Convention Review - Connecticon 2017

Welcome to my annual review for Connecticon fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I have to admit.....I might have been a little about the con in my review last year. Even though I had fun, I certainly gripped about a bunch of stuff. I can only attribute my frustration to having gone to the convention for so long, that I’d kind of expect it to stay the same. However.....Can 1 year make a difference? Can 1 year allow for fixing & improvement!? Well, take a look below and find out!

Good Points
So let’s start off with the part of the review that I like the most, and that’s the good stuff about the convention!

Once again I decided to pre-reg for the convention. Like last year, it was a quick & easy process, and while it was expensive (75 dollar base price + 5.99 dollar surcharge), I had a badge on standby for when I got there. The pre-reg line was quick, and it only took a few moments to get my badge. Funny story: lanyards for the badges weren’t available at the time, and one of the con-staffers say they apparently had lost them on the way there, but the next day they received them. Something I thought that would get you a little chuckle.

The people were a big treat as usual at Connecticon. Cosplayers of all grades were there, ethnicities of so many groups, it was impressive. They were all talkative in their own way, and were really friendly. There were some really cool costumes, with the most intriguing being a girl cosplaying as Chun-Li from Street Fighter, and she incorporated her Hijab into the costume. A great way to keep your own culture while dressing up as another. In fact, I like it so much, here’s a picture of her!

The various merchants & sellers were great as usual. Though my budget was a little strained this year (My fault), I still walked away with a healthy amount of goods. 3 boxes of pocky, 2 bottles of Ramune, 2 anime DVDs, 1 volume of manga, 1 Commander 2015 deck (Call the Spirits. A nice black/white enchantment deck), and the Commander Anthology pack at a con-special price (129.99 compared to 144.45 on Amazon). Even the booths I didn’t buy stuff from had a wonderful selection of stuff for others to buy. Artists had some awesome stuff, and even the guests that came were great & varied as well (Pricing for autographs & pictures from some guess were unfortunately high again).

If it looks & sounds like I’m repeating things from last year, then you have my apologies. I’m not trying to be lazy, but in a way not much changes per year in regards to what I thought was good. The one new thing I can talk about is the expansion of the game areas. Last year in place of where the rave was is a big tabletop room. Games fill a part of the room, and you can pick & choose which one you want to play (All you have to do to borrow one is give them your license to hold onto). The other game area takes place in a portion where the dealers area was. Though the 2016 version certainly brought the goods, the 2017 was expanded with more arcade, console, & PC gaming. I never thought I’d ever see Quake 3 Arena at a convention, anime or otherwise!

Okay Points
There’s really only 1 thing that I’m putting here, and concerns the wee hours of Friday morning. I’m up, I’ve had breakfast, and I’m ready to go......only to find that the convention center wasn’t open (It was supposed to open at 9, but instead was an hour late). The reason I’m not putting this in the section below is that it really wasn’t the con staff’s fault. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that the convention center staff had a few things that weren’t up, and if that’s the case I can understand. Granted 1 hour was shaved off the day, but I can get it.

Bad Points
And here’s where I get a little critical. Unfortunately, Connecticon 2017 is chained down by the prior year in terms of issues: curfew, not as many quality panels, reduced staff size, etc. All of what I complained about last year has come back, but in it’s defense, some faults were more obvious than other. What really bugs me was the entire feeling of the con. To a certain degree I felt like I wasn’t at Connecticon. Instead, I felt like I was at a Comic-Con. Now, I think the idea behind Comic-Con is cool, and see it work so well all over the United States is great! However, Connecticon should not become a Comic-Con. At first the rumors I heard last year were nonsense, likening it to people complaining too much. After talking with someone (Who’s name I can’t remember).....my fears might not be completely unjustified.

Overall Impression & Rating
Connecticon 2017, kinda like last year, was equal parts fun & flawed. There was definitely fun to be had, and I most certainly did, but the ghosts of the previous year’s convention seemed to have come back to haunt the place. Strangely, I wasn’t quite as annoyed, but at the same time reaffirms my fears of what the convention is turning into. Regardless, I came in with a smile on my face, and I left with one. Connecticon 2017.......nice job!

Connecticon 2017 gets a 7.5 out of 10.

So that was Connecticon 2017. Still a fine geeky weekend to have fun at, but has a few kinks in the armor thanks to 2016. With this review out of the way, it’s time to get back to part 2 of Power Metal Pandemonium, and we’ll get to my second review next week. See you then!




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If you’re curious about my review from last year, the link is below:

Connecticon 2016 (Review)

Also, I’ll post up the attendance number when they come out.