Pre-Convention Thoughts - Youmacon 2017
- pinoyknight
- Nov 3, 2017
- 4 min read
At lucky number 13, Youmacon begins it's 13th year as a thriving convention. For me, this con will always be embedded in my heart as my first ever convention; the convention that hoisted me into the world of cons and ultimately allowed me to write about cons (and eventually, anime and games). I remember 2013 when I did not really know what to expect from a convention and how misty-eyed and excited I was to even go to one. Then 2014 happened, in which the schedules and the itinerary were unorganized and the support staff were not there when needed to be. I skipped 2015 (for personal reasons) only to come back to a supremely awesome experience in 2016. Patiently waiting in the halls of the COBO (Center) in line for a pass, I find myself both worried and hopeful of this weekend's convention experience. For such large conventions, would there be enough staff to direct con-goers? How organized would the 13 year-old convention be with its attendance growing year after year? Would Youma's special guests and events top last year's? Basing this off of previous years of both successes and even failures, in my 4th year of attendance, I have high expectations for the more-than successful convention of the "Motor City".
Every year, Youmacon brings in some of the best of the best in the anime/voice acting industry: From the sensually 'dandy' sounds of Ian Sinclair, to the wonderful 'little sister' voices of Cassandra Lee Morris, we've got an exciting ensemble cast of actors blessing us with their skills and presence. Other actors include Eric Stuart (Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!), D.C. Douglas (Albert Wesker from Resident Evil 5), and even the godly infamous Billy West (Fry from Futurama, and basically almost every character from my childhood). As such, I am really looking forward to the convention's special guests and hope I get to hear more about their experiences and life in the voice acting industry. (As a side note, these actors are also pretty awesome as people too!) I will say that I am a tad glum that Laura Bailey or Alexis Tipton won't be here - the latter I missed the opportunity of meeting at Anime Central (ACEN) this past year - due to the sole fact that they voice my favorite girl Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening and FE: Warriors, respectively. I am also surprised that Team FourStar is not here, from the looks of it; all the times I have been here, they were as well so it may be quite a surprise to most con-goers. Either way, the list of actors and industries truly looks as if they aim to please!
Of course with conventions comes cosplaying! The cosplay I've seen within the past hour-and-a-half of my arrival have already blown my expectations through the roof; I always see something new every year and the genres have been diverse! Such cosplay range from Eleven (Stranger Things, to Sans (Undertale), and even Rey (Star Wars: Episode VII), it is a delightfully diverse array of people's hobbies and tastes, and I feel it truly shows how open people are about their hobbies, lives, and interests, which already conveys how welcoming a convention can be. Of course, there is always the structure on how everything is managed which is for me, the most important quality that a convention needs and should have. I really do focus on this quality when it comes to Youmacon.
Earlier, I referenced the convention during it's 2014 run: It was straight-out bad. No euphemisms or eloquent words from me regarding this, but it was just bad. Why? Well like stated earlier, lines were not... well... lines, having to do anything took a bit longer that most panels or gaming events, and even the schedules were printed on folded pieces of paper. Oh, and the pamphlet books were just made sloppily, as if someone did not care about its presentation whilst putting it together. These were just the few of many problems that I had and because of thoese, I remember not really having a good time as compared to my first time. I really do hope that 2017 keeps up with how successful Youmacon can be; how I KNOW Youmacon can be.
So, here I sit, after successfully retrieving my press badge, writing about and admiring how well everything has been well-organized, even compared to 2016 alone. With staff herding the registration lines and press staff being welcoming to me as my first time as press as a major convention, let's just say that Youmacon 2017 is on track to destroying my expectations and even rising above it!
As a thank you to all of Youmacon and their chairs, I promise to write a kick-ass review of the convention, just like Dokidokon 2017 before it. Now, I'm going to get off my butt and enjoy this con! ^_^
- Karlo 'pinoyknight' Delos Angeles
Comments