MetroCon has come and gone. Here are some highlights from the 2017 anime con held in Tampa Florida:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PL_8f0jUsIo__-3TNDeN7V-4ayxyNwYIqq[/embedyt]
Panels, Gaming and Special Guests
This year’s MetroCon brought some unique experiences and guest panels with noteworthy voice actors such as Steve Blum, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Scott McNeil, Christina Vee, Vic Mignogna, Max Mittelman, Ray Chase, and Robbie Daymond. The con featured a variety of panels on subjects as diverse as Nerds with Disabilities to Supernatural Genderbents. There were tabletop gaming rooms as well as video gamer rooms. The merchandise hall was nothing short of an anime cosplay wet dream. The con is worth it for the shopping alone.
Vic’s Star Trek Dreams
Like all things however this con was only as good as its storytellers. One great storyteller is Vic Mignogna. This English voice actor has been Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, Kurz from Full Metal Panic, Broly in Dragonball Z, Ikkaku in Bleach among a host of other projects. During his talk, Vic regaled fans with some coming soon projects. The most interesting is his participation in the expanding of the Star Trek Universe with Star Trek Continues and how it is fulfilling his childhood dreams.
MetroCon facilitated an open and welcoming environment that felt both embracing and comfortable. In minutes during his talk with fans the feeling was like Vic was chatting with a 100 or so of his closest MetroCon friends. Fans felt comfortable expressing their love and sharing priceless moments with Vic. As far as celebrity panels go this was handled with an abundance of professionalism and a sense of true engagement which some cons have trouble generating.
Scott McNeil and Pepper Appeal
One of the featured voice actors was Scott McNeil. Known for his signature look and pepper fetish he’s voiced anime and video game characters. Many know his work from DragonBall Z, Beast Wars, and World of Warcraft. His panel was relaxed yet filled with ritual. Through bouts of witty banter and some play acting the actor gave his thoughts on past projects, action figures and what the Warcraft movie felt like to him.
The MetroCon Power Board Blum McGlynn and McNeil
One of the final guest talks featured some heavy hitters with Scott Blum, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Scott McNeil. They collectively have voiced or directed such blockbuster animes like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Ghost in a Shell Stand Alone Complex, Star Wars Rebels and countless more. Their talk focused on how to get into voice acting and how to take care of your voice as a voice actor. They veered into other stories describing bloopers from recordings to the proper way to voice Wolverine.
All in all this was a con worth attending. Security was tight due to pricing for levels of con access. However the staff were friendly, cooperative and easy to talk to. So put MetroCon on your con to do list next year. Be sure to check out the panels which range from costume contests to LARPing. If you’re so inclined submit a panel. Regardless of all else start planning your cosplay costume now because the competition is fierce.
See you next time MetroCon. Anyone who attended MetroCon or is curious let’s talk about it in the comments below.
