Even being the huge anime fan that I am, I have yet to go to a convention or publicly cosplay. For those who don’t know what cosplaying is, I’ll explain. Cosplay is dressing up as a character from a show, movie, or video game. As a beginner at cosplay, I haven’t done much outside of Dean Winchester and Castiel from Supernatural. So for the first time, I went in full cosplay as Spyro the dragon at the Cincinnati Comic-Con on Saturday, September 21, 2019.
Waking up on the day of the con, I was so excited, especially as I was getting ready. I was to cosplay as Spyro the dragon from an older video game on the PlayStation 2. To get ready I started by putting in my purple contact lenses because ow, those hurt and I always cry for a bit. I then proceeded with my dragon like makeup and gluing on my fangs. My outfit was a pair of ripped black jeans, where I was supposed to have purple leggings underneath, but unfortunately, those weren’t delivered on time. I also wore a yellow collared dress shirt with a large purple sweater over top to try and give off a modern Spyro look. My favorite part of the entire costume was my goggles. Those were a blast to play with and wear throughout the day. I typically kept them off due to the fake elf ears I had, but I think it added to the character. Last was my wig, a huge pain because it did not like to stay in one place. I had previously styled it, but like its character, it was stubborn as could be. I was to have wings, horns, and a tail, but the horns I had crafted were not looking the best when they finished drying so I left those at home.
Arriving at the convention was alright. Traffic wasn’t too bad yet, the convention had started maybe an hour before we arrived at 10 a.m. My group split off into pairs and I went solo. There is something about walking in large crowds with stands that makes you do it alone at times. Having another person can be tricky because they might judge you for standing at a stall too long, but they also can help you manage your money better (something I could have used). It was an interesting experience, walking around and having people ask you who you are. A few even stopped me at stalls to ask for pictures, which I thoroughly enjoyed due to my own insecurities with how my wig was faring that day.
I did end up going to a panel. The three of the English voice actors for the anime My Hero Academia were set in front of the crowd in a large meeting to answer questions. Colleen Clinkenbeard (voice of Momo Yaoyorozu), Clifford Chapin (voice of Katsuki Bakugo), and Kellen Goff (voice of Overhaul) were the three present and were more than happy to see all the cosplayers and fans that showed up.
Photo courtesy of the author.
On top of going to see the panel, I was given the opportunity to meet and talk with Josh Keaton who voices Shiro from the Netflix original Voltron. He also voiced Hercules from the Disney film and Spiderman from The Spectacular Spider-Man. I had previously bought a poster of the characters of Voltron that an artist created. On the poster, the characters were each holding up a different pride flag. I asked Keaton to sign his character, who is actually a member of the LGBQT+ community and it made my entire year. Best day of my life. By far. Keaton wrote, “Own who you are.” I actually have the poster hanging on my closet door because it makes me happy and gives me hope.
To conclude, the expo was a good first experience. I may have spent too much money, but it was well spent (in my mind at least). I didn’t end up staying until closing (7 p.m.) because my legs could only walk around for so long. I probably left more towards 4 pm which still wasn’t too bad. I also didn’t eat until arriving back at my dorm because in my mind, waiting to eat and spending that money on more posters and shirts was the better option. But I do advise eating and packing snacks! You can bring a bag into the convention center! Outside food is allowed! Please eat! Stay safe out there with your cosplays and carry on!