At MegaCon at the start of February, I had a once in a lifetime moment that fulfilled one of my biggest dreams I’ve had since I was a little kid back in elementary school. I got to meet some of the voice actors from the first ever anime I had ever seen, it was also the anime that got me into the community.
The anime in question is Naruto. I still remember a friend of mine recommending I watch it after school when it came on at 5pm on Cartoon Network. I said I would check it out during commercials of the show I would normally watch with my grandmother at that time. As you can guess, I was hooked after yelling at the tv about a few of the characters. Now, I started the series not at the beginning but a bit after. The characters were still young and were in the climax of their big first arc of the series (I know it as the Haku and Zabuza arc). I had thought Naruto was super funny and I could not stop rooting for him, even when he was doing stupid stuff. Where I also came into the show led me to believe that the other two main characters, Sasuke and Sakura, were a couple. Sadly, they were not…yet. I waited nine years for that ship, and it was worth every moment of waiting.
Anyway, Naruto has always been near and dear to my heart because it was pretty much my first love of anything anime/manga. It was also something I watched with my grandmother, and that also gives me really sweet memories of her when I think back on it. I may have also shown my much younger sister the series when I most likely shouldn’t have (she always asked why Naruto would turn into a girl and be naked, I still cannot answer that question for her. Hahah).
Finding out that THE voice actor for Naruto would be at MegaCon was a big thing for me, and I made sure I knew the schedule well enough to go to all the panels and signings that I could to meet them. I ended up only meeting two of the four main cast members while at MegaCon. While I’m sad I couldn’t meet them all, I did get to meet and get a signature from the (dubbed) voice of Naruto (Maile Flanagan) and from the (dubbed) voice actor of Sakura (Kate Higgins). I love them both so much and still plan on going to any event that I need to, to finally meet the dubbed voices for Sasuke (ekkk) and Kakashi (who I just found out will be in Washington for a convention I’ll be going to in June). So, I already have my plan working so far for meeting all the English voice cast.
I was also able to attend the cast of the Naruto panel that was held, and I ended up being moved to the second row. I was losing my mind and so excited to see them all up close and personal, I was also in stitches (as my grandmother used to put it) by their responses to questions. I was able to record bits and pieces, and finally found out why Naruto stopped saying his iconic line, “Believe it!”. I guess it had to do with a trademark issue of all things. It was also really cool to see how the voice behind the characters interact with each other in person, and some of their more honest opinions about their characters and the series.
Super happy that MegaCon was able to let me fulfill one of my deepest childhood dreams, and forever sealed me as a fan of their convention with their guest list. Can’t wait to see who they will have next year!
Are you a fan of Naruto? Did you have a chance to meet and/or see the cast at MegaCon? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Twitter/X at @TheConCollectve, Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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