OMG it was INSANE!!! The amount of people on a "Friday"... You'd think on opening day like Friday would allow for LESS people to visit on "Friday"... Bang! You're WRONG!!! The lineup was okay and was well organized but we were all being HERDED into the "Opening Ceremony"... And TBH all I was really interested was buying some Manga for my Cousin. It's her birthday over this weekend... And so I figured I'd go to the CON and surprise her with some COOL gifts!
I arrived at 9:30 AM and got my Lanyard & Pass in about 5 minutes... Then I waited in line from 9:30 AM to 10:15 AM... And finally got access to the Opening Ceremony Room about 10:30 AM... Which was okay, except I did NOT want to attend this "ceremony"... I wanted to visit the exhibition hall.
So I waited in the hallway until 11:05 AM and finally the doors were opened and I was allowed into the "Artist & Merchant" showroom...
TBH there weren't many T-Shirt vendors. I found 3, one of being very high-end with limited sizes. But I found the perfect T-Shirt for her ... It's CAT MANGA! That's right, you heard me: CAT MANGA or Japanese Cat Artwork! It's super hilarious too... And exclusive to the Otakuthon in Montreal. It says: "Me? Sarcastic? Never!" Hehehe... Fun loving and purrfect for my cousin!
I looked at the Bobble Heads (there were a lot of those vendors... SEVERAL!) and asked one of the sellers if they came with a "BASE"... Because if you put it on the Dash of your car... It better STAY THERE and NOT FALL OFF if you hit the breaks a little or just fall off during a curve, etc... You get the idea. So NO BASE = NO BOBBLE HEAD!
Next I figured I'd try to get some Female Manga (not the guys stuff with the sexy babes in skimpy clothing...) but actual content for women (girls) may like... So it was HARD... And I looked until I found "Rose Hip Rose Vol. #1" for $5.75 CAD. Very reasonable... Slightly used (yeah I bought a used book because I don't know if she will read it or not...) but it was at LEAST Vol. #1 in the series and is pretty interesting as a concept. Rose is a Female Special Agent that fights criminals that are too powerful or corrupt that the normal Police cannot handle. Like I said: "Go Girl-Power!" I think I did GREAT by choosing that book!!!
So I still had some pocket change in my wallet ... And continued walking around the CON and ... Found some CUTE "Manga Socks"!!! Well they're with Animals and hearts and designer... I got 3-Pairs for $15 CAD. I know $5.00 CAD for a pair of socks is EXPENSIVE... But it's a CON... And I know they would be VERY hard to find elsewhere... So I bought those too!
I think in total I spent $55 CAD... So I hope she likes her gifts... I took my time in trying to find things she would appreciate. She's my Older Cousin and she is very generous with her time (and I know she doesn't have a lot of it...) but still ...
Wrapped everything in Purple Paper in a CUTE "Cat-Bag" ... She has two (2) cats and is a cat-person... Loves all things "cute and feline"! So yeah, that was my experience at the Otakuthon this morning...
If you LIVE in Montreal and want to surprise your girlfriend or wife with something novel... Might be worthwhile to visit the CON... I only stayed for about 1-Hour after getting in. The sales with the vendors was easy... And I had just enough cash on me for the presents.
I didn't explore everything... But at the same time, I had a purpose and found what it was that I was looking for...
Again if you're in Montreal and have nothing to do Tomorrow or Sunday... The Otakuthon continues to welcome more people through it's doors!
Cheers!
Note #1: Here is the Link/URL for the Otakuthon Official Website:
https://www.otakuthon.com/2023/home/
Cheers and if you go... Let me know how it went for YOU!
