Otakuthon 2009 :: Mascot Contest
/ref> Véronique Thibault, Yinyin Liu, Sharyl Chow and Meryem Bahnini were credited in the Otakuthon 2010 program booklet for different versions of the mascot. In 2011, Yurika was joined by her brother Yatsumi, her cousin Yuki, and her friend Yumi.

Past anime conventions in Montreal

There has been 2 other anime conventions held in Montreal, in addition to Otakuthon. They were: *Montreal Anime Expo, Montreal's first anime convention. Organized by Hobby Star Marketing (HSM) of

, it was held on November 14–16, 2003 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The Guests of Honor were

Scott McNeil Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...

, Kirby Morrow,

Chris Sabat Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, voice director, ADR engineer, and line producer working for Funimation, and OkraTron 5000. Some of his prominent roles in animations and anime include Vegeta and Piccolo (Dragon Ball), Piccolo ...

and Brad Swaile. Montreal Anime Expo never returned, and Montreal had no anime convention between 2003 and 2006. *Daikon, a single-day anime convention held on July 3, 2010, at the Holiday Inn Montreal Midtown. Their Guest of Honor was Linda Hartley, and a portion of the proceeds went to the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation. This convention also never returned.

References

External links

* ** *
Otakuthon
on Flickr **
Otaku Anime
of

News articles:
Montreal Gazette review of Otakuthon 2008Otakuthon 2008 Cosplay at Montreal GazetteArticle in Le Devoir
{{coord, 45, 30, 18.69, N, 73, 33, 35.24, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Anime conventions in Canada Festivals in Montreal Comics conventions in Canada Summer events in Canada Arts festivals in Quebec