So, I can tell you that it has been 18 years since my last ConnectiCon. When I was there before, I was a vendor slinging t-shirts, and Robert Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager walked past me, and I was legit starstruck. I don’t remember if I had gotten any photos, but the free time I did get after working my shift, I enjoyed it for what it was.

Then I heard about the issues with the con from people over the years. I was hesitant.

But I went back… For autographs, and goddammit, it was worth it.

My plan was to go meet Jessica Calvello and Suzie Yeung. I had gifts for them. I was only able to give Suzie hers (a Girl-Type Ranma plush), and I could find Jessica’s… Which I found later… In a box with USB cables. But as time went on, I discovered that Jon St. Jon was there along with Barbara Goodson. The voice of Duke Nukem and Cologne in the Ranma ½ reboot? YES.

So, I made tracks to go for one day, and that’s it. In a way, I had an issue with going to a con for one day. I felt that I couldn’t do it; I needed to do the full weekend, and Thursday too. But I realized that, with me saving for Japan, one day is fine.

And I kind of made my mistake there.

I got to the con around 12, thinking it wouldn’t take long for me to grab my badge and go inside. Wrong. It took me about sixty minutes to get in. There was a long line in the hotel parking garage. Upon getting to the front, there were about eight or so registration check-in stations. I had thought maybe there weren’t enough stations. I feel that there weren’t enough, only in terms of time. From 11 am to 3 pm, there should have been double the stations for peak service… But that’s just me.

Normally I would grab photos as I get to my autographs, but I held fast and was able to get my autographs. I also enjoyed that I was able to have 5 – 10 minutes of conversation time with Jon, Jessica, and Suzie. I will say I was a bit more overjoyed with Suzie; I think she could tell how much I love Ranma ½. I mean, I praised her work, and I truly felt that she did an exceptional job, and I showed her my Ranma ½ watch face.

Talking to Jon St. Jon made my day too. When I got his line, I noticed that he had an adoption program and there was a place to pet and play with puppies in need of a good home. I talked to him about how much I love Duke Nukem (yeah, I enjoyed Duke Nukem Forever, shut up). And he told me about this video between Duke Nukem and Claptrap that was amazeballs. I told him about how Kurohikarichan and I were playing Borderlands 3, and she mentioned blowing up the bathroom, and I started laughing, reminded of Duke whistling while using the bathroom.

I made my way over to see Jessica Calvello, who I call the chill aunt who shows up at Thanksgiving and Christmas with the most epic stories to share with her nieces and nephews. I had gotten her a gift from when I went to Universal Studios, but I couldn’t find it at the time. I told her how I always post Hange Zoe cosplayers in her Discord when I’m out and about at cons. She is someone I’d love to have a martini with.

Also at this con was Barbara Goodson. I decided to go over to her booth and see she’s do a video message for my friend Davira, who is fighting cancer… And wouldn’t you know, he was there, and I gave him one hell of a hug! He is doing much better, and he told me that he and Barbara are really good friends, and she’s been following his cancer fight! I was able to chat with her briefly too! Unfortunately, I didn’t have my Ranma ½ artbook; I would have wanted her to autograph it. She voices Cologne in the new series, and she did an amazing job!

After that, I went to find my friend Derek at DKCY Arts, who does amazing work. I bought three prints from him. After we chatted for a bit and met (I only knew him through Facebook), I went off to take photos.

There were a lot of amazing cosplays. I am also glad that the layout of the convention center was straightforward. It wasn’t hard for me to walk around and take photos. I mean, after you make your way onto the second floor, you can hang out in the giant hallway area, go outside to the balcony area, upstairs to the  3^rd floor, or saunter around in the massive dealer’s hall. It just feels like one giant area; I mean, hell, I ran into a few of my friends multiple times!

And speaking of friends, I was able to get some great cosplay photos, get a shoot in, and photograph a friend of mine in an amazing cosplay she did too! I also felt like I didn’t have to do a lot of walking around for photos either. It felt very eclectic in the style of the various cosplays I have seen.

Because of my limited time, I did not stop and check out the masquerade, but I heard it was great. I opted to head over to Bear’s BBQ, take a Lyft to the bus station (it was raining), and head home. I will say, due to the rain, I was able to play catch-up with a good cosplay friend of mine… Well, she’s more of a friend than a cosplay friend, but you get my drift.

Did I enjoy myself? Absolutely. I wish I had checked out some panels, but there wasn’t a program guide to tell me what was going on.

I do know that if I attend in 2027, I plan to get there early on Saturday and possibly make arrangements to stay that night and head home Sunday. I wasn’t too keen on being in the registration line for that long, and I felt like I didn’t have enough time to do the simple stuff I wanted to.

DJ Ranma S

DJ Ranma S is cosplay veteran. He has won numerous performance awards with his friends over the years. He has staffed conventions in the past, ran panels, judged a couple of masquerades, a jack of all trades. He's worked dealer's room too! Running this site is his way of giving back to the cosplay community. He feels that it's his turn to give a future cosplayer their fifteen minutes of fame.

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