Online Anime Central Review

    

    Hey there Cool Cats! Since the virus has been shutting down cons, it’s been difficult. Some cons have rolled over badges to next year, have pulled out in general, and some are still holding out and hoping (like the rest of us) that the convention will still happen! Anime Central (ACEN) took a different turn with the unforeseen cancelling of the convention

Anime Central is one of the biggest Anime Conventions in Illinois that has been running for over 20 years. With each year the Convention has been doubling in its attendees numbers.. It has risen from over 1,000 attendees in its first year to over 33,000 this most recent year! Amazing! Even so, those 33,000 had to be turned away due to the virus outbreak.

With ongoing cases of the virus with no end in sight, Anime Central did the correct thing in cancelling the convention for the year and rolling over prepaid bages to next year or a refund for those that are unsure if they will be able to attend. In spite of this unforeseen event, Anime Central decided to host its first Online Convention! 

Normally Anime Central holds anime viewing rooms, artist alley, autograph sessions, concerts, dances/rave, dealer's room, gaming (arcade, role play, table top, trading card, video) formal ball, karaoke, masquerade, panels, and Q&As. They weren’t able to host all of the things that they usually do, but they did do the most and beyond!

For the Artists Anime Central posted different dealers and artist’s works with their social and business links on their main website, ACEN.org. They were also advertised on their Twitch and Youtube channel as people viewed and participated in the live streaming of the convention. Video game streamers also had their information put up to interact with viewers on video games such as Dragonball Z and Dead by Daylight! As for the annual Masquerade, it was also online held with winners announced to keep the tradition going! Panels that were supposed to be held at ACEN, decided to record their panels (such as How to Sew and the very popular and very funny Samurai Dan panels) that were then put into a video and live streamed on Twitch and Youtube. They also held a Rave with a DJ to play music on stream for attendees to dance and rave to from the safety of their home and accompanied by their fellow anime members. People from all over the U.S. took the time to dance, drink, and chat with another at the same time! We may not be together but our interests and joys of anime are still alive!

ACEN also held a Minecraft Server with a Virtual Hyatt and Rosemont Convention Center! For more information and a live viewing on that, check out my Youtube Review video here. The Minecraft Server was free to join for those that had an account before Minecraft was bought by Microsoft and charged a fee. For those that had it or paid the fee, it was well worth it! 

Every bit that was in the Hotel and Convention center was placed in the Minecraft server! The Hyatt Statue, the ever busy elevators, lobby, panel rooms, the add on to the hotel, the rave, the very long skywalk, and much more was placed! It was almost like visiting in person! There were not as many people walking around but the scenery was overwhelming enough to see and interact with!

            As there are many ups, there were some downs. Some attendee concerns were that the panels could have been more interactive, to take note of what other Online Conventions have done before, lack of any way to include cosplays and cosplayers, and some missed the convention entirely due to lack of knowledge of an online ACEN.             

Overall Anime Central did a fantastic job in placing one of the biggest and greatest conventions online! This ACEN was not the same and was not for everyone, but for it to be set up in less than 2 months with such detail and effort, with better than expected results! Attendees could view panels and rave on line. Artists and Dealers were not left out with their information held on ACEN’S personal website and live on their streams! The videos of the panels were put together nicely and seemingly! No Anime Fan was left behind! For those that enjoy buying merch or simply wanting to add to their annual badge collection, that was also offered as well! Thank you Anime Central for a great Online Con! This kitty was left purring!

Anime Magic Review! 2019

Owned by Anime Magic, used for critiquing purposes

Anime Magic, how magical is it? The name and mascots are definitely attention grabbing. The name is creative, not too long, or overwhelming. The mascots are also very attractive. Each character has a solid color, has a different design per character that shows their personality, and has an original art style. The characters go back from original forms to cute chibi’s as well! Very cute!

The website has a teal color, easy to navigate, and was usually updated. Information such as schedules and guest appearances were updated regularly but other information such as VIP inclusions and cosplay meetups were missing. Their facebook was updated the most which was very convenient. Even as the convention was running they updated their information immediately and fixed any issues that arose. For a first time convention, these cats were on it!

Anime Magic also had some pre con events such as a gaming event at Gameworks, a 5 K run, and a Punch Bowl Circle. I was only able to attend the Gameworks pre-con event but the event alone said a lot. 

Owned by Game Works. Used for critiquing purposes

The location was perfect for the setting of Anime Magic! Gameworks is a game restaurant in a way. When you walk in you are greeted by staff employees of the establishment behind a desk. To your left is a restaurant with nice tables set up, a bar in the back, and board games at every table! Behind the desk is an array of arcade games! They ranged from the basic Pac Man to the VR beat game, Beat Saber. Every corner with filled with some type of game with private rooms on the second floor for events, where Anime Magic held theirs. 

Upon arriving to the event, Kate was very welcoming, friendly, and explained everything about the event. She was nothing but smiles and emanated the joy she had with everyone and the event itself. The event had a lot of video games such as Naruto, Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, and even anime playing the back. A fun and easy event with a free raffle everyone was able to join!

Now to the convention! The first thing to note about the location, was the size of the hotel. It is much smaller than the other conventions I have attended so the size was a surprise. The hotel has 3 floors with a restaurant inside, outside, and would only take a minute to walk from one end of the building to the next. The front desk was hidden on the side of the main entrance and normally had one or no staff behind it. They were nearby enough to be over in a minute as they multitasked. They made check in quick, easy, and were very accommodating and informative! The front desk was probably hidden to make the lobby much more eye catching! There were multiple tables set out with chargers and lamps and a metal chandelier design was hanging from the ceiling that covered the entire lobby. Small on the outside, wondrous on the inside. 

After checking in it’s time to head to the room. The elevators were on the other side of the lobby with all their doors open. Ready to take all guests to their floors. The rides were short and easy. Once they opened a lounging area greet you. Simple couches surrounding a cushion in the middle. A nice seating area while you wait for your friends or just want a place close to your room to chat. Heading in the direction of your room was somewhat easy. You either took one of three hallways on each corner exiting the elevator which then had multiple openings to different halls with lots of rooms! It’s odd at first but even more so if you are out drinking a little too much and are trying to head back. Depending on the room type, for this session it was a simple one king bedroom, there was a lot of space! A spacious opening is the first thing to see as you walk into the room, ready to place your things down. On one side of you is the...tiny bathroom. No matter your size, you will have trouble getting into the bathroom and closing the door. The toilet paper is placed behind toilet next to you so its a reach and the shower was a walk in shower with half a glass to make an easy in and out access with little regards to water spilling out everywhere. Not very impressive at first, but the couch in the room with a half desk, half tv stand with drawers seem to make up for it. There were a lot of outlets around to be working or even facebooking anywhere and everywhere while your phone/laptop charges. The refrigerator was in the closet and a small stand to place any food or extra items. Odd but compact and convenient. Just enough to leave lots of legroom! If you pack a lot of things or have multiple guests staying with you, it’s recommended to get a bigger room if space matters to you. Also, the walls do not contain sound. If you walk by a room that is noisy and walk into your own, the noise level will not be much different. 

The space, couch, service, and many other factors were a lot compared to other hotels. The Hyatt in O Hare, for example, has a lot to be desired in comparison. They had very little space in the room even for simply walking around, lack of customer service, no pool, lots of floors which means long elevator wait times, and this is where Anime Central and Anime Midwest are held. Lots of people and little space even in the rooms leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the Hyatt in Schaumburg. 

Outside of the hotel is the infamous Woodfield Mall, business areas, an AMC Movie theater, and plenty of Poke-stops and gyms! Plenty to do outside of the convention if you need a change of pace!

Convention talk time! Anime Magic handed out booklets that were the size of a real book, compared to oversized booklets that are about the size of notebooks, which made it easier to carry. The material used was high quality. It was made with a sturdy cardstock cover with a matte finish. This made it smooth and a little harder to damage so you can carry it out all day with less worry! They also provided some business cards and coupons inside!

There was a lack of people when I arrived at 10 am. For a first time convention, this is normal. The hotel is small, school is starting, and convention was just beginning. The numbers did increase after school hours and the weekend! The cosplayers were no less to count! 

There were still cosplayers of many types. Old anime, newer anime, cosplayers of their own interpretation of a character, and all were of great quality. Bought or made, the cosplayers brought their best!

      The photo room had some but not much to offer. There were a few different designs such as a castle to cosplay in front of and to take photos. They also had a plain back drop which is good to focus on the character and design. There was also a back drop with the logo of the convention to help promote them and to take pictures with you and your friends, with or without cosplay. The photo room may have been small but there were spots around the hotel that were purrfect to take photos in! There were tables, open spaces, some trees for shade, natural sunlight, and perfect weather to take photos outside for a more natural look and photo possibilities!

The panel schedule left much to be desired. When the panel listings were first uploaded online, they were in blocks and in small ones at that. It made it very difficult to read which panel was at what time frame. There was also no description for the panel. It was not until one was at the convention and looked through the booklet did they see the descriptions of the panels along with more defined times. The panel listings were messy but despite this, the con did have a great idea in color coding the panels. Doing so easily showed the difference of each panel such as if it was a main event or was fan held.

There were three panel rooms, a main event room, two gaming rooms, a video room, and dealers hall. Each one was small. Each room could fit 20-40 people, besides the main event room. The number of video games was less than 10 which means not that much variety in games. The only variety was the variety in game system type to play on.  The board game room was filled with more japanese arcade games and no set up for board games? The board game room was a, “bring your own board game,” type of deal. It was disappointing to see the type of room it was and to see it already full. Not very impressive, compared to other conventions, but it stands well on its own. 

What does three panel rooms mean? Not many panel options. The panels ranged from fan run panels, few Q and A’s, sewing and youtube tips, some 18+ panels, and very few others. Unless this is your first time con or you are into a lot of things, then your schedule would have quite some room to walk around and see what else the con had to offer. 

Anime Magic had a VIP portion with multiple benefits, if they rub your fur the right way. It included free snacks, a DJ playing in the lounge, early autograph signings, and a few other benefits as well. Sounds great! If your looking to have a private area, free snacks only at certain times, a little something to drink, and just enjoy having a little extra at your con, this is for you! As an easy going con goer myself, I was purring  happily with my regular membership. A nice thing to have but not necessary to enjoy what this con had to offer!

Courtesy of Candy Fluffs
Instagram: @candy_fluffs
Tumblr: candy-fluffs
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The con had a vendor hall which was more of a vendor room. There was a variety of vendors and artists enough space to walk around  but the room could be walked around in a minute if one is cat walking up and down and glancing at all the items. Not the biggest vendor hall, but no shortage of items and fantastic artists! There were sellers selling Pokemon balls with Pokemon in them in their environment, artist selling fan artwork in drawings and charms, pillow cases, personal accessories, and more that I wish I could show! There was always something eye catching and price worthy!

Something not easily as seen at other conventions, was the security. There was security walk around everyday in yellow shirts. Easily visible and made one feel safe. But how safe was it? That question was answered with one interaction I witnessed myself at the con. As I was walking by I noticed a girl in her teens looking at her phone and accompanied by an older gentleman. The older gentleman persisted in asking her if she was ready to go. The girl continued to look at her phone. I myself felt uneasy and was not sure what to make of the situation. That’s when a man in a security uniform stood in front of them and asked if everything was ok. The gentleman answered yes while the girl did not respond. The security guard ignored him and asked the girl if she was ok. I was not able to stay around for the rest but I did feel safer knowing that dependable security was around. 

Owned by Anime Magic. Used for critiquing purposes

Was Anime Magic really magical? For a first time convention, yes! A rough start I admit, but no shortage of things to see, pictures to take, and friendly and helpful staff to work with! It may be a first time convention but they truly brought their all. A good hotel with efficient staff, great communication of a change of events, plenty of things to do in and out of the hotel, and all at a great price, whether it be for the badge or hotel itself!  Final rating? Four out of four paws! Great job Anime Magic! You truly made it a magical event for everyone! This kitty kat is definitely purring and ready to go again!