Every year since 2006, Zenkaikon has hosted their yearly multi-genre convention at the Lancaster County Convention Center and Holiday Inn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I’ve been a proud patron of this weekend-long event for a couple years now, and this past March, I went on Saturday, March 22nd, for the third time and I had a blast…for the most part. 

This year, they invited many popular voice actors in the indie animation scene to host fun panels for the fans as well as multiple autographs and meet-and-greets. They had many prominent voice actors, including who was arguably the most popular-and of course the one I chose to wait in a grueling line for- Michael Kovach. Kovach stars in many indie projects, such as Rocky from Lackadaisy, N from Murder Drones, Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus, and perhaps most notably, Angel Dust from Hazbin Hotel (Pilot). 

They also hosted Lizzie Freeman, voice actor for Pomni from The Amazing Digital Circus, Ashley Nichols, who is Zooble from The Amazing Digital Circus, Holly Chou, Jack Stansbury, SungWon Cho, and more. Unfortunately, given my time constraint, I chose one VA to do the autograph for and I did Kovach. 

I first arrived at the convention around 9:30 am to register for the convention itself and receive my badge and lanyard. Then I located the area where they hosted all the autographs, which was located in the same room as all the artist vendors. I waited in the general line for over an hour, as at the end of that line, it splits into multiple lanes in accordance to other voice actor lines. I just about reached the end of the largest line when we’re cut off, as Kovach and others had a panel coming up. I was disappointed, but received a sticky note promising the front of the line for those of us who were in this line waiting for Kovach, as he had another signing time later in the day.

So, I take it in stride as typical convention shenanigans and move on with my day. Things like this happen, especially when you’re trying to see a big name in the indie VA community like Kovach. However tired I would be by the end of the day, I was still determined to get my autograph. 

In the meantime, I explored the convention with some pals and my partner, browsing all the amazing art in the vendors alley. I bought some things, such as a vendor selling hundreds of anime DVDs and other genres, and I discovered an Arcane Season One Blu Ray that I snatched right up. I also discovered a lovely vendor who crocheted tiny replicas of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss characters. I couldn’t resist and bought their Fizzaroli crochet item. 

The assortment of cosplayers was truly a sight to behold this year. I saw many dressed as Frieren, Fern, and Stark from the anime Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. It’s a very fun anime and I may have to consider dressing up as Frieren myself for a future visit to Zenkaikon. This year, I cosplayed as Anya from the psychological thriller game, Mouthwashing. I received a lot of compliments and many who wanted photos with or of me. Including, worryingly, some preteens. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I didn’t watch things not for kids during that age, but given the subject matter and what Anya herself goes through in the game, it is a little funny and concerning that younger kids knew who I was. I also saw others cosplaying as other characters from the game, but it was mostly other Anyas and one or two Curlys. 

I also saw someone dressed as Mono from Little Nightmares 2. Given how underrated these games are, I was delighted when my partner pointed out this cosplayer to me. Their Mono was incredible. 

As far as panels goes, I went to one, hosted by Kovach, Nichols, and Freeman. They played Mario Party on stage for half of the one hour long panel, and the rest was reserved for The Amazing Digital Circus Q&A, where Nichols notably talks about how Zooble was their first major VA role, and their advice for any aspiring VAs boiled down to, “Make friends, do stuff!” 

It was also a treat to listen to them talk about how they got into voice acting, and even spoke in character of their favorite lines from the show. Freeman said her favorite is when Pomni says to Ragatha, “I’m not a child, you don’t need to hype me up.” Kovach’s favorite line is “Be quiet, I can’t hear the escalator.” 

After some time had elapsed, I made my way back to the autograph line, but only after a mishap in the building where the fire alarms went off and everyone was evacuated. As promised, I made it to the front of the line as a priority. Given his popularity, I was placed in a ‘special Michael line’, as employees called it. After another 40 minutes in this line, I finally met Kovach and was greeted with, “Hello Mouthwashing character!” 

Kovach was lovely! I lugged around my Lackadaisy book with me all day so he could sign inside and we took a photo together, holding a Rocky plushy in between us. He clearly had a lot of fans to get through, and even if that felt frustrating during the wait, he really did try to make every interaction with his fans special. In the end, the wait and 50 bucks was all worth it to me. 

After this venture, my partner and I, having been awake since 6 am and facing a nearly two hour drive home, decided to head out for the day, feeling satisfied with our day. 

Zenkaikon, while not my first convention I’ve been to, it is easily my favorite one local to me. While it’s busy and can be overwhelming for some, it’s not at the caliber of crowds like something you’d find at Otakon or other major conventions. It still draws in big names and patrons can have a great weekend there. 

I would say if you’re local to the region in Pennsylvania or surrounding states, I really recommend coming to the city of Lancaster, PA, and checking out this gem of a convention. There’s truly something for everyone here.