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And, I am not an anime fanatic. But, my daughter is.

This one was huge--AnimeCentral--just outside of Chicago. We waited 2-1/2 hours in line just to register. But, though I am extremely tired from standing in lines and walking a mile each way just to eat, I must say that I had a blast. Me. An old person. Who knows enough about anime and manga to not totally make a fool out of myself, but not enough to get all of the jokes and hidden meanings. Or identify all of the characters.

The masquerade was the best. Once again, we waited in line. About an hour so we would get a decent seat. Some of the costumes were breathtaking. These people put more work into them than would be put into a wedding gown. And, used ultra-pricey materials to do so. And, when the judges weren't ready with a final vote as to who had won, we had a bit of spontaneous craziness. Dancing to songs like YMCA, Play that Funky Music. The crowd (myself included) went wild.

I was absolutely amazed at the number of people who attended this thing. And the range in ages. Kids younger than my 13-year-old to people at least 10 years old than me (and dressed up, nonetheless). And, truly amazed at how popular anime is--because it sure isn't in my daughter's school. My guess is that she was the only one from her school there. Lots of kids at her school look at her as a freak because of her "addiction" to anime/manga.

Call me a glutton for punishment, but we are going back tomorrow!

that would have been nice to see..but alas..i live in australia..not a real anime fan of a country

Glad you had fun at the con, I've always wanted to go. (Yes, and cosplay...as Hatake Kakashi, of course. ^_^) Did you get any pictures?
I'm probably going to go to a convention after I graduate as my little graduation present. The only thing is, I absolutely must take my bestest friend from Florida with me, so I guess I'll have to take a road trip as well.

Heh, my mom would never go to an anime con with me.

Oh man...you LUCKY LUCKY PERSON! My friends S and Neko-chan (No, those aren't their real names) and I are trying to convince my mom to take us to an anime convention....Anime isn't too popular around here, either:p

Of course, we take all our pent up cosplaying out for Halloween dress-up day at school^^

I wish we had anime conventions near here. The closest one is the BAAF (Big Apple Anime Fest) and that's on the otherside of the state and my mom won't let me go to that one. Sounds like you had fun though. I hope you took a bunch of pictures that you can show us!

I wish I had known that that's where Anime Central was! I was up in northwest Indiana all weekend for work, and had plenty of free time, especially Saturday. Argh. Oh well, I'm hoping to finally make Akon one of these years, as I will likely be moving to Texas this summer. I've never been to an anime convention. I went to Gencon (gaming) 2 years ago, and there was a bit of anime stuff there, but mainly it was D&D and other games I'm completely unfamiliar with. My husband is the gamer, not me. It was cool, but I'm still looking forward to my first anime con.

Glad to hear even a non-fanatic could enjoy it. ^_^

Well, I am not quite a non-fanatic. Just someone who is trying to keep up with what my daughter is into. I have learned a lot. I know many of the characters from Fruits Basket, know what Gothic Lolita is, and actually find Jaypop to be OK to listen to.

I find it to be extremely interesting--for me, it is sort of like learning a new language or learning about a new culture. I am simply blown away by the number of people who are into anime/manga. And, how far people will go to express their love for it. It has actually inspired me to pick up some of my daughter's manga and read it.

So, I guess I could say that I am not really into it, but I do respect those who are.

By the way, pictures will be forthcoming. I have downloaded them and now need to put them into photobucket.

Glad to hear you all had a good time.

You guys didn't happen to check out the AMV contest did you?

That sounds awesome. I have always wanted to go to an anime convention. We were planning to go to the Big Apple Anime Fest a couple years ago, but that turned out to be a bit too expensive. This year we are hoping to make it to Ai-kon in Winnipeg. A dear friend lives there are we are trying to visit and go to the con together.

sheesh, the only thing in my area is Acon, and I dunno if I'm EVER going to be able to go. :/ My friends usualy start bugging me to get tickets around this time, but our summer plans look packed, and I dunno if my parents would let me anyway.


All I got to say is: THAT SOUNDED TOTALY AWSOME! XD I hope you'll have fun when you go agian to! Some people get ALL the luck.

Yes, I guess living near Chicago is good for something after all. The Chicago area has two cons a year--AnimeCentral in May, which is huge, and AnimeReactor in late October, which isn't as big, but still quite impressive.

Cyanna: Unfortunately, we missed the AMV awards. There were just too many things to do there--and it didn't make the cut.

did ya see any crazy inuyasha fans during this trip?

I saw many, many Inuyasha fans. That seemed to be one of the more popular animes at the con. Many people dressed in red robes with white/silver flowing hair, dog ears, and a silver sword. Lots of Final Fanstasy, Chobits, and Kingdom Hearts cosplayers as well. My personal favorites were the Fruits Basket girls dressed in the Lolita costumes. My daughter is very much into Fruits Basket. So, have to say, a lot of it has rubbed off on me.

What I found most amazing was the market for anime/manga stuff. The dealers room was packed and people were plunking down money for stuff hand over fist. Myself included. T-shirts, swords, collectibles, plushies, drawings, posters, playing cards, books, DVDs, kimonos, even real Japanese school girl outfits. If you wanted it, they had it. For quite a price, I'd say.

But, what I found really odd was that there was no pocky or candy for sale there--at all. None. Not even my favorite rice candies. *sigh* Perhaps, it was some law imposed by the town in which the con took place. Or something to do with the center in which it was held (maybe an established food vendor had a no-compete license?) My daughter was dying for some pocky. Luckily, there are a few stores in the area that sell it. But, they are a bit of a hike.

Really, no Pocky? That's odd. I know quite a few people who consider all Japanese candies to be a food group on their own, and Pocky is king. Go figure. And there's so many flavors of it too! They'd probably make a fortune selling Pocky alone...
*ahem* Alright enough of my Pocky obsession. I would absolutely love to go to an anime con, even if that was my birthday and Christmas combined present.
(So your daughters into Fruits Basket, eh? There's a hat with Kyo on it in the mall nearest my house. Not to mention a Kyo plushie as well. Hehe.)

I thought the same thing. But, we got there early and scoured the dealer's room for it. No pocky. No candy. Nothing but really bad-looking hot dogs and taco chips with that scary melted nacho cheese on them (the reason why I walked two miles round-trip to McDonald's).

What is really strange is that there was enough pocky to choke a cow or two at the last convention we were at--back in November. And it was held literally across the street from this most recent one.

Oh, and AFI, you should go to an anime con, if you ever get the chance and the combined birthday/Christmas present. It is quite a memorable time. And, that comes from someone who really isn't a die-hard fan, just the mom of one.