On Sunday, May 21st 2023, I headed down to Rosemount and entered the halls of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center to attend what could be considered the centerpiece of midwest anime cons, Anime Central. Despite being a Minnesota resident, I had never before made the six-hour drive down to Illinois to attend ACEN, despite years of flying to attend conventions on both coasts. Perhaps that’s because for the longest time, my perception of anime conventions is that the cons based in big coastal cities like NYC, LA, SF, and DC – cities you can abbreviate and people still know exactly where you mean – were the focal points of content and programming provided by the major companies, industry creatives, actors and talent, and fandom content creators. Whereas Anime Central is adjacent to a big city, Rosemount is about a half-hour to an hour from Chicago, and my experience with cons in Minnesota is that while the midwest occasionally attracts a few well-known voice actors and midwest-based content creators, the larger industry and Japanese guests and talents don’t usually have a presence.

As such, I never really thought to visit ACEN during my years in Minnesota. However, this year, a chance to check it out finally presented itself. Now based in Evanston, IL for the year as I’m pursuing my Master’s at Northwestern University, making the trip down to Rosemount was not only a much easier prospect, but an attractive opportunity to check out a major midwest convention that I’d never been to before, and may not regularly have the ability to in future years. Moreover, I saw that Helen McCarthy was attending the con and conducting several panels over the weekend. Helen is one of the most preeminent and published anime historians and cultural antropologists in the field, having written books on seminal creators like Hayao Miyazaki and Leiji Matsumoto, as well as the Anime Encyclopedia, in its heyday the most comprehensive resource listing and historicizing anime productions. While I wasn’t able to do the full weekend because I had other events and commitments to attend to on Friday and Northwestern’s annual Dillo Day music festival on Saturday, I was able to make the full day of Sunday from opening to close. Having now experienced my first ACEN, I am definitely keen to return, because it was one of the smoothest and enjoyable congoing experiences I have ever had. 

From my perspective as a member of the press especially, I thought the con organizers and staff were quite friendly, helpful, and attentive. I submitted my press application to the con relatively late, only the Saturday before the con was to begin, but I received a speedy notification of approval based on my credentials, and was promptly given all the information I needed for badge pickup and interview requests. While I did receive some last-minute notifications of my interview approvals, including one that was only a few hours in advance of the interview time that I wouldn’t be able to make, considering that I myself had been a late press applicant I found the staff to be speedy and attentive in their communications, updates, and responses. This was true of receiving my approval to interview Helen McCarthy, which was sent to me just a half-hour after my inquiry, and only a day before the interview was to be conducted. The timely and thorough communications between myself and the organizers, Eric and Sarah Leitzen, made me feel prepared and informed for my visit to ACEN, and excited for the day to come. 

On the day of the con, I arrived and parked in the DESC garage, and took the skyway tunnels through the Hyatt into the convention center. I admit I got a little lost, as the hallway through the buildings diverges into paths of different directions at one point, one of which led into the center and another into a dead end. I think some signs indicating which direction to go would’ve been helpful for me, but maybe it’ll be more intuitive for others. When I went into the convention center, picking up the badge was very easy, as I was directed to the press ops booths by a staff member and it didn’t take long to receive it. I was then given an opportunity to peruse the show floor before it opened for the day, and was pleasantly surprised by not only how huge it was, but also the number of vendors present and by the presence of major companies like Viz Media, Crunchyroll, Rightstuf (R.I.P.), and Bang Zoom, many of whom also brought cool photo op booths to the con in addition to their usual sales booths. I found Viz’s Naruto-themed ramen bowl photo op to be particularly creative and amusing, though it made me hungry for a giant bowl of it myself! I didn’t have too much time later in the day to fully explore the Exhibit Hall and Artist Alley, but I found the spaces easy to manuever through and navigate. 

This was true of the DESC and Hyatt facilities as a whole; it never felt crowded despite the quantity of people congregating, particularly in the main hall, and every panel room I entered, even the smallest ones, felt quite spacious and with enough room to accommodate everyone interested in the events being held there. The interiors itself also look quite good, with clean, carpeted floors, and lots of red strips on the walls and a mural in the main floor that really puts the “rose” in the Rosemount convention center. Meanwhile, the Hyatt has very attractive stone tiling and walls, blue-red carpets, and scattered public seating areas and tables to chill at between events. And, very importantly, many large, accessible and easy-to-find, and clean bathrooms. Many con spaces can feel too packed and claustrophobic, but especially for a convention of its scale and size, ACEN feels like a really comfortable environment and location to explore. While I wasn’t able to visit every area or type of event, particularly the Entertainment Hall, concert and dance spaces and, most glaringly for me, the Manga Library, it was easy to see through the sheer scale of ACEN that there was something and somewhere for every attendee to enjoy. 

When the time came to do my interview with Helen, I was guided by the organizers to the Press Stage in the con center, which was a space in the Exhibit Hall closed off by curtains and entry guarded to regular con-goers. While not a terribly big space, it had both a stage with couches and chairs that was well set-up for video interviews, which I saw some press members use to interview a voice actor as I walked in. Since my interview was only going to be transcribed from audio recording, it was conducted on a regular prop-up rectangular table on the side of the space. Overall I found the space in the convention center to be well-used, though I wish that the press stage was in a more secluded area away from the hall, as there was a lot of background noise that drowned out Helen’s voice in my recording and made the transcription take a long time for me to suss out later, though that’s also partly on me as well for needing a more acute audio set-up. But overall I found the process of conducting interviews and doing press work at ACEN very amenable, in large part thanks to the communicativeness and attentiveness of the organizers and staff. And I really enjoyed speaking with interviewing Helen, which you can read the full transcript of here! 

Besides conducting interviews, the main draw for attending conventions for me is to attend informative panels about interesting topics conducted by, featuring, or about cool guests. ACEN didn’t disappoint me on that front, as I had a full schedule of back-to-back events I was interested in from the start to end of my day. The biggest draw for me, and the reason I was particularly keen to attend ACEN this year, was to see Helen McCarthy’s panels. She conducted four over the course of the weekend, two of which on the Sunday I attended – The Disruptive Power of A.I. on Manga Production and The History of Cosplay, both topics I was quite keen to learn more about. Helen is a remarkable and entertaining presenter, naturally incorporating humorous anecdotes and bits of wit into overviews packed with information, but never overbearingly so. For more information and exploration of everything she talked about in her panels, check out my Twitter threads on them in the links below and above! 

While I knew to expect densely informative panels from Helen, I was pleasantly surprised to find just as dense and intriguing fan-run panels as well. In particular, Hiraijuu-Suffering’s presentation on Polyamory in anime was a thorough and thoughtful exploration of plural, non-monogamous relationships as depicted in several different series, deconstructing assumptions of mononormativity and the link between sex and polyamory. As someone who had just entered into a relationship with a polyamorous girlfriend and am poly in theory if not in practice, I found Hiraijuu’s deconstruction and examination of the different forms of polyamorous relationships through the lenses of different cultures, particularly his own Muslim culture and upbringing, and various anime series quite educational, and came out of it feeling like I had a new perspective on how to view and navigate my own relationship. Additionally, as a fan of Girlfriend, Girlfriend, I was very happy to see Hiraijuu explore what makes the series work as a genuinely positive and healthy example of a polyamorous relationship, even if the series itself isn’t conscious of it in those terms itself. 

Hiraijuu’s panel was quite long, over a hour and a half, but it never felt like it dragged and he consistently engaged the audience. Despite the panel’s length, the audience Q&A still extended past the original slotted end of the panel for an additional half-hour afterwards, answering multiple thoughtful questions from intrigued and curious audience members, including from a closeted poly woman navigating a relationship with both her husband and boyfriend, neither of which knowing much about the other, which led to a very interesting conversation about ethics in communication, commitment, time management in polyamorous relationships. Check out my thread on the panel for even more comprehensive info on everything it explored in examining polyamorous relationships through the lens of anime!



I was also delighted to meet and attend Kofi Bazzell-Smith’s panel on his career as an American-born and based manga artist. Kofi talked about his work both as an academic and artist, giving lectures about his work in Japan and inviting japanese mangaka to give lectures in University campuses back in the U.S. He explored how he got connected with Kodansha’s editorial office and met several prominent manga artists, including Ashita no Joe artist Tetsuya Chiba, which was especially serendipitous considering Kofi is a professional boxer himself. He also talked about many of his adventures and experiences in Japan, including wowing Fuji TV street interviewers on Japanese TV, and visiting the Gundam Factory and seeing the life-size Gundam in Yokohama. Most intriguingly, Kofi talked about the stylization and exploration of concepts of sound and space in his work, particularly in his newest manga, Karasu, as well as how it was influenced by a particular classic Japanese song. What I found most striking about Kofi’s artwork was his character design sensibilities and the tone and mood evoked by his character art and expressions, particularly in the way he draws eyes, which I found quite reminiscent of the work of Naoki Urasawa. I had the pleasure of chatting with Kofi after his panel and brought up my observation, and he seemed delighted by the comparison, remarking to his friend/manager “he said I reminded him of Urasawa!” I really found Kofi’s work and journey as an artist incredibly fascinating, and hope to get an opportunity to see more presentations by him and talk with him again. Like the other panels I conducted at ACEN, I tweeted out a thread of my live-coverage and impressions of it, but unlike my other panels I can no longer find a link to the thread on X even by searching through my tweet history for whatever reason. However, if you are better equipped to navigate X’s frustrating UI than me, I would highly recommend finding and reading that thread for a full and comprehensive recap of Kofi’s journey as a mangaka, observations on the differences between Japanese and American comics paneling and artistic traditions, and all of the incredibly impressive experiences Kofi has had in an impressively incredible life. 

After my interview with Helen, the last event I attended to wrap-up my day at ACEN was the Closing Ceremonies. I don’t often attend these, but was curious to get a better understanding of the feelings of attendees coming out of the weekend, and get acquainted with other guests who attended and events that transpired. Considering the ceremonies began with the crowd calling for a “4 Day Con,” I have to conclude that the con was a resounding success. The highlight of the Closing Ceremonies, other than final thoughts and remarks from guests like Helen McCarthy and Tony Oliver, were the spotlighting of Bang Zoom’s scholarship and contest winners, which are a regular tradition at ACEN and seem like a fun potential opportunity to get a break into the world of anime voice-actin, and I think best evidences ACEN as a space of intermingling and connection between anime fans with the anime industry. There were also some fun moments and stories told during the ceremonies, namely John Swasey explaining that he got a limp from spending the previous two nights of the con drinking champagne, because he accidentally bought two bottles. The ceremonies ended with the reveal that 2024’s ACEN theme would be gaming, and with attendees throwing fruit snacks at the hosts on stage, apparently a callback to a joke during the Opening Ceremonies. I truly felt the communal spirit of the con during these moments, and how much it is beloved and enjoyed by all who organize and attend it. Truly, in terms of energy, satisfaction, and enthusiasm, ACEN was one of the most invigorating and spirited con environments I’ve ever been to –  one might even say the central-most. 

Lastly, just to speak a bit about traveling to and from the convention center if you’re not staying in Rosemount itself; as is to be expected, traveling through Chicago during regular traffic hours to reach Rosemount will take quite a bit of time. Leaving early at the beginning of the day, I was able to make the trip from Evanston to Rosemount in about 35 minutes, but my drive to the Man with a Mission concert at the House of Blues in Chicago after my day at the con took over an hour through heavy traffic. The closer to Rosemount you are, and the farther away you are from regular traffic lanes, like the I-90/I-94,  that go through Chicago, the easier and faster your drive will be. Public transit might be preferable via the Blue Line, though for me, the trip between Evanston to Rosemount and later Rosemount to Chicago would’ve taken me over an hour and a half anyway, so I found driving preferable. Once in Rosemount, the parking nearest to the convention center can be found at the Donald E. Stephens Center. The rate was about $15 for the day, which compared to paying nearly thrice as much for parking in Chicago later in the day, seems decently reasonable in comparison. However, as I learned later, the rate at the Rosemount CTA station is only $13 for a full 24 hours or $11 a day for stays of two or more days, so if you’re doing the full weekend, you’ll save a bit by parking there. It is half a mile from the convention center, but that’s only a ten minute walk, which isn’t too far if you’re not running late to an event you really want to go to. More comprehensive information on directions and parking can be handily found on Anime Central’s website. 

I truly enjoyed my first experience with Anime Central. Even attending just one day, I felt I got so much out of it, and left feeling incredibly satisfied and delighted by the experiences I had and connections I made over the course of the day. I was able to do a lot in the limited time I had at the con, but also know there was so much more to potentially explore, stuff that I’m eager to discover when I next return, and I truly wish to. Experience is subjective so perhaps not everyone will get as much out of Anime Central – I had a conversation with a fellow in Northwestern University anime club who bemoaned the panel offerings and programming as uninteresting, and the space not being very welcoming or as fun for introverts and people attending the convention by themselves, which he aims to rectify by hosting his own panel on social anxiety at ACEN next year. Personally, however, I did find there to be a very diverse selection of panels, entertainment, and activities that appeal to many different interests, and even though I attended the convention by myself, I had a really good time and enjoyed meeting people there, including running into and meeting up by chance with other friends and fellows from the NU anime club. In my view, Anime Central lives up to its name as a centralized hub for the anime community to congregate and celebrate in a variety of different forms, and it has earned its reputation and status as the centerpiece of the anime con-going scene in the mid-west. For my part, I look forward to returning to the con in the future, and hope it continues to take center stage at the DESCC centrally for the next century and more.

About The Author Siddharth Gupta

Siddharth Gupta is an illustrator, animator, and writer based in Minnesota. They graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Animation from the School of Visual Arts, and have worked on projects for the University of Minnesota and the Shreya R. Dixit Foundation. An avid animation and comics fan since childhood, they've turned their passion towards being both a creator and a critic. They credit their love for both mediums to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which has also defined their artistic and comedic sensibilities. A frequent visitor to their local comic book shop, they are an avid reader and collector, particularly fond of manga. Their favorite comics include The Adventures of Tintin by Herge, Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed, and pretty much anything and everything by Rumiko Takahashi.

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