Blurriecon returns to Erie Friday through Sunday at the Quality Inn and Suites, 8040 Perry Highway.
Blurriecon is a friendly and fun anime, gaming and new media convention in Erie. It is produced by the Anime Club of Erie (ACE).
The convention is full of fun and especially created for anime fans. Many fans cosplay as their favorite anime characters. At Blurriecon there are several other fun opportunities including Anime Jeopardy, video games from 30 years ago and Vocaloid Karaoke.
“Akihablurrie” is Blurriecon’s artist alley and dealer room. That is where artists sell handmade crafts including prints, buttons, stickers, plushies, comics, jewelry, fan art and cosplay accessories.
Unfortunately, food will not be sold at “Akihablurrie” due to hotel policy.
Blurriecon hosts many different events. On Saturday is “Dance Blurrie,” where the main event room is transformed into a rocking, yet geeky dance party and the attendants can dance to their favorite J-pop, K-pop, Vocaloid and other anime tunes.
Also taking place at Blurriecon is the Iron Cosplay competition. In this event, two teams will compete against each other to create the best costume on the fly.
Taylor Koby, Gannon University’s Gamers’ Guild member and a sophomore, pre-veteranarian major, said when most people see this type of event, they simply think of it as adults playing dress up, but in fact they spend weeks creating these costumes from scratch.
Koby said he has seen people turn a squirt gun into a Star Wars laser pistol that could have passed for a movie prop. “It takes so much creativity to even begin to imagine how one is going to portray a character physically let alone learn how to act like them,” Koby said.
For the fans of Mecha anime and manga, Blurriecon has the Hot Blooded Mecha Trivia where fans can test their knowledge of Mecha ranging from Gundam, Mazinger Z and King Gainer. There will be a gunpla kit – model of an anime giant robot – for whoever wins the trivia.
One of the main attractions is Retrocade of Marvels, a game room full of wonders from gaming past. The Retrocade of Marvels will include many classic gaming systems including Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, Nintendo NES, Super Nintendo, Pong and many other forms of retro gaming.
In addition to the retro gaming systems, the retrocade will also feature table-top games. Koby said being a gamer, his first reaction to the game room would be an overwhelming urge to play them all, but he would be impressed with the classic systems.
“These were the systems that started the gaming experience we know today and to have them all in a room for the public to play would be an amazing thing,” Koby said. “Gaming consoles such as the NES and Atari take you back to where it all began, and when you compare to how everything is now, one can only gape at the advances we come up with.”
The preregistration price for all weekend is $20. The cost at the door is $30. You will be able to pick up your Blurriecon pass at the registration desk and will need to wear it – proudly, of course – at all times.
Blurriecon will be the perfect event for any anime and video game fan in the Erie area.
MIKE FUJITO
