Anime Midwest took place on July 1-3rd at both the Stevens Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency O’Hare ironically the same locations as MFF. Except one huge difference Anime Midwest averages are 15,000 over the weekend. I went on a Saturday and this article reflects my own experiences.
As strange as it might seem just wait
and all of this happened in less than 30 minutes.
So by the time it actually opened
What I found was a great selection of artworks and other unique items. In fact there was both a dealer selling anime style swords made out of wood. I was amazed they really did not feel heavy or out of balance. But also one dealer selling brand new Switch games, as well as some used retro titles.
I am sorry the convention had rules about taking photos in the Dealers area.
The initial crowd if you could call it was very lite.
As I found out the hard way Anime Midwest is a tale of 2 cons. Go early which is a great time to hit up The Dealers Area, but by early afternoon it is so crowded I could not even take a clear photo. All this happened around their version of Whose Line. Whose Anime Is It? which I honestly enjoyed and was the main reason I went on a Saturday.
This is the only usable I took as the rest are just bad. The line was very long, in fact surprisingly so. I was at the other end of the hotel when this photo was taken. People seemed to come out of no where.
Turns out they arrive later for certain panels as well as the Raves that took place much later in the evening.
Anime Cons are like any con, it’s what you make of it. I had a good time despite the massive crowd and planning to return.
Below is a video I made of the walk along the DREADED CORRIDOR which was honestly worse than during MFF. It was bloody hot!!!
The ironic twist is this was made at the exact same time as my last MFF Corridor video
Furry Times 