OtaRockman 2010 Report

Image courtesy of Ryouko.

Here it is, at long last: The Mega Man Network’s OtaRockman report.

While Otakon officially kicked off on Friday, July 30th, OtaRockman– the Otakon gathering of Mega Man fans (and called such as “OtaMegaMan” doesn’t quite have the same ring)– events did not begin until Saturday morning. As you can see above, there were a number of cosplayers on hand for photo opportunities at 11am, but those are just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s a wider spread:

Image courtesy of Ryouko.

As you can see, there is a pretty good representation of characters: a Mettaur/Metool, Giro, Harpuia, two Lan Hikaris, Alia, Laika (concealed by Alia), FyreFox (with Laika), Phantom, Ms. Yuri (concealed by Phantom), Sniper Joe, Model ZX, Mega Man, Snake Man, “Casual Blues” (as portrayed by our own Oekaki Mom, Tabby), Pickelman, Magnet Man, Bright Man, Geo Stelar (with Omega-Xis), and Mega Man X.

…plus one other I regrettably can not make out. If it’s you, or you know who they are, feel free to post it in the comments below.

And I believe there were a few others running around as well; you can catch many more images of the lot in Ryouko’s gallery.

Following the cosplay gathering, it was time for Terra’s Mega Man 9 Endless Mode tournament! And the prizes for the top-ranking super fighting robots?

Image courtesy of Terra.

Tournaments held in previous years consisted of Mega Man Battle Network NetBattles, but this year, competitors fought their way through as many screens of the downloadable Endless Mode of Mega Man 9 as they could within five minutes, or before they died. Thinking back, I’m not sure anyone met the five minute mark.

Image courtesy of Ryouko.

Many gave it their all, but in the end, there could only be three winners. And those who excelled were as follows:

1st Place: WolfShadow, with 35 screens.

2nd Place: MetroidMaster, with 33 screens.

3rd Place: Jeffery, with 22 screens.

After the tournament, we dispersed until the nighttime, when we would reconvene at 8pm in the Hilton Key Ballroom “Panel 6” room for “The Anime & Manga Realm of Mega Man.”

Image courtesy of Scarab.

It should be noted that in past years, there had been far more people who tried to attend the panel than could be allowed in. This year, we received a much larger room, but at a small cost: we were set immediately following the OC Remix panel in another room, and at the same time as the cosplay masquerade. But even so, we still had the room nearly filled (with some people staying in after the Gaia Online panel).

For one hour (and a little bit more), Tabby, Terra Stardroid, Robo Nanya, and Ryouko of Rockman.EXE Online, and myself went over the history of Mega Man/Rockman in comic and animated forms, including the Megamix manga series by Hitoshi Ariga, the Rockman.EXE anime, and other noteworthy adventures…

Image courtesy of Scarab.

Following that main portion of the panel, we did a little question-and-answer period before moving on to the raffle, which featured generous contributions from Tabby, UDON Entertainment, and Capcom Unity. Not only did the latter offer up three Mega Man Zero Collection games and t-shirts, but there were also other fun items, including some Mega Man Kubrick sets given out.

Plus, each panelist got their own Mega Man Zero Collection t-shirt, making us a stylish, uniform bunch. So a special thanks to JGonzo and the Capcom Unity!

And with that, the Mega Man-centered festivities came to a close. Good times were had, prizes were given, and with any luck, we’ll be back next year.

LanceHeart