[Update: check out our Otakon 2009 cosplay photo slideshow!]

Every year, the downtown harbor area of Baltimore‘s regular crowd of summer tourists is transformed into a colorful spectacle as a cast of anime & video game characters, lolitas and general sci-fi fanboys (and girls) take over the whole neighborhood surrounding the Balt Convention Center — yup, it’s Otakon!

Otakon has been the most popular event of its kind on the East Coast for more than a decade. Team Iggy is on the scene and will provide updates, interviews and of course, photos throughout the weekend and in upcoming days as part of our ongoing J-pop, otaku and anime coverage.

Initial impressions (many more pics to come!):