Leo O’Brien and Tristan Sites locked eyes from across the room and made a beeline to meet each other. Both were cosplaying Nightwing — a DC Comics superhero — at the Anime Midwest convention. An immediate connection was formed by their shared love of the character, who exists in the comic world as a lesser-known fusion of Batman and Superman’s narratives.
Two years later, Sites, 23, and O’Brien, 25, work as live entertainment actors at Anime Midwest, one of the largest annual conventions in the region. The event, which started in 2011, will attract about 15,000 people.
There is something for everyone this weekend at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, even if you aren’t an otaku (the Japanese term for fans of anime and manga) — from vintage video games, manga and cosplay to voice actors panels, comic book signings and live bands.
YouTube-famous groups with millions of subscribers such as the Gregory Brothers and Epic Rap Battles of History will also perform this weekend. While most anime conventions have K-pop or J-pop performances, Anime Midwest will host more than a dozen live bands from different genres, including hard rock and Vocaloid (computerized voice synthesizer), along with two overnight EDM raves. Some of the more eccentric and popular convention sessions are a burlesque troupe called Nerdlesque and an improv game of “Whose Line Is it Amine?”
Everyone is welcome at Anime Midwest no matter their fandoms, especially when it comes to cosplay. Sites, who grew up playing “Legend of Zelda” on Nintendo 64 — often until 2 a.m. — says dressing as the character Link at comic-cons gave him a sense of belonging.
“Coming to conventions is like a magical fairyland,” says Sites. “Growing up, people like us tend to be socially awkward, and others didn’t understand why were so excited by these characters. At conventions, we finally get to meet people who are interested in the same things.”
Even mainstream fandoms make appearances at Anime Midwest. Marissa Sylvester, a 24-year-old student at Parkland College in Champaign, says cosplay allows her to become the characters she loves and aspires to be. In her lineup of meticulously planned costumes for the weekend, Sylvester will become Veronica Lodge, a main character on the CW show “Riverdale,” which is a dark spinoff of Archie Comics.
A naturally shy person, Sylvester says she will take on Veronica’s character as a mysterious, confident and powerful woman. From a vastly different genre, Sylvester will also channel the energy and personality of Vanellope Von Schweetz in a cosplay of the character from Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph.”
“People will ask to take pictures with me and I will pose in a way that exudes the character,” Sylvester says. “I met my entire friend group at anime conventions.”
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 9300 Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont
Tickets: $40 Friday and Saturday, $30 Sunday; $70 for a weekend pass; www.animemidwest.com
