Anime Central 2014 - May 16-18 - Rosemont, Illinois

[infymys]

Yes, I know it's still a few months away but I figured I get the ball rolling.

Biggest anime convention in the Midwest and third largest in the country behind Anime Expo and Otakon will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont just northwest of Chicago. The surrounding hotels will also be holding convention events. Official website is here: Anime Central. There are a ton of amenities within a mile radius of the center with restaurants like Gibson's to McDonald's to the food court at the nearby (and brand new) outlet mall.

For those interested in going, please note that badges purchased online are for the FULL WEEKEND ONLY. Single day badges will only be available on site and can only be purchased the day before or day of that you wish to attend. If you choose to do the single day route, expect extremely long wait times especially on the Saturday of the convention.

I will be updating this thread with announcements of guests which usually consist of bands, renown cosplayers and some of the biggest voice actors in the industry. The biggest announcement to date is that the national finals for the 2014 World Cosplay Summit will be held at ACen. The winner will be competing at the world finals that are held in Nagoya, Japan. WCS website is here: WCS 2014 - ?????????? | WORLD COSPLAY SUMMIT

I will be attending all three days and will be reworking and improving my Shredder outfit (build thread is here: http://www.therpf.com/f24/oroku-saki-shredder-finished-may-15-2013-a-179224/) and am currently working on a gender bender version of Saber Alter from Fate/Stay Night in which I will make a thread for eventually. A possible third cosplay may happen but it depends on how much time I have after I finish the other two.

This will be my fourth year attending and it's basically a 72 hour party in the area with 2 different raves, formal ball, late night anime viewings, photoshoots and concerts after the convention center doors close.

And with that said, I hope to see some of you there!

 

[infymys]

First major guest of the con has been announced! It's J-Pop band: Angela.

They're probably best know for the opening theme of Stellvia of the Universe:

And most recently for the ending theme of Valvrave the Liberator:

 

[infymys]

The guest announcements are slowly rolling in! The latest being voice actor, Crispin Freeman. His credits are way too many too list but in the anime world, his most notable work being the voice of Togusa in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Rude in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Also known as the voice of Speedy/Red Arrow/Arsenal in Young Justice.

 

[infymys]

Another big guest announcement today! Voice actor Travis Willingham will be in attendance at this year's convention. He's best known for his role as Roy Mustang in the Full Metal Alchemist series. Also know for Thor in Ultimate Spider-Man and the Hulk and Human Torch in The Super Hero Squad Show. Other shows include Legend of Korra, Phineas and Herb and will be voicing Knuckles the Echidna in the upcoming Sonic Boom show and game.

He's also done a lot of voice over work in video games like GTA V, Halo 4, SW:TOR, BF3 and The Last of Us, just to name a few.

 

[MsRae]

Yes!! A couple of friends and I will be at ACen again this year--awesome guest list so far, very excited for the Summit. Great Shredder costume--are you attending the TMNT and Type Moon photoshoot/meetup that weekend?

 

[infymys]

Yes!! A couple of friends and I will be at ACen again this year--awesome guest list so far, very excited for the Summit. Great Shredder costume--are you attending the TMNT and Type Moon photoshoot/meetup that weekend?

Won't be at the TMNT gathering due to my Shredder, well, being shredded.... I will be attending the Type Moon one though and the BlazBlue one as well. And I see that you're doing Nora. Hope you're doing Magnhild in either hammer or grenade launcher form.

 

[MsRae]

Won't be at the TMNT gathering due to my Shredder, well, being shredded.... I will be attending the Type Moon one though and the BlazBlue one as well. And I see that you're doing Nora. Hope you're doing Magnhild in either hammer or grenade launcher form.

Oh, very nice!! I'm hoping to take as many photos of groups as I can. Oh, man...it took me two months to actually find someone to take on her magnhild (I don't trust myself to make something like that)--I had two people say they could but never heard from them again (too complicated?), and one took weeks to even get back to me. Fingers crossed, this current company seems legit and I should have the magnhild in grenade launcher form at ACen.

 

[infymys]

HUMONGOUS AND AWESOME GUEST UPDATE!

Nobuo Uematsu is coming to Anime Central! If you don't know, he's the composer of the majority of scores of the Final Fantasy series. Also, Grammy award winner, Arnie Roth (Mannheim Steamroller) will be conducting the concert. The concert will be on Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are free for all valid badge holders on a first come, first serve basis.

http://ffnewworld.com/concert/rosemont-il-2014/

 

[infymys]

For those still thinking of going, tier prices have gone up and badge mailing is over. You can still order a full weekend badge online but it will have to be picked up on site at will call.

And in other news, the gathering schedule has been set: Gathering Schedule - Anime Central Forums . Having the Gurren Lagann and Type Moon ones so close to each other is going to be hard since I plan to have cosplays for both. Silver lining is that the hotel I'm in is across the street, so hopefully, I can do a quick change and be able to attend both.

 

[infymys]

Less than 2 weeks away! Monday is the final day to be able to order weekend badges online for will call pick up. After that it's on site purchasing for full and single day badges only starting on May 15th, the Thursday before the start of the convention. If you are planning to go and for only one day, specific day badges can only be purchased the day before or the day of.

The guest list has been finalized and can be viewed here: Final Guest List - Anime Central Forums

As well as the gathering schedule: Gathering Schedule - Final Countdown - Anime Central Forums

Concerts by angela, The Wake Up, Girls! and Nobuo Uematso's New World Final Fantasy. And of course the after hour raves/dances known as Hard Core Synergy, Soap Bubble, Crystal Ball.

And of course, the big event will be the World Cosplay Summit U.S. finals on Sunday afternoon.

There are two pre con meet ups. One will be the offical ACen one at the RAM restaurant and a forum meetup at the Hyatt lobby. Both will be at 7pm.

The panel schedule has not been finalized but should be out within the next few days as well as the guidebook app to better navigate yourself around the convention.

And my cosplay lineup has also been finalized. I will be a gender bend version of Saber Alter from Type-Moon's Fate/ series on Friday and Saturday night and Enki from Gurren Lagann on Saturday afternoon. Sunday will be a regular me type of day.

And with that, I do hope to see some of you there!

 

[MsRae]

There are two pre con meet ups. One will be the offical ACen one at the RAM restaurant and a forum meetup at the Hyatt lobby. Both will be at 7pm.

The panel schedule has not been finalized but should be out within the next few days as well as the guidebook app to better navigate yourself around the convention.

And my cosplay lineup has also been finalized. I will be a gender bend version of Saber Alter from Type-Moon's Fate/ series on Friday and Saturday night and Enki from Gurren Lagann on Saturday afternoon. Sunday will be a regular me type of day.

And with that, I do hope to see some of you there!

Awesome, thanks for all the info--I have to pick up my pass at will call on Thursday, so I'll most likely be at the meet & greet. Bummer I didn't get to see your cosplay during c2e2 (I cannot believe how many I missed even being there all three days), but hopefully, I will see them at ACen.

 

[infymys]

Guidebook app is now available! Download Guidebook and search and download Anime Central 2014 on your smartphone or tablet. It lists the entire weekend schedule so you can make your own to-do/see list. This thing was indispensable for me last year and I'm sure it will be the same this year as ACen can be quite hectic.

Awesome, thanks for all the info--I have to pick up my pass at will call on Thursday, so I'll most likely be at the meet & greet. Bummer I didn't get to see your cosplay during c2e2 (I cannot believe how many I missed even being there all three days), but hopefully, I will see them at ACen.

I'll be at the Hyatt meet up most likely and I'll be all over the place during the convention but I'll definitely be at the Type-Moon and Gurren Lagann gatherings. So, hope to see you then or before or even after!

 

[infymys]

Two more days until the big event! Online registration is still available for weekend badges for will call pick up. And for something new this year, single day badges will be available for online purchasing! If you are still considering on going, I highly suggest taking advantage of online purchasing especially if you're thinking of going on Saturday. The experience of registering on site on a Saturday is affectionately called "line-con" because of the ridiculous time one waits in line.

Here's the info page on how to register and purchase online: Registration Info | Anime Central

I know there's not a lot of anime fans on this forum but there a lot of things I guess you would consider mainstream like Doctor Who, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, all the popular video games, etc, that are also present. There's something for everyone and the experience is unlike any other. Even if you're not considering on going, if you're a local resident and have the time and are near or in the Rosemont area especially this Saturday afternoon, take a drive by the convention center on River Road and see the atmosphere and maybe you'll think of going next year!

 

[infymys]

Pretty sure that not to many from the forum went but it was a great time! If anyone is interested in looking, here are my pics from the weekend: https://www.facebook.com/infymysone/media_set?set=a.10204083998445303.1385055065&type=3 I'm the Saber Alter from Fate/Zero and Enki from Gurren Lagann.

There's also a video that a few of my friends and I appear in (I'm at 6:06-6:08):

 

[MsRae]

Pretty sure that not to many from the forum went but it was a great time! If anyone is interested in looking, here are my pics from the weekend: https://www.facebook.com/infymysone/media_set?set=a.10204083998445303.1385055065&type=3 I'm the Saber Alter from Fate/Zero and Enki from Gurren Lagann.

There's also a video that a few of my friends and I appear in (I'm at 6:06-6:08):

Awesome photos--pretty sure I saw you at the RWBY shoot in your Saber Alter attire? Anyhow, I was Nora (in combat attire, not the Beacon uniform--that was my friend) and you can see me in one of your photos. Anyway, I had a great time, glad you did as well. What a turn out this year. Thanks for sharing the pics and video!