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Anime Central 2023 is one of the biggest anime conventions in Chicago and throughout the Midwestern United States of America. With the convention coming ever closer to its start date of Friday, May 19th, 2023, prospective congoers are doubtless in need of a guide to let them know everything about this year's convention.
To that end, we have created a definitive guide to Anime Central 2023. This guide will include the full schedule of events, panels, the dates of the con, ticket prices, and more. It will likewise include the guest list, which includes the creators behind Spy x Family's anime adaptation Wit Studio.
The definitive guide to Anime Central 2023
Part 1: Ticket Prices, location, and dates
Anime Central 2023 is set to begin on Friday, May 19th, 2023, and will continue through Sunday, May 21st, 2023. The convention will be located at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center & Hyatt Regency O’Hare located at 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018. Directions to the convention center may be found on the Anime Central 2023 website under Plan Your Trip, with the sublink Directions and Parking.
A note about hotels: The convention partners with hotels in the area to offer exclusive discounts for the event such as The Hyatt Regency O'Hare at 9300 Bryn Mawr Avenue, Rosemont, Illinois, USA 60018. A full list of hotels partnered with the convention may be found on the Anime Central 2023 website under Plan Your Trip, under the sublink Hotels.
Attendees are recommended to register ahead of time at the website acen.org/registration. The reason for this is that membership is required for all ages. Memberships are the ticket into Anime Central 2023 and are used to access all the events, artist alley, and exhibitor halls.
A photo ID is required for in-person Convention Membership pass purchases for attendees ages 16 and older. Face masks are strongly recommended per the health and safety policies to stem the tide of illnesses owing to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. While not a requirement, the health and safety policies do mandate questioning regarding symptoms.
Only Full Weekend access memberships are sold before the convention online. Single-day passes are only sold in person at the convention. Friday and Saturday passes can be purchased the day of their use, or after 4 pm the day before their use but Sunday passes can only be purchased on Sunday at the convention.
Passes are valid from the day of their stated use until 8 am of the following day, meaning a Friday pass can be purchased after 4 pm on Thursday and stay valid until 8 am on Saturday. All of this is according to the official Anime Central 2023 website.
Ticket prices are listed below:
- From 4/2/23 - 5/21, Anime Central 2023 full weekend passes are $85.00 (plus any applicable taxes) per adult with children's weekend passes being $20 if under 12. Children under 2 are free (limit 2 per adult).
- Friday 5/19 and Saturday 5/20 only Badges: $55 per attendee.
- Sunday 5/21 only Badges: $45 per attendee.
Discounts, with registration, include:
- $5 Discount per person for large group registrations of 20 or more people.
- Road Shows preregistration discount rate for full membership is $55.
- Professional discounts for Librarians, Teachers or School Club Sponsors, Convention Runners, and Industry Professionals run at $45.
- Public Service members (Including military, law enforcement, EMT, Fire, etc.) run at $45 and the service member must show ID showing active service or veteran either at the convention or through the membership portal on the website.
- Children's Day, Sunday, May 21st, will have Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult get in free (Maximum of 2 per paying adult, all children must be registered).
Accepted payment types vary depending on whether the attendee buys their membership online or in person at the conventions, as detailed below:
Accepted Online Registration Payment Types
- Credit: Visa, MasterCard or Discover cards. American Express cards are not accepted.
- Debit: cards with the Visa, MasterCard, or Discover logos on them are accepted.
Accepted At-Convention Payment Types
- Cash: accepts only US currency and only dollars, and will not accept coins.
- Credit: Visa, MasterCard or Discover cards. American Express cards are not accepted.
- Debit: cards with the Visa, MasterCard, or Discover logos on them are accepted.
- Business checks: personal checks will not be accepted.
- Money Orders.
Anime Central 2023 full schedule: including cosplay events, panels, and more
A notice before posting the Anime Central 2023 full schedule of events and panels: the official website does offer a disclaimer that they will be adding and adjusting the programming through the convention. This means everything is subject to change. For the unabridged version, please see the schedule at the official Anime Central 2023 website under Plan Your Trip and Event Schedule.
For those trying to score One Day Passes for Friday, May 19, the convention registration opens at Hall A in the convention center from 4 pm through 10 pm on Thursday, May 18.
The convention itself has the official start and opening of everything from the artist alley to the various autograph booths at 10 am. It will run until 6:30 pm on Friday, May 19, 2023, with tabletop gaming going on until 10 pm and video gaming going on until 11:59 pm.
The first wave of live events and panels on Friday include Learning Japanese Language 101, and What Are We Reading on Webtoon, starting at 11 am and running until 12 to 1 pm. The cosplay events generally start at 1 pm and continue until 8 pm and are located in Hall F.
The autograph sessions with guests like Yurika Kubo start at 11:30 am and run for an hour each located in room IND11. Those with limited spacing include Rie Tanaka at 1 pm, Kinema Critus at 3 pm, Wit Studio at 4 pm, and Azusa Tadororo at 7:30 pm. For those interested in after-dark affairs, the 18+ events begin at 7 pm and run until 2:30 am but do require a wristband which can be gotten in the Registration Hall.
On Saturday, Anime Central 2023 opens at 8:00 am with everything starting at 8:30 am with a Panel about Panels drawn from a Hat. The cosplay events start around the same time the Artist Alley and the rest of the con open at 10 am and run until 6:30 pm.
Some of the panels include a Crunchyroll Industry Panel at 12 pm and a presentation of the Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation OVA at 5:30 pm. Some of the personal live events such as Azusa Tadokoro's Special Fan Panel and the Ins and Outs of Character Animation by Kinema Citrus begin at 10 am.
The autograph sessions for guests like Hisayuki Tabata have limited spacing and start at 10:30 am. The Vinland Saga panel starts at 4 pm and runs until 6 pm to accommodate the premiere of the 20th episode. The ANIPLEX Premier starts at 6:30 pm, and a formal cosplay ball starts at 7 pm and runs until midnight. As above, the 18+ events begin at 7:30 pm and run until 2:30 am.
Anime Central's final day starts on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 8 am. Though two events at 9 AM including a K-pop Panel and a My Hero Academia panel are canceled, the festivities still start with a couple of live events at 9 am including 10 good anime that are under 20 episodes and a Voice Acting at Home panel.
At 10 am the cosplay events and other facets like artist alley open and stay so until 4 pm. Other panels include Bang Zoom! hosting a contest from 2 pm to 4:00 pm and the closing ceremonies from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
Guests
Anime Central 2023 includes plenty of recognizable guests from international voice actors, like:
- Kana Ichinose (Ichigo in Darling in the Franxx, Maki Shijou from Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Tuesday from Carole & Tuesday)
- Rie Tanaka (Chii from Chobits, Yomi from Azumanga Daioh, Mitsuru Kirijo from Persona 3)
- Yurika Kubo (Kaede Azusagawa from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Marguerit Farom in Spring 2023 anime The Legendary Hero is Dead!).
American voice actor guests to Anime Central 2023 include
- Jonah Scott (Legoshi from Beastars, Kunimitsu Tezuka from The Prince of Tennis, and Tatsu from The Way of the Househusband)
- Tony Oliver (Minato from Naruto, Rick Hunter in Robotech, and Lancer in Fate)
- Ricco Fajardo (Mirio in My Hero Academia, Kotaro in Zombieland Saga, and Isagi in Blue Lock).
Other guests include industry representatives in booth and panel form from such studios as ANIPLEX (Fullmetal Alchemist, Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba, The Promised Neverland), Kinema Citrus (Made in Abyss, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Revue Starlight the Movie), and Wit Studio (Ranking of Kings, Vinland Saga, Spy x Family).
Several other notable representatives of Anime Central 2023 include Bang Zoom! Studios. It is the full-service English dub production company behind the castings and auditions for such anime as Samurai Champloo, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Kill la Kill, and other post-production processes for video games like League of Legends.
Likewise, representatives from the anime streaming service Crunchyroll will attend the convention. The anime streaming service is known for hosting anime such as Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, among others such as The Legendary Hero is Dead!
Anime Central 2023 event list includes cosplay contests, dances, and gaming
The guest list being disclosed isn't the only thing the convention has up its sleeves to have a good time with. Several of the known events from Anime Central 2023 include the following, as described below.
- Tabletop Gaming
- Card Gaming
- Video Gaming
- Voice Acting contests
- Cosplay Meetings
- Cosplay Contests
- Formal Ball
- AMV viewings
- Manga readings
- Manga Library
- Concerts
- Escape Rooms
- Q & As
- Voice Acting workshops
- Game Shows
Anime Central 2023, as can be seen, has plenty on offer when it comes to entertainment aside from the guests, meet and greets, and cosplay. It's a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment options.
As a closing statement, Anime Central 2023 is to feature a wide variety of guests, entertainment, and events to fulfill all the convention goers' needs from anime to manga to art challenges and others. Maps of the convention center and all locations may be downloaded via the official Anime Central 2023 website under Plan your Trip and the sublink convention maps.
All attendees are reminded to please stay safe. Masks are strongly suggested to be worn, health checks will be performed likewise to stem the tide of illness. Above all, act like a civilized person while having fun, and be respectful to anyone you meet at the convention.
