Expectations were high for Anime Central 1998, a convention three years in the making. Held in Chicago, Illinois at the Rosemont O'Hare on April 3rd-5th, what was billed as the first "major" anime convention in the Midwest would soon be reality.
In its favor for another year's survival and, the hope of all conventions, the revenues to keep its book in the black, were headlining Japanese and American Guests of Honor, including manga artist Sonoda Kenichi (GUNSMITH CATS), character designer Kotobuki Tsukasa (TOSHINDEN OVAs), animation director Iida Fumio (WINGS OF HONNEAMISE), and EX's own Scott Frazier.
Against Anime Central's chances for success was its placement within the calendar year—the early spring quarter that many industry insiders have dubbed "Damnation Alley" because of the many anime conventions held during the months of February, March, and April; Fanime Con (CA), Katsu-con (VA), and Animazement (NC). These competing conventions threatened to draw away not only from Anime Central, but also the dealers and industry guests so apparent and important to a convention experience.

	Clockwise from top left: Sonoda Kenichi, Daiken Yokoh, Kotobuki Tsukasa with a Sofia cosplay, and Iida Fumio.

The unknown which would make or break Anime Central was the status of Midwest fandom. Both coasts have their own venues for fans to attend but the Midwest region has never really had a con "of their own" before. Thus, there's never been a measuring stick to determine just how many fans there are out there in the cornfields and plains (and cities) of America's Heartland.
In efforts to entice potential attendees, Anime Central touted many convention mainstay events, such as a masquerade and a music video contest, and billed some new ones, like a fan animation festival which encouraged entries for fans for many categories such as 3-D animation, fan parodies, and others.

	Left: Amanda Winn. Right: Spike Spencer and his wife.

Anime Central officially kicked off slightly late at 2:15PM to an opening speech from Carl Horn and an introduction of all the invited guests. The real highlight was the original opening animation, a tradition started way back in Japan by the Daicon folks and carried on by conventions such as Anime Expo. Mainly designed with Lightwave 3D 5.5 by Sam Crider, the video featured the con's mascots in a short adventure.
The dealer's room opened to a very enthusiastic crowd and although the variety and number of dealers present were anemic at best, that didn't stop the attendees from spending freely. The general consensus of the dealers was that business had gone very well and warranted a return to Anime Central 1999, if in fact there would be one.

	Clockwise from left: garage kit models; cels from popular shows; a large shopping crowd.

Industry and fan panels filled out the majority of the live programming's schedule and while the rooms provided were quite small, fans sat it out through the heat and density and enjoyed themselves. A nice touch that followed AX tradition was a daily newsletter, keeping attendees informed of the day's happenings and which celebrities were present at the convention on what day.
All the guests were gracious enough to not only attend their panels but also provide fans with autograph sessions. Being the headlining guest, Mr. Sonoda sat through a two hour autograph session on Saturday to accommodate most of the fans that waited in line.

	Clockwise from top left: Ko-enshaku and Lord Alberto (GIANT ROBO), Nurse Angel Ririka, Cammy, and Amanda Winn stuffing a bill into Genma's underwear!

Masquerade is usually the centerpiece of any convention and Anime Central's was no exception. A healthy turnout of 30 participants provided enough entertainment for the time slot and highlights included a 12-year-old Nurse Angel Ririka wooing the crowd with a quite perfect rendition of the show's opening song in Japanese and a bizarre skit that seemed a typical Ranma-chan/Genma Panda fight and evolved into a surreal disco-esque lap dance that whipped the crowd into such an unexplainable frenzy that guest and judge Amanda Winn (voice actress for ADV Films) was compelled to shove a five dollar bill into Genma's, um, underwear?
With attendance figures totaling 1,203 attendees (including one-day memberships throughout the weekend), Anime Central 1998 was a seemingly successful convention. A good figure for a first year convention to shoot for is 500 to 700 people and, considering the untapped market of the Midwest, Anime Central organizers were expecting around 900 folks. Although the convention was not selling memberships for next year at-con, be sure that there will be an Anime Central 1999 in Chicago.

Photography by Dana Weaver and Andy Popp