Anime Midwest is an annual three day anime convention held over the Fourth of July weekend at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois celebrating Japanese animation, video games, and music, most recently held July 4â€"6, 2014 with 8,000 people attending. Events at the convention include anime screenings, video game tournaments, vendors and artists, a ConSweet with free ramen and soda, guest panels, tournaments concerts, cosplay and cosplay competitions, fan discussion panels, and many other events typically found at an anime convention. Notably, Anime Midwest was the first convention to feature Ellen McLain of Portal as a guest, including her singing a live cover of Want You Gone and Still Alive.
Programming
The convention typically offers anime screenings, artist room, cosplay masquerade contest, date auction, dealers room, fan panels, formal dance, guest autographs, karaoke, rave dances, video game tournaments, and workshops. The convention offers free Ramen, Rice, and Pepsi products to attendees. The convention brings together TV shows, movies, video games and other aspects of Japanese culture, and is held in the same location as ACen. The convention has hosted guests from Japan including Shinichi Watanabe and Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. Some activities last 24 hours through the weekend including the convention's video game room and tabletop game room.
ConSweet
Anime Midwest offers a ConSweet to all attendees which is open throughout the convention's open hours, similar to the "ConSuite" held at DragonCon and CONvergence. Midwest's ConSweet is not held in a hotel suite, hence the name change from ConSuite to ConSweet. Instead Anime Midwest's ConSweet takes up the entire conference wing of the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. For all three days of the convention attendees can receive Maruchan cup ramen noodles and hot water, cooked steamed rice, or Pepsi products. They are limited to taking one of each per visit, but may return as many times as they want throughout the weekend. The convention has announced on its website and through email that it intends to continue to provide a ConSweet even if the event reaches sizes comparable to DragonCon or larger.
Maid Cafe
Anime Midwest's maid cafe is called the Fleur Royale Maid Cafe, and includes an array of over twenty different maids trained exclusively for Anime Midwest's maid cafe. The maids are all provided the same matching uniform, which changes every year, in addition to a scripted performance to present for all customers. The cafe's menu includes several different cakes supplied by the hotel, in addition to drinks including soda and tea.
Concerts
Anime Midwest has featured concerts every year since its first year, with the very first concert featuring Otaku band LeetStreet Boys. The past two year's concerts have been headlined by Steam Powered Giraffe. Every concert featuring Steam Powered Giraffe so far has filled to be Standing-room only. Performers often include Nerdcore rappers or bands related to Otaku culture.
History
The convention moved to the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois for 2013, after first happening in St. Charles, Illinois and subsequently Lisle, Illinois. The convention has announced dates for several years in the future, all to be held at the Rosemont, Illinois location.
Anime Midwest's first year was announced three months prior to the schedule dates and turnout was low with about 500 people attending, although this was the first convention ever attended by John Patrick Lowrie and Ellen McLain. For two consecutive years afterwards the convention had more than doubled in total attendance for each event as the convention advertised and added more guests.
Event history
Organization
Anime Midwest is organized by AnimeCon.org, a group that organizes six conventions annually in the Midwest. Four of them are exclusively anime conventions, one is a comic convention and the last is an anime conventions with elements of a gaming convention. The AnimeCon.org logo is similar to the Anime Midwest logo, but with the AM replaced with a heart.
Collaborations
In 2012 Anime Midwest sponsored an cosplay prom.
References
External links
- Anime Midwest Website
- AnimeCon.org Website
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