On April 22nd and 23rd at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena Texas fans of anime gaming especially Pokemon were created to a very special convention for those two days, Retropalooza.
At the show featured guests included Sarah Natochenny voice actor for Pokemon best known for Ash Ketchum, Bill Rogers who played Brock, and over 90 creatures’ voices in Pokemon. Michelle Knotz voice actress who played Jesse from Team Rocket is also a scriptwriter and adapter. and Lisa Ortiz, who’s best known for her Pokemon Voice work but has worked on a plethora of other projects is also an accomplished voice director.
Also featured was Bradley William Smith who does the voice of combo panda And various other projects and streaming services including Amazon and YouTube.
Speaking of YouTubers several well-known framers such as boogie2988, the Game Chasers, and 8-bit Eric were also featured guests on this show.
There were events such as panels with voice actors and YouTubers, a cosplay contest on Saturday, and a retro gaming tournament. Also, vendors were on hand selling everything from handmade jewelry to bookmarks inspired by Pokemon and other ’90s anime products. Also, are there plenty of vendors that dealt in retro console games such as Nintendo and early Sega games. There were also vendors who sold vinyl albums that contain music from properties such as DuckTales, Pokemon, and other ’90s favorites.
Amongst the judges for the cosplay contest were cosplayer creativera1n and cosplayer/super streamer Taffeta Darling.
There were even local vendors such as Nerdfest that had plenty of retro toys and collectibles for attendees.
A couple of comic book vendors were also on hand selling books from all genres and decades at the show.
A more recent addition to conventions and the Texas area taking a special aim at the generations they grew up with Pokemon, Ducktales, and Power Rangers. is a genuine labor of love for these folks who grew up watching and enjoying these properties and it is something they’ve shared with their kids.
At the show, there were plenty of families enjoying these beloved cartoons and games. It was an opportunity for parents to share with their kids, the things they enjoyed growing up. the tickets are easily priced and the venue was well organized and did the best they could to maximize the space they had available.
This show for, the audience it brings in and connects to, is definitely a welcome addition To fandom events in Southeast Texas.