Yesterday I mentioned that I've been going to a little convention known as Anime Central. I remember very little about how it all started, but I do know one thing: I've loved conventions ever since.
ACen has been my main go-to since I can remember, starting way back before I even had a job or a car, my friends and I commuting to the con. Since then, though, we've made sure to get a hotel room and it's overall been a blast. Most recently I attended Anime Midwest, which happened July 5th-7th, this past weekend.
Compared to Anime Central, Midwest was far and away a smaller convention. Central is, according to AnimeCons.com, the third biggest anime convention in North America, drawing in around 23,000 unique guests in 2012. Anime Midwest, in comparison, expected about 5,000 people this year, though I've heard some folks put it at about 8,000. While both this year were located at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Central spanned two additional hotels as well as the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, whereas Midwest existed in only the Hyatt.
Despite the large size difference, I thoroughly enjoyed Midwest. Due to its small size, the atmosphere felt a little more personal and I was able to see more variety with the cosplay. Traversing the convention was a simpler matter, too, as the convention was limited to only several of floors. Comparatively, ACen was a lot of walking and figuring out which panel was where and so on.
If I had to knock Midwest, it would be for the insane amount of lines (as a friend pointed out, having to wait longer in line for pre-registering was ridiculous) and some poor management in areas. From what I understand, a lot of staffers quit (I presume because of the alleged rumors flying around at the time) in combination with being overwhelmed by the actual attendance. Additionally, the merchant area was incredibly small and I found myself not buying a single item. Again, though, I can't fault them for being a small convention.
Unfortunately, next year's Midwest falls on July 4th, from the 4th-6th. I'm unsure how many of my group can make it to that one, but I'm still willing to give it ago. We'll see how it turns out!
See you later space cowboy,
Eric
ACen has been my main go-to since I can remember, starting way back before I even had a job or a car, my friends and I commuting to the con. Since then, though, we've made sure to get a hotel room and it's overall been a blast. Most recently I attended Anime Midwest, which happened July 5th-7th, this past weekend.
Compared to Anime Central, Midwest was far and away a smaller convention. Central is, according to AnimeCons.com, the third biggest anime convention in North America, drawing in around 23,000 unique guests in 2012. Anime Midwest, in comparison, expected about 5,000 people this year, though I've heard some folks put it at about 8,000. While both this year were located at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Central spanned two additional hotels as well as the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, whereas Midwest existed in only the Hyatt.
Despite the large size difference, I thoroughly enjoyed Midwest. Due to its small size, the atmosphere felt a little more personal and I was able to see more variety with the cosplay. Traversing the convention was a simpler matter, too, as the convention was limited to only several of floors. Comparatively, ACen was a lot of walking and figuring out which panel was where and so on.
If I had to knock Midwest, it would be for the insane amount of lines (as a friend pointed out, having to wait longer in line for pre-registering was ridiculous) and some poor management in areas. From what I understand, a lot of staffers quit (I presume because of the alleged rumors flying around at the time) in combination with being overwhelmed by the actual attendance. Additionally, the merchant area was incredibly small and I found myself not buying a single item. Again, though, I can't fault them for being a small convention.
Unfortunately, next year's Midwest falls on July 4th, from the 4th-6th. I'm unsure how many of my group can make it to that one, but I'm still willing to give it ago. We'll see how it turns out!
See you later space cowboy,
Eric
Ah I really wish for more merchandise and bigger panel rooms. Hopefully it will get better the following years!
ReplyDeleteP.S. - If you're keeping track of grammar at all, there are a lot of commas (some unecessary).