This last weekend, I attended WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center in Orange County to check out the wide variety of activities the event had to offer. I was initially skeptical this year due to the noticeable absence of featured guests and companies that had been present last year, but to my surprise, everything exceeded expectations and turned out great. As WonderCon operates under the Comic-Con umbrella, my expectations are quite high, given the standard of what Comic-Con brings to the table.
Some of the highlights of this year's convention were a special panel showcasing Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas alongside the Radioactive Chicken Heads, plus an exclusive discussion panel with the screenwriter and cast of the upcoming Until Dawn movie, inspired by the 2015 PlayStation 4 game. With Disney located right next door to the convention center, they invited astrophysicists and paleontologists to explore the science behind their immensely popular theme park.
Navigating the convention halls was very easy, with manageable crowds that rarely felt overwhelming. The upstairs section featured numerous rooms dedicated to anime screenings and panels. Many of the panel rooms were set up on the second floor and I did notice that the rooms were often not full, and attendees were even allowed to remain inside to wait for the next session.
The exhibitor hall maintained its usual spacious layout, offering plenty of room to move around and featuring an impressive variety of booths from a mix of major publishers and independent creators. One booth that stood out for me this year was Bandai Namco, which transformed its space into multiple lanes of gashapon machines, giving attendees the chance to obtain miniature figures of their favorite anime characters. It was also great to see some familiar booths from Comic-Con, including UCC and Toynami, as well as the return of the Funko booth after its absence last year—though purchasing items required securing a reservation time slot.
Artist Alley, though mainly featuring comic book artists, included a few anime artists this year, adding a refreshing variety compared to the previous year. It also showcased an array of small creators spanning different genres, along with a select number of movie, video game, and anime voice actors.
Cosplay has long been a highlight of many conventions, and WonderCon is no exception. Attendees showcased an impressive blend of comic, anime, and video game-inspired cosplays. The front area outside the convention center served as a general hub where cosplayers gathered, interacted, and posed for photos. Some of the costumes were truly stunning and left a lasting impression of all the work that went into making them.
One disappointment for me this year was the limited lineup of featured guests. To my surprise, two that did catch my attention were James Arnold Taylor and Jim Cummings. Jim Cummings is renowned for voicing iconic Disney characters like Winnie the Pooh and Darkwing Duck, while James Arnold Taylor is best known for portraying Tidus in Final Fantasy X and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The two actors star in an upcoming animated film titled King of Kings, which portrays writer Charles Dickens sharing the story of Jesus Christ with his son.
Overall, WonderCon was an incredibly enjoyable and thrilling experience. This year's event featured an excellent selection of booths to explore and showcased some fantastic cosplay. I'm eager to watch WonderCon continue to grow and evolve as conventions gain even more popularity.