Anime Central (ACen), is an annual Anime convention held in Rosemont, IL. This is the premier anime, manga, and Japanese popular culture convention in the Midwest. This year’s event ran May 17th-19th.
This year PopCultHQ.com was on site, however we could only make it there on Saturday. This is usually the best day for cosplay anyhow.
This writer will admit that I haven’t been to ACEN in years and I was impressed on many counts. The crowds were energetic and fun. The people were friendly and relatively polite. There were a few exceptions, but the majority of people were polite I heard way more “please”, “Thank You”, and “Excuse Me” than I have at a crowded convention in years. It was refreshing. It was crowded, but people (in general) were actually trying to avoid running into each other and apologizing when they did.
Rate the Con
Our new thing for 2024 is to ask our readers to take a poll on some basic components of the con. We want to know how you rate the parking, the vendors and the food. The poll closes after 30 days and we will use this as a baseline for next years convention. We hope to eventually have a rating system set up for many of the conventions.
FOOD
(4 Votes)
PARKING
(4 Votes)
VENDORS
(5 Votes)
We realize that these don’t apply to all conventions, so if they don’t apply to your con, give them a 5 star.
**Later additions to the rating systems will include things such as guests and ticket prices**
One major difference was the amount of people that stepped into a photo. At the major cons you get the occasional person who doesn’t notice a photo and steps into it, but the majority wait until the photo is taken. Here there were a lot that were totally oblivious to the camera and stepped into shots.
The amount of cosplay on display was spectacular, I’m sorry that I couldn’t attend the whole event or capture all the costumes on display.
As always, if you see yourself or a friend leave a comment on a photo we will tag you in it.
About Anime Central
Anime Central (ACen) is the largest anime, manga and Japanese popular culture convention in Chicago and the Midwest. Anime Central 2024 will take place from May 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.
To see what Cosplay Conventions are coming to your area,
be sure to check out our Cosplay Convention List!
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