Anime Midwest to Invade Rosemont

Knowing my never ending quest to attend new (for me) and fun events, my young cousin Noah pointed me in the direction of Anime Midwest, a convention coming to Chicago this weekend.

In Noah’s words, "A few months ago I was presented with the opportunity to go to anime midwest in Rosemont Illinois. As someone who has been invested in the anime genre for many years at this point, I was immediately excited upon hearing this. Knowing that many people from the anime and pop culture world would be at the convention, I decided to ask John about it for the Beat. I was weary knowing that this isn’t the type of event that the Beat would cover but was surprised to hear that we would in fact being covering the expo regardless."

I checked it out on line (AnimeMidwest.com) and liked what I saw. Now I feel it is my duty to spread the word on Anime Midwest.

From Friday, July 8 through Sunday, July 10, over 10,000 anime fans are expected to attend Anime Midwest at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. There will be celebrity guests, panels, gaming tournaments, cosplay, concerts, dances, vendors and more.

For those unfamiliar with Anime, the actual word comes from the Japanese pronunciation of “animation.” Generally speaking, anime refers to animation from Japan or in that specific style, which features colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastical themes.

Anime has grown increasingly more popular, especially in the last few years. This isn’t just for youngsters either. There are plenty of adults who are fans of anime and who will attend Anime Midwest. I am not specifically a huge anime fan, yet I am still looking forward to Anime Midwest.

Trevor Mueller is one celebrity guest I already know. Mueller, the creator of the Albert the Alien series, is a writer, creator, artist and self-publisher.

Mueller will be joined by many others, including actor Chuck Huber, voice actor Greg Ayres, martial arts instructing husband-wife team of Samurai Dan and Jillian, webcomic veteran KrazyKrow, webcomic creator Brooke Stephenson and so many more. Kid Yuki and the Otakus will be playing familiar anime and video game tunes. Rapper YT Cracker will be entertaining attendees with his unique style.

Anime Midwest is going to be a new experience for me and a familiar one for Noah. It promises to please us both and I have no doubt it will deliver. There is just so much they are offering. I hope to see a bunch of my friends there.

For more information, including times, event schedules and ticketing, you can check out their site at AnimeMidwest.com.