Last weekend, the biannual Power Rangers convention, Power Morphicon was held in Pasadena, California from August 23rd to the 25th. As per usual, the event was held at the Pasadena Convention Center, which is part of the greater Marriott branding. Additionally, the accompanying Sheraton Pasadena Hotel was rebranded, as the Dena last Summer, joining the Tribute Portfolio series. So, the revamped hotel was a subtle change for attendees returning to the show following PMC 2022. However, the event’s housing did not change within the past few shows, excluding its temporary move to Anaheim in 2018. Although, having not attended a PMC in Pasadena since 2012, seeing the entire convention hall was new to me.
Now, I flew into Pasadena earlier in the week to get adjusted, since airline seats wreck my hips and back. So, I went into the show with extra precaution for my health, and trying to navigate the convention’s layout. Thankfully, having Exhibition Hall A open made things easy going between the hotel and convention, as their entrances are close. Especially, since the convention center’s main entrance feels so much further away than it actually appears to be. Anyway, for the lead up to PMC, I went to Disneyland and the Huntington Museum & Botanical Gardens. Then waited for the rest of the Hero-Club staff to arrive at the location during the Day Zero festivities. Although, none of the team decided to go on the Day Zero Field Trip, I took photos before it left. Also, registration seemed to be less chaotic than previous years and moved rather smoothly during the early hours. Unfortunately, we cannot provide details on if the registration conditions worsened on opening day or Saturday, due to early access.
As for opening day at Power Morphicon, it is always a half-day, so not all the guests are available. Specifically, it feels like an overactive Sunday because there is little to do, but attendees are overly abundant. So, opening day the Hero-Club staff, which consisted of our translator Touma, ZeltraxMillennium, and myself, tried to get work done. Specifically, since we were not just attending PMC as press, but as attendees too, looking to get autographs and photo-ops. Thankfully, after 2012 or 2014, PMC underwent better structuring like having guests being grouped together by their casts. Therefore, if we were looking for the cast of Time Force, the actors’ booths would be altogether. Coincidentally, the best line-ups were the voice actors at the event, since they did various roles for Saban Brands. Like fans were not limited to just discussing Power Rangers, as their other roles consisted of Robotech or Digimon. In addition, actors from the recent Ultraman dubs were mixed in, which included Ultraman Rising’s star Christopher Sean. However, due to the TokuSpirits VIP Dinner, the Japanese talents had limited signing hours for that day. As a result, many fans on Friday had to purchase autograph and photo-ops tickets for the following day.
Then as for Saturday, Power Morphicon hosted all of its guests, and featured most of its panels that day. Sadly, I did not get to attend any panels either day because I worked on networking with guests mostly. Although, earlier in the morning, Touma and I focused on getting our autographs from the Japanese talents. Surprisingly, Yasuhisa Furuhara was really excited to meet us in person following our interview with him from last year. Additionally, Furuhara-san even gave us “extra special” personalized autographs, as described by the TokuSpirits handler accompanying him. Whereas, the other Japanese guests were great to meet too, but it seemed the younger talents were more talkative. For example, Masahiro Inoue, Ryota Ozawa, and Yui Koike seemed invested in learning about attendees, and broadening their English skills. However, some of the older guests appeared more reserved and professional while still being gracious towards fans in attendance. Overall, it felt like I was witnessing a contrast between how the two generations respond towards meeting fans in general.
After spending a few hours at the TokuSpirits section, as mentioned earlier, I mostly tried networking with guests. For example, I thanked our previous interview guests like Campbell Cooley and Neil Kaplan, before looking for potential new ones. Unfortunately, I am unsure who will get back to me regarding interviews, as I am still trying to schedule things. Currently, no one has responded back yet, but I assume many guests have multiple cons booked back-to-back at this time. Especially, since Tom and Dorothy Fahn, told me they would be at Saboten Con in Phoenix, Arizona this weekend. Anyway, between Friday and Saturday, I managed to meet the entire Dino/ Cosmic Fury team either with or without Zeltrax. Like our plan was to meet the cast together, but their lines and the packed convention center kept dividing us. As a result, we got to meet together the Rangers that Zeltrax made custom action figures for. Specifically, we met Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, and Kai Moya together, while we split up to tackle the rest. Although, I cannot remember if I fully met Jordan T. Fite, as I only recall talking to him in passing. Furthermore, for the most part, my Saturday was just talking to the voice actors about their prolific careers. Coincidentally, what surprised me the most was how Saturday’s closing hours seemed earlier than previous years. Interestingly, Saturday’s closing hours were at 6 p.m. with the Surf Ninjas’ panel being the only event exceeding operation hours. Whereas, I recall previous Power Morphicons closing somewhere between 8 and 10 p.m. So, the change in operation hours left me somewhat confused, but it gave me more time to recover for Sunday.
Finally, for PMC Day Three it felt like Friday with overtime, as some guests no showed or left early. Interestingly, most of my day was spent getting to meet Disney Era Power Rangers actors I never met. Especially, since most of their lines were not as packed as the past two days, thus making wheelchair access easier. Coincidentally, I was mostly trying to meet Jason Chan, John Tui, and David de Lautour, but I met like everyone available. However, without saying too much, John Tui was my personal M.V.P. that day, the man treated me too damn good. Like I do not know how I can ever repay him, and I hope nothing bad ever befalls upon him. Although, with that being said, besides the Disney Era actors I spent a lot time with the vendors. For example, I visited the Nacelle booth, who produce Biker Mice from Mars and C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa toys. In addition, I spent time at the Super7 booth talking to toy designer, and friend of the site Kyle Wlodyga. During my time with Kyle, we discussed mostly the various Ultimates lines like Power Rangers, Godzilla, and TMNT. Specifically, I asked questions regarding our potential next interview, and gave advice on issues I found with certain products. For those unaware, the Tribal Power Coin with the Ultimates Dino Megazord scratches the paint on the wrist in packaging. Surprisingly, that problem was not ever reported, but since mentioning it to Kyle, its packaging might get retooled for reissues. Whereas, the last moments of PMC were spent getting POSE photo-ops with the Japanese guests before having to leave. Thankfully, the group option allowed most of us in attendance to team up with friends for these professional photo-ops too.
Coincidentally, there are several problems with the event, but most seem to be behind-the-scenes issues. Unfortunately, they are not things we can fully discuss, as they range from booking wars and questionable guest choices. Although, certain controversies hurt the convention’s reputation going in, it seems they did not greatly affect PMC in the slightest. As a result, everything is proceeding towards Power Morphicon 2026, so fans should consider these things:
- First, attending a convention does not immediately support the bad guests in attendance, paying them directly for anything does.
- Second, not every fan is aware of the drama regarding guests’ personal lives, so calmly try to spread awareness. Also, do not be a jerk about spreading awareness regarding bad guests since some people do it aggressively.
- Third, unless the issues pertaining to guests do not include heinous crimes like assault or murder, simply avoid them. However, if those crimes are heinous, then please outright protest the event because they should not be permitted at them.
- Fourth, if a guest allows their personal beliefs to influence their actions at a convention, record and report them. Additionally, if a guest harasses or assaults an attendee without being provoked, then charges can be pressed on them.
- Lastly, all of this advice can pertain to any convention, since many shows tend to have their own controversies. Sadly, some popular conventions have more problems than others, and manage to remain active like Anime Matsuri.
Overall, Power Morphicon 2024 was a fun event when attending the show as a regular attendee. Although, when I am attending as press things are more hectic and overwhelming, since I am mixing business with pleasure. So, my personal advice for future PMC’s would be either lessen the number of guests, and tickets sold to attendees. Surprisingly, the fire marshals were not called this year, since it was an ongoing occurrence at past events. However, I believe lessening things would allow better access for wheelchairs, and attendees traveling in groups. Whereas, a professional critical issue I have is that Power Morphicon’s staff should consider having an interview space for press. For example, have rooms that guests can schedule available times for press to interview them without the convention’s background noise. Especially, since not all press groups can travel with high-end equipment to properly record at booths. In addition, some guests have mentioned that it is hard to accept interviews when swamped by attendees. Like some actors do not want to detour attendees with booth interviews, or interrupt the press due to signings. As a result, I think lowering the capacity for better access, and assisting the press are things that need improvement. Specifically, since I missed out on an interview due to the crowds, and being required to record at the booths. Anyway, I hope adjustments can be made to help Power Morphicon to continue its operations, and improve rapport with fans. Furthermore, our additional photos from the convention will be made available on Hero-Club’s FaceBook soon. Nevertheless, to keep up to date with Hero-Club, we suggest that people should follow us across social media using @HeroClub4Life!
