Terucon 2025 – Rovaniemi strikes again!

 Hey everyone!

I went on a daytrip to Terucon in Rovaniemi last weekend, specifically on the Sunday. Terucon was actually a two-day event on 25-26 October but I didn't really have a possibility to attend both days so yeah, no can do. Besides, I felt like one day was plenty enough to experience the event since it's so new and small. :) Or well, Terucon is new but also not quite new – it's actually the same event as Northern Lights Anime Party (which I attended last year), just renamed and with a new main organizer! Oh, and moved from December to the end of October.

Without further ramblings, let's go~

Terucon's poster.

Okay so, first things first – I didn't cosplay. My original plan was to cosplay but yeah, the closer the con was the more anxious I got. I've had my mental health dipping lately it's typical for this time of the year and it just seemed too much of a hassle to dress up, especially considering it was a one-day train trip and that comes with its own set of challenges when one can't conveniently dress at home/hotel before leaving etc. So yeah, I went casual to spare both my sanity and my time.

I took the morning train (9:36 departure, local time) from Kemi to Rovaniemi with Firith in tow as company. The train trip takes roughly one hour so it's quite manageable. I had some minor motion sickness but nothing too bad. Once we arrived at Rovaniemi railway station we took a taxi to Monitoritalo Monde, which is just a few hundred meters away. Might seem wasteful but the weather has been absolute ass for the past two weeks (no sun at all) and Firith didn't want to risk the makeup getting ruined if it would suddenly start to rain. The clouds sure looked the part at least.

Monitoritalo Monde entrance.

Just like Northern Lights Anime Party last year, or NLAP for short, Terucon was held in the Monitoritalo Monde building. It's a decent location for small events but there's not a lot of room for growth. I gotta say here that I have no idea about what other host buildings Rovaniemi has, in theory, so I can't know if Monde is good or bad in comparison to the eventual others – but I do feel like Monde's strongest suit is how close it is to the train station and that it has a cafeteria inside and a foodstore quite literally next to it and Kotipizza. 

The clock was a little bit past 11:00 by the time we arrived and just when entering a roughly middle-aged lady struck up a chat with us, mentioning that she's the first-aid person in charge at the con, should something happen. That brief encounter immediately gave me a green flag since I think NLAP didn't have a first-aid worker in place last year so that there now is one is definitely an improvement in organizing. I absolutely feel safer at cons when I know there's first-aid available.

View of the info desk and cloakroom combo.

My first impression when I got inside was that it was weirdly empty. Concerningly so. I only saw a handful of other visitors for the first hour or so. I also noticed that most of the placements etc seemed identical to last year, at least on the base floor. By that I mean that for example the cloakroom and information desk was combined into one station just like last time. Not like there's really place to have them anywhere else anyway lol, the available space is so limited. I did notice though that there was no pop-up library this time and no pin workshop either (unless they were only on Saturday).

You could vote for your favorite husbando and waifu.

The fun and casual husbando and waifu popularity contest made a return this year and it was fun to see that there were different characters this time around, although a few more options would have been even more fun. I voted Flins even though I barely know him because I've refused to progress the main quests in Genshin Impact because I'm waiting for confirmation that "Paralogism" and "A Space and Time for You" quests have got the missing English voices added. I just really don't want to ruin my game experience any more with muted characters and I'm so emotionally attached to the English dub that I just can't change it. I tried to play the last Lantern Rite with Japanese dub but it's just not the same. And yes, I'm normally the person who always watches anime with subtitles, never dub.

Main stage area with organization booths and Matsukirppis to the left.

Matsucon's Matsukirppis (flea market) returned but next to them were also the promotional booths, which I think were new? It was for Pörröcon and Akakabutocon, respectively. Both I'm interested in visiting eventually but the dates were kinda unfortunate to me this time, I know for sure that one of them overlapped with Sonata Arctica's anniversary concert that I'm going on next year. :') Sorry!

Boop the snoot!

The location of the Artist Alley was changed – instead of being upstairs along that narrow corridor it was now placed along the walls of the main stage area. This is definitely an improvement as it was now easier to browse and move as it's a much more open space so yeah, no crowding and potential bottlenecks! Of course the chairs, reserved for the stage spectators, were perhaps a bit in the way but not to the point that it was detrimental. It mainly just didn't look very aesthetic lol.

Overview of the Artist Alley.

There was a decent amount of artists, including a couple I hadn't seen before which is always refreshing and a plus! There was one seller who had Infinity Nikki merchandise, which made me quite excited because that's the first time I ever saw that IRL, which is surprising considering that, despite the recurring issues and boycotts (or well, girlcotts in this community), it still has a large fanbase. I do still play it myself just recently got platinum trophy but I'm strictly free-to-play since the Sea of Stars and retcon disaster patch. Those who know they know.

I would have liked to buy more stuff than just a single pin from the artists but Terucon happened to be during the time of month when I'm usually at my poorest and I just couldn't afford spending on anything that's not a necessity. There's been some additional expenses this past month since my healthcare free-card ran out and now every hospital visit costs money again until I get a new free-card. So yeah, been some tight budgeting this month, it's not usually this bad. I hope some of the new artists I saw here at Terucon I will see in the future too!

At around 12:30 it was time for Firith's Genshin Impact panel. Or well, it wasn't your typical Genshin panel but rather a pondering panel about Genshin's cast and what mental health and/or personality disorders some characters could potentially have based on what we've seen in-game etc. It was light-hearted, despite the seriosity of the topic, and respectfully done without stigmatizing the disorders nor people suffering from them. I feel like this is a very interesting topic in general and there's a lot of room for further in-depth analysis and future reruns of the panel with added insights and more characters. 

"Seuraava potilas!" – Genshin Impact-hahmot psykiatrin vastaanotolla

I do hope Firith will expand upon this concept, there's so much potential. It also takes a lot of awareness and skill to be able to navigate such a serious topic and make it suitable for entertainment without stepping on any toes – in all the different ways one could do so. It felt like Firith had to compress the information quite a bit though because of how short the time slots were (45 minutes) but yeah, it was still sufficient. I just think this kind of panel could benefit from a longer run-time than the 45 min standard slot, perhaps like 1 hour?

Oh, we did bump into Sallukka, Dongrieg, Joni and Pete a bit before the panel as well! They had arrived by car a bit after us but just in time for the panel. I should maybe also add here that the panel room was the same room where I played Dungeons & Dragons last year, except this time it felt like it was better utilized? Or at least it felt more roomy and the other half of the room had this lounge-ish area where you could just chill, kind of like a living room. Very nice addition.

The lounge room thingy.

After the panel was over I was ravenous for food; I hadn't had breakfast nor anything to eat aside from a can of mineral water and a protein bar at the train. We checked the ResQ app for anything cheap and filling nearby and saw some mixed sushi assortments for like 6€ and so we walked to the nearby shopping center and back to pick up the food. I would have otherwise not minded the Kotipizza offer but I had literally been to Kotipizza in my hometown on the Wednesday before the con. xD

Your reminder to stay hydrated.

I gobbled up my sushis like a hungry little gremlin mayo and corn sushi was weird af and by the time I was done the clock was 14:30 and it was time for the main reason I came to the con (aside from simply checking it out to see how it has developed), namely the Dungeons & Dragons session with the same dude as the DM who hosted it last year! 

Joni getting ready to start.

Unlike last year the D&D activity was held in the corner of the cafeteria, which helped with people noticing it I think. Being upstairs in that lecture room made it a bit separated from the main hustle and bustle at NLAP last year. Hant doesn't live in Rovaniemi anymore so my company this time to party up with was Joni, Firith and some random moustachioed French guy.

The session was based on the Arknights universe, a game I'm familiar with by name only. We had premade characters to choose from and I went with Mountain, a huge white tiger who was a Barbarian class in this session. Figured I'd take something relatively straightforward to play so I can just go oonga boonga to town with my limited brain juices, thanks to sleep deprivation lol. My insomnia is acting up again and my sleep quality is more shite than usual so the less spells I have to keep track of the better. I'm not experienced enough yet to even remotely have any stats, effects, spells etc memorized. Good thing the Dungeon Master guy was just as friendly and willing to explain and guide as last time!

The cafeteria area seen from above.

We had two maps, both were in a dilapidated church. The DM did a great job with explaining the lore backdrop, answering any questions, maintaining suspense and immersion and just overall being great at keeping it interesting. 
I also want to give a shoutout for his exceptional and graceful handling of awkward situations – there was an instance when this random guy got a bit too eager and started telling others how to play their characters (not in a hostile way, bro was just so excited) and the DM picked up on this "generally disliked behavior" and defused the situation without making a scene or upsetting anyone – and he did it before any of us affected had even brought it up or gestured discomfort. So observant and ahead of the game; no wonder he was one of the two appointed anti-harassment contact persons (or 'häirintäyhdyshenkilö' as we say in Finnish)! I only made the connection after the con because my facial memory is so ass and yeah, I didn't realize it was his face on the photo the first time I saw the info of the anti-harassment contact persons on Terucon's socials. xD

The D&D game took roughly two hours but this time we had time to play it through, progress! It's always so hard to gauge time needed with this kind of things but despite us needing to rush a bit with the boss fight it was a very satisfactory run. At least I was thoroughly entertained and would absolutely come join a third time if he'll return next year too!

There was a small-scale video game room!

I almost forgot to mention but this year Terucon actually had a gaming room upstairs and it was so nice to see! There wasn't much (two Nintendo Switches and one mini NES) but considering there was no gaming room last year it's a massive step up because it means two things: 1) a running activity that helps keep people entertained and 2) the opportunity to host gaming tournaments to get additional activities and pull in competetive players. In fact there was at least a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament – I saw the registration form earlier at the info desk. The gaming room was in the space where the Artist Alley was last year, as in that corridor-ish space upstairs – a much better use for said space because it felt a lot less narrow now that you don't have to pass through it and browse in it.

Terucon was closing down by the time we had wrapped up the D&D session but there was just enough time for us to catapult ourselves into the Artist's Alley one last time. Firith made some quite literal last-minute purchases and then we had to say farewell to the first ever Terucon. I did enjoy my time even though I didnt get the so-called full experience because I wasn't there on Saturday as well. I did have a chat with the main organizer earlier and I heard that Terucon had already broken the visitor record on Saturday and that an upgrade for next year looked promising. 

Before I left I had to draw Buttman in the guest book.

Oh and yeah, in the beginning I mentioned that it was suspiciously empty when we arrived but people did start to show up later and it started feeling like a proper small con and not half deserted lol. I'm happy with my choice to go casual though, it made the experience stressfree for me and I could focus fully on having a good time. If anything though I'm a bit surprised by how few cosplayers there were, especially considering that Sunday was the cosplay competition day which usually translates to the main day for cosplayers to wear their best costumes. I think I can count on one hand all the people I saw who were in full cosplay throughout the day, which is a bit of an oof and makes me wonder how the cosplay competition went. I couldn't go see it because it overlapped with the D&D game session but seeing how they were still looking for contestants on-site it kinda heavily implies that there were trouble with getting cosplayers to enter? Not like it's a rare occurrence though – feels like that's the norm with smaller cons nowadays; the younger generations just aren't as interested in handicrafts and competing in the same way as my generation were lol. I could be wrong though (and of course there's always exceptions) but yeah, that's the general impression I've got as someone who also has organizer/insider experience in the pockets. Cosplay competitions are not the drawcard it used to be, at least not in events of this scale – it seems to be frequently on-the-fence if you even manage to bag the minimum required amount of contestants to go through with the competition. My guess is that the rise of social anxiety in youth has something to do with it...


All in all Terucon was a pleasant experience. It's a free-entrance, low-threshold event that shows growth and promise since its inception as Northern Lights Anime Party. I see the potential for it to become even better but if you live in the north it's already worth a visit if you're into anime and Japanese pop culture. The new organizer does a great job with pulling everything together and deserves an eloge for all the hard work having to do this almost entirely as a solo project, based on my understanding of the situation at least. I am under the impression that NLAP's organizers were minors and that came with its own set of difficulties and limitations and that's why there's a new organizer – there probably had to be or the con would have been sacked. I do hope for the current organizer to get some extra hands to help arrange the con next year, lord knows how exhausting it can be to be responsible for everything alone! But yeah, I'm gonna wrap this up here now and say thanks to all the people behind Terucon for burning brightly and giving us northdwellers another event to look forward to – y'all deserve a round of applause. Looking forward to next year's iteration!

Thanks for reading!
~ Shiro Samurai out.