It’s fitting that my return to writing kicks off with an event review. But hey, trust the process—this is just the beginning piece of something bigger.
This past Saturday, I attended Otamatsuri, an anime con hosted by Movie Jabber at the A.S.K. Dome in Jamhuri Park with 4 amazing friends, Bestie, Ezk, Lizard and Clone (This are the aliases for funzies). The location was decent, but the signage was a disaster. Google Maps led us to Kibera, and many attendees were getting lost, with even security personnel at different venues resorting to redirecting lost attendees without being asked. Clearer signage from the main road would have solved this issue, preventing frustration that could lead people to turn back before even reaching the event.
Once inside, the experience was a mixed bag. The vendors were friendly and had a solid selection of merch. Shoutout to Nairobi Otaku Shop (Nairobi Otaku ) for their fun jump game, which attracted a lot of participants and customers, they charged 50 bob for participation. Bestie and Lizard had a great time challenging themselves and seeing how far they could jump. If you know the person who got the highest jump, please tell them that they deserve a shot of Sake. However, the lack of a schedule left us aimless, forcing us to raw dog the event and hope for the best. The food situation was another letdown, with limited options and disappointing vegetarian choices (Bestie is a Vegetarian). I mean, African Bento but in a regular plastic container? It was tasty, but not exactly what we expected, their vegetarian option was just rice with veggies and a chapo. Also, most of the vendors ran out of food which meant very limited food options. The Sake was fantastic, shout out to Clone for treating us.
The entertainment was decent, but it lacked a clear schedule, from what we gathered they had a dance-dance revolution game going on in the back, at the front of the dome where the main stage was, they held a trivia game session that you had to sign up beforehand. We took part in the trivia from the back where we tried to test our knowledge, we did fairly well. After that the had the Trivia they had a bunch of performances, majority of which were K-Pop dancers. They one performance that stood out for us was Niaje Koki’s performance of his song "Sushi Ramen"( Sushi Ramen). It was a beautiful masterpiece and we were fully entertained. That said the sound quality in that place, was heinous, we could barely hear what was being sang clearly.
The cosplay was impressive, though the audience voting felt superficial, which is a common gripe in the community and usually leads to cosplayers doing it for fun and not to compete (think piece coming soon). The after-party was poorly organized, they had everyone leave the dome and then re-enter with several unnecessary ID checks (One would have been enough, they had 3) that caused a bottleneck. Safe to say we got in and then immediately left to get Sake and ended up socializing in the parking lot instead of at the after party. Overall it was a good socializing sesh.
Overall Rating: 4/10
Suggestions for Improvement:
Signage: Clear directions from the main road to the venue are crucial, along with well-marked parking areas and entrances.
Entertainment: I can’t emphasize this enough but schedule is a must. It allows attendants to plan their experience. Consider adding more community-focused activities like tabletop games, workshops (not panels, workshops were people can learn a new skill), on going Console/PC area that’s on going and interactive challenges to foster a sense of togetherness and be a less capitalistic focused event. These are the shortened version of my ideas, side chat if you want more ideas or a breakdown of these ones. Sound checks to make sure that people in the back can hear clearly.
Food: More variety is needed, especially for vegetarians. The African Bento Box was a great idea but would be better served in actual bento-style containers. Food is a very very very important especially if people are going to be drinking.
After-Party: Avoid the re-entry chaos by using different colored wristbands to separate age groups and streamline ID checks.
Facilities: Running water and more dustbins are essential to keep the event clean and enjoyable. The washrooms ran out of water, it was a nightmare and a personal ick. Actually it is more than ick it’s a proper hygiene issue that should not be overlooked at all.
Post Event Feedback – I will keep saying this till the cows come home. It's the best way to learn what worked well and where improvements are needed, especially for community-based events. As of the time of publishing this they shared a link for feedback (Otamatsuri 2024 Feedback )
As a long-time attendee of cons in Kenya, I want to see our community grow and thrive. Cons like Otamatsuri have great potential, and with a few tweaks, they can grow bigger and be better. I am looking forward to us getting to a point where we have Geek/Nerd/ Otaku hangouts that is open to a bigger group (picnics, tabletop sessions etc).
The UK has cross country geek meets, they have common meeting area where you can come in cosplay or in regular clothes. You go around the Geeky place of that city (Geek and Anime shops etc) you get enough time to walk around the shops and even make purchases. Some of the shops even give discounts to the group. Afterwards there is stop for everyone to go get food from different shops and regroup before heading out to the last stop which is mostly a park. There you get to mingle, take photos, play table top games and eat your lunch. The meet ups happen every other month, it is a great way to make new friends, capturing content.
As Kenyan Nerds we can create a similar experience but with Kenyan activities. Note I said Similar and not same, mean borrow the idea and make it ours instead of trying to replicate the idea. I do love getting amazing collectibles but nothing hits the spot like a good community. Especially for the younger folks, looking to find like-minded people, chefs kiss. Here’s to a bigger and better geek community!
As always remember to "Explore ideas one thought at a time and stay curious! ✨"
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