Nadia's Midboss Musings: Best of Otakon 2017 Cosplay!

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I attended Otakon 2017. "Otakon" stands for "otaku convention." An otaku is a girl like me who likes Japanimation.

Actually, I don't know if I'd classify myself as an otaku; I watched some of My Hero Academia over the weekend, and that's the most anime I've consumed in months (outside of episodes of Dragon Ball Z Abridged).

But Otakon has gradually become a celebration of geek culture in general, so it's hard to feel left out if you're a kid at heart. Besides, many aspects of Western entertainment are intertwined with anime, manga, and Japan in general, so Otakon's just kind of become a warm, gooey mass of games, anime, manga, comics, movies, and TV.

In fact, Overwatch was one of the most popular cosplays at the show this year – and Overwatch isn't an anime, a comic, or even Japanese. I've been going to Otakon for thirteen years now (give or take a year), and it's been interesting to watch cosplay evolve and branch out. We're well beyond the days of seeing ten thousand Gokus wander the show floor (though Dragon Ball Z characters are still very popular cosplays).

For this week's Midboss Musings, I'm highlighting some of the best game-related cosplays I saw at the show. Maybe it'll get you in the mood for the fall cosplay season, AKA Halloween.

Final Fantasy XV was a popular cosplay choice, and more than a few of those cosplayers dressed in Noct's "Moogle-Chocobo" carnival get-up. Final Fantasy XV may be a technically imperfect game, but the draw of its beautiful boy cast cannot be denied.

I saw a Neku cosplayer from The World Ends With You on my first day. Good start! Relevant, too; we just talked about the game on Axe of the Blood God.

Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of Persona 5 cosplay this year. Much of it was conventional, but a few costume choices were a bit bizarre. For example, why cosplay as a Phantom Thief when you can cosplay as the Velvet Room?

I cosplayed as Fox, incidentally. Look! I found friends! We're starting a band.

More Persona 5. This beauty went viral when I posted it on Twitter. Why? Look closely at the baby's head.

I blame this picture for the fact Otakon sold out of "GET SMOKED" hats before I could buy one. Congratulations Nadia, you played yourself.

Persona 5's Futaba was, uh, a popular cosplay choice. So much red. Like a sea of blood.

The "Otakon Simulator" guy returns every year with a new "box." Towards the end of the con, he slaps a Steam discount sticker on his costume.

The Happy Mask Salesman from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask cursed me with a terrible fate: A blurry shot. Sorry.

My husband cosplayed as a Shyguy / Jason Voorhees mash-up (does that make him a Jason cosplayer-cosplayer?). Mario sure is a trusting fellow.

There's always a handful of remarkable Mega Man cosplayers at Otakon. This Shadow Man is nifty, and there was an incredible Sigma I unfortunately missed. A friend grabbed some video footage. They know what I'm about.

This was the only Night in the Woods cosplay I saw, but it's all I needed.

Phoenix Wright has been a strong cosplay choice since the first game's (English) release in 2005. Even though his popularity ebbs at times, the spiky-haired lawyer always comes raging back with a hearty "OBJECTION!", usually after a new game is released.

Undertale was a monstrously (hah) huge cosplay theme last year, and it was no slouch this year, either. At least the photoshoot was indoors this time; last year, some cosplayers suffered heatstroke. In one noteworthy instance, an onlooker asked a sweating Mettaton cosplayer if they needed a fan. Mettaton said, "Darling, I have plenty of fans!" before passing out.

It was funny, but also worrying. They were fine, though.

Other than Overwatch, Pokémon Sun and Moon was probably Otakon's #1 most popular cosplay this year. Specifically, Team Skull. So many Team Skull cosplayers. I'm not surprised; Team Skull is Pokémon's best-ever villain troupe. I appreciated every Team Skull cosplayer, but here's a shout-out to the folks who went out of their way to stand out – like these guys posing as Alola's bus stop thieves.

Final Fantasy always has a commanding presence at Otakon, and thanks to Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, Red Mages were in fashion! I think this guy's feather fluttered off somewhere, though.

Look, I'm just really into Neko Atsume, all right? Mazel Tov on your cat-maid baby, Otakon attendee.

Here's Spark, Team Instinct's leader in Pokémon GO! By the way, people have asked me why I joke about Spark being an Arby's-scarfing stoner. This is why.

The current political and social climate probably has you believing there's nothing good or pure in the world any longer, so here's a gang of Final Fantasy VI cosplayers to lift your sagging spirits.

Finally: Another Team Skull throw-down, this time with a boombox-toting Ursaring. The text boxes say, "It's your berry-thief boys, back … back again!" and "Team Skull, represent! We can't pay the rent! Had a lot of fun, but our youth was misspent!"

Oh, Team Skull. Never stop being hilarious and tragic.