Hello again friends! Oh boy, has con hangover got me bad. Completely and utterly spent physically and mentally after my first ever four full days at a con. Although I have been going to ECCC for a few years now, this was the first year that I ever went for all four days. WOW, I was not at all fully prepared for the adrenaline and excitement to dip so hard the night of the last day of con. But, I’m back in action and ready to talk all about ECCC!
Alright folks, here’s a bit of a breakdown of ECCC this year. New dates took place in August this time around, instead of it’s usual March and just a few months after it’s pushed con in December. There were many visible differences that could be seen by attendees, some good and some bad. A big one was the lack of big vendors (or as many vendors) in the exhibitor hall, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it look so sparse. There was also a lack of anime or manga at this convention, and yes, I know it’s a comic convention. But, they have always had a big presence of anime/manga (or even people selling manga books) at the con. From what I could see, they had very few booths with anything anime related and only some small space for it. The Maid Café was a part of it, and it was amazing and delicious! I had thought it might be a little awkward, but Dreamland Maid Café was absolutely amazing! They were all so nice and did some great shows, and the desserts and drinks were so good (we cleaned our plates and not a bite was left!).
Everyone’s cosplay was amazing, as was the cosplay contest. But, I do have to say that I did have three favorite parts of con this year. The first being Brendan Fraser, also known as the love of my life and A.K.A the man of my dreams (If you haven’t seen The Mummy, then you haven’t experienced life yet my friends). I actually got to breathe the same air as him and he looked at me! Me! It was one of the best moments of my life, getting to meet him and get a photo too (guys, I was tearing up when I went up to him and afterwards he winked at me. I think I had a stroke).
Okay, okay now onto the other favorite parts. I loved artist alley this year, to me this is always one of the best spots for any type of merch at a convention (there was so much beautiful artwork there). I mainly spent my money in this area of the convention and do not regret a single cent! Lastly, one of my absolute highlights from this year and at con, was the One Piece panel. Three of the main cast were there, Sonny Strait (Usopp), Ian Sinclair (Brook), and Colleen Clinkenbeard (Luffy). This was most definitely my dream team for a panel, since I have recently fallen so deeply into the One Piece pit (another article on that is coming up later…). Getting to sit in the front row with friends as just watch/listen to all the voice actors talk about how passionate they are for their characters and this legendary anime was just WOW. It really warmed my heart to hear them all talk about how they want to keep voicing their characters till they can’t anymore and how they dream that they get to go in the booth to record when they are eighty. There was also talks of Colleen Clinkenbeard getting to one day (hopefully soon) instead of saying “I’m going to be the Pirate King!” will finally get to say “I am the Pirate King!”. It was so great! Probably my favorite panel of all time so far!
Hopefully, I was able to fill you guys with anticipation for next year’s Emerald City Comic Con… One of which I am happy to say is moving back to its March time slot and already has tickets onsale now! I look forward to seeing everyone there again and enjoying the convention to its fullest!
