Post-Con Thoughts

C2E2 has come and gone. All we are left with are my wild post-con thoughts and I am here to share them with you today.

If you follow me on social media you will have gotten a sneak preview of all the pictures I have from our con weekend. Kyo on Friday, Usagi on Saturday, and Space Bun Allison on Sunday. But there is more to it than cosplay and I still wanted to break down my thoughts on how the weekend went.

I have been attending C2E2 for four years now. In that time, I have attended for: panels, special guests, cosplay, being with my nerdy people, shopping, and artist alley. So, what better way to break down the weekend than by these fundamental con topics. I am going to smash together panels and special guests, cosplay and being with my nerdy people, as well as shopping and artist alley. Three categories to run this all down and see what I was up to and what I was thinking at this years Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo.

Cosplay & The Nerdom

My first year at C2E2 I attended just in nerdy fashion and then the past three years in cosplay. C2E2 is definitely still amazing for that. What I mean by that is you not only get to see incredible cosplay's but also you get to feel comfortable and safe while cosplaying as well. They have many "Cosplay is NOT Consent" signage throughout the convention and I have never had or known any one who has had an incident at this con. Not to say that there has never been an incident but I have not been aware of any. I bring that up because it was something I was a little worried about when it came to my Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon Modern Take (shown above). My skirt was a little shorter than I am used to but there were no incidents.

Ignore my horrible lack of facial mirroring and definitely admire James's success at it when you look at the above picture. But seriously, when it comes to cosplays, this year my cosplays were cheap, quick, and fun. My Usagi/Sailor Moon got a lot of positive attention. Kyo never stirs people up so much, oh well, it was more for me anyway. It was fun getting to chat with other cosplayers or people who just had questions about my jacket. Being around nerdy people is one of my favorite parts of a con weekend and this year delievered much of the same there. There is nothing like being with your people. Overall, I would say cosplaying/nerdom time went very well this year. 10/10!

Shopping & Artist Alley

Featured above is one of my best friends, Bethany, as we found ourselves in the thick of our con shopping experience. Ahhh shopping. One of my favorite past times. Just kidding kids, don't stress shop, it's bad for your credit. But smart budgeted nerdom shopping can be good for the soul. Every year I have gone into C2E2 with a wish list. This year was the first year I didn't. I knew I wanted art but that was it. And what better place to get art than Artist Alley.

First and foremost you must now one thing: Artist Alley is hell on earth. You are going to get some nice nerdy art but you are going to pay in more than just money. You are going to pay in blood, sweat, tears AND money. But we did it any way. We fought the crowd from Z to A and made it through the entire alley in one go. We've never done that before. Usually we take it in a couple spurts. I often wonder if there is a better way for them to set up Artist Alley. If you have never been to a con to see an Artist Alley, it is many tight rows, one after the other, very long and very packed with people. I have never been able to think of a better way for them to get so many artist in one place, and clearly they haven't either, so I think we will have to suffer on. It is worth it though. I left with some amazing My Hero Academia pieces. And some extra heart palpitations.

As for the rest of our shopping, we got some handmade chop sticks, face masks, enamel pins, stickers, and little stuffed animal key chains. Overall? I'd say it was a good haul. 8/10, two points deducted for each time I went into Artist Alley, because like the fool I am, I ended up doing it twice.

Panels & Special Guests

I have never been disappointed with a panel at C2E2. That is a fact. It should, however, be noted that I am not always a fan of the audience Q & A portion of the panels. But that is because of the audience, not the special guests. In fact, the guests always take horrible situations in stride and remedy them quickly which I, with my second hand embarrassment, am thankful for. Regardless, I only went to three panels the entire weekend. I went to see the cast of RWBY, the cast of Critical Role, and a world premier screening by Crunchyroll [which we will talk about shortly]. Three is not very much by any means. I did attempt to go to a couple others but they either cancelled or filled before I got there. But that should say something as well. The fact is C2E2 has gone down in the strength of their headliners. The headliners that they had this year were very good but also very niche which doesn't always apply well to the broader nerdom. Not to mention the ones that cancel, like Matt Smith who has cancelled last minute two years in a row. It just becomes, disappointing.

The three panels that I did see were excellent. RWBY's cast was a dream come true, I am a huge fan of Rooster Teeth and their work, seeing some people that I have listened to or watched for years right in front of me was wonderful. We were in the fourth or fifth row and I was in awe. But I am not so naive to think that they weren't a niche treat. Their panel, though large, did not fill. Which, I am fine with but I am sure other fans who are hoping for their nerdom's appearances are not so fine, not to mention C2E2 administration.

Ya wanna know who else wasn't fine? People who didn't make it into the Critical Role panel. Lines were filled right at open, at 10am. Which, can I just say, it really is so cruel that they do such a large panel first thing in the morning. I understand, from a business stand point why they do this, but honestly it makes me grumpy every time. Especially, for those who do all that rushing first thing in the morning just to not make it into the panel. We did make it into the panel though, and it was wonderful. Many did not. And I mean, it happens. I missed David Tennant last year, we all have our days in the sun. The main stage filled and they had to open a second room for a live streamed screening of the panel and I heard rumors that, that room filled as well and then people were turned away. It surprises me a bit because D&D is very niche at C2E2 but suddenly has become so popular amongst the community. I guess that would be thanks to Critical Role if nothing else. Either way, it worked out well.

The last panel I went to was a world premier screening of a new anime that Crunchyroll will be streaming as of April 2020. You might have heard of it, it's called: Tower of God. Yes, my friends that is right: I AM RIGHT ONCE AGAIN! Last week Crunchyroll and Webtoons announced the first string of Crunchyroll Originals which included Tower of God and Noblesse. I wrote about both of these in a previous article titled "A Nerdy Dream Come True" and talked in detail about Tower of God in "Caught in Their Web" and "The Part Two You Never Asked For". I do encourage you read those if you have not just so you cal fully take in the magnitude of both my excitement and my rightness. I do not want to release too much since this was a private screening and I would like to attend more in the future. BUT, I will say that it was a surreal experience and hands down the highlight of my con experience. I will be writing a full review of the first episode once it airs in April and will include my thoughts from the world premier compared to when it officially airs because I am sure my mind will change again. I am so thankful to Crunchyroll for providing such an excellent opportunity and I was happy to see them more involved at C2E2 this year, especially since Webtoons cancelled all their panels extremely last minute. So, overall? Begrudgingly- 8/10. I wanted to give this a 7 but honestly I did extremely enjoy the panels I went to, but some how I just left wanting something more.

With all of that being said, I think I have some con hopping to do in my future. But for now, that's all folks. I hope you gained some insight on the con going experience or at least got a kick at something!

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Thank you so much for tuning in for some post-con thoughts here in the Nerdom of My Mess. I hope to see you back Sunday for The Mess. In the mean time, finish your week strong and remember to stay nerdy and stay messy.