act as brokers, receive trip signups and trip money from travelers, which is used to reserve chartered buses, book hotel rooms and make group registrations for the con. This travel group from Montreal is the largest, single group registration for Anime North, at about 50 people. Otakuthon's annual Anime North trip provides a cost-effective, centrally-managed opportunity for Montrealers to attend AN without the hassle of figuring out every detail of the trip, competing for hotel room bookings, getting together a group large enough to qualify for Anime North's group rate, and determining an itinerary from Montreal to the con's area, which is outside of downtown Toronto, requiring commuting or a taxi ride if the method of transport chosen is by bus or train, which have their terminals downtown. (Car travelers can drive directly to the con, while air travelers can land at Toronto Pearson International Airport, which is next to the con.) Signups for the trip usually open in January of each year. Mascot Yurika (pictured on the right), a fictional blue-haired teenage girl, serves as Otakuthon's mascot. She appears under many forms on Otakuthon booklets, badges, website, clothing and other wearables. She was originally created for the convention by local artist Jessie Rong. Yurika has been drawn by various artists over the years and a mascot contest was even once held. Véronique Thibault, Yinyin Liu, Sharyl Chow and Meryem Bahnini were credited in the Otakuthon 2010 program booklet for different versions of the mascot. In 2011, Yurika was joined by her brother Yatsumi, her cousin Yuki, and her friend Yumi. Past anime conventions in Montreal There has been 2 other anime conventions held in Montreal, in addition to Otakuthon. They were: Montreal Anime Expo, Montreal's first anime convention. Organized by Hobby Star Marketing (HSM) of Toronto, it was held on November 14–16, 2003 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The Guests of Honor were Scott McNeil, Kirby Morrow, Chris Sabat and Brad Swaile. Montreal Anime Expo never returned, and Montreal had no anime convention between 2003 and 2006. Daikon, a single-day anime convention held on July 3, 2010, at the Holiday Inn Montreal Midtown. Their Guest of Honor was Linda Hartley, and a portion of the proceeds went to the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation. This convention also never returned. See also Montreal Comiccon, Montreal's comic book convention Anime North, Canada's largest anime convention References External links Otakuthon on