Anime Magic is a brand new Anime con! It is located at the Hyatt in Schaumburg, and its first event took place from August 16 to the 18th, 2019. Anime Magic's focus is to have another Anime convention in the Chicagoland area. The convention emphasizes being a family-friendly con and that takes harassment and security very seriously. The staff was very friendly and was careful to attend to any calls and alerts right away.
The attendance was small, which is expected for a first year convention. Attendance could be low due to Wizard World Chicago happening the weekend after. The convention did not have celebrity guests, but had artists, cosplayers, vending halls, and plenty of fun and educational panels which were a highlight to many attendees.
Like most cons, the costume contest is usually the biggest and main event. There was just over a dozen contestants, and the costumes were amazing. The three winners had beautiful and well-made costumes. It was a fun show. Click through the gallery below to see the contestants, and what you're likely to be up against if you're thinking about competing next year:
The con had about 1000 attendees throughout the whole weekend. It was, overall, a well-run convention and might need just a few minor tweaks for next year. It might need to be held on a different weekend as well, so that it doesn't have as much competition from being so close to Wizard World. Hopefully, we'll be attending another show in 2020!
