18 years later, and AnimeChicago not only keeps the lights on – we’re strengthening our social ties daily. Tough times call for resilient communities. Our focus is uniting Chicagoans through all things Japanese pop culture but we can aim higher than that. That’s why we stepped up against social isolation, connected people with kindness, and created opportunities for our members to grow. Here’s how we made that happen.
What we achieved in 2024
By the numbers
AnimeChicago exceeded 3,300 total members! We’ve hosted 849 events to date and held 8 monthly meetups since 2020. Thanks to our regular attendees and daily Discord posters! Keep sharing your favorite anime titles, manga series, and Chicago spots with us.
Curating so you don’t have to
The industry releases over 200 new anime every year. Nobody’s got time for that. So we hosted 4 seasonal Anime Samplers to share 20 hours of our top anime recommendations. We showed up for Spy×Family, Haikyuu!!, and Dandadan to financially support these theatrical screenings. And we organized activities at big cons so our members didn’t navigate Anime Central, C2E2, or Anime Magic alone.
Educational efforts you probably didn’t hear about
Not enough? The team facilitated several behind-the-scenes moments for Chicagoans. We partnered with FACETS to introduce their screening of End of Evangelion, highlighting our personal connections with formative anime films. Chicago Public Schools invited us to educate their digital Anime Club with 2 online presentations. We shared anime recommendations and helped parents relate with their kids’ interests at our Japan Fest booth within the Chicago Cultural Center. Our C2E2 booth, panel, and trivia meetups connected us with the wider nerd community. And our podcast hosts dropped two Anime’s Game Changers episodes to highlight pivotal anime directors.
A hybrid schedule for ambiverts in Chicago and beyond
2024 was for stepping out. Dinner at Gangnam Market, our Anniversary at Konbini & Kanpai, the huge Holiday Party & Gift Exchange at FACETS, and gatherings at Dovetail, Montrose Beach, Horner Park Picnic were all great successes. Didn’t want to venture out? Our online events were there for our remote members including the dozens of y’all who live outside Illinois! Whether you made it to 1 or 10 or 100s of our meetups: thanks for making time for us.
Additional highlights
- Raised $2,487 to support our costs including vendor increases
- Reduced No Shows at our larger events by improving our Waitlist process
- Moved Anime Circle to Thursday nights with less “homework” to increase attendance
- Hosted 49 Art Circles on Wednesday nights to encourage creative habits
- Made Bingo an official Anime Sampler activity to callout common tropes
- Leaned into that “Big Shoulders energy” and flexed our Photoshop chops on social
What’s coming in 2025
Introducing AnimeChicago Spotlights!
Anime culture is so much more than weekend conventions. So we’re breaking free! Spotlights are our new series that brings your favorite con activities to Chicago’s neighborhoods — panel discussions at local cafes, cosplay workshops in maker studios, arthouse screenings, and more!
Our next Spotlight is Anime Connects – Belonging Through Characters and Community, 3 talks on how actively engaging in fandom benefits our passions, our lives, and wider communities. Sip of Hope Coffee is our ideal partner and venue to discuss mental health through the lens of anime fandom. We’re excited for this event and hope to see you there!
This program is a bigger lift for our team. We’re able to organize at least seven this year but it truly takes a village. Please message us with pitches, invitations, and introductions with Chicagoans who might be interested in helping with a future Spotlight.
Upgrades for continuing programs
- Pencil in the big ones! Beach, Picnic, Anniversary, & Holiday gatherings will return.
- Anime Circle is now Anime Discussion, online at its new time: 3rd Thursdays @ 7pm.
- Manga Circle is now Manga Discussion, meeting 2nd Sundays @ 2pm at Goblin Market!
- Deep Dives will return as Anime Showcases on random Tuesday nights.
- Art Circle is now Art Lounge.
- Member Mixers have been retired.
- Anime Sampler is completely unchanged.
Stay in the Loop
- Subscribe for quarterly recaps including local links and anime recommendations.
- Check our Meetup calendar for our 8+ monthly events and specialty collaborations.
- And catch us on Bluesky for announcements and memes!
State of Chicago’s Anime Scene
Con overload
Chicago’s too pragmatic to sustain so many conventions. No doubt: we’re all-in on Anime Central. C2E2’s weekend pass increased, so anime fans might nab Saturday passes or skip this “live-action leaning” show outright. We really wanted to love Anime Magic, but their 2024 production stumbles might lead to slim pickings on vendors and guests. And we’re hearing more buzz for AMKE in downtown Milwaukee as a solid weekend adventure that won’t empty your wallet.
Symphonies are in!
We loved Joe Hisaishi and One Piece at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Tickets are now available for Naruto, and Attack on Titan symphonies. Expect more live performances for the best-known shonen and seinen titles (come back, Cowboy Bebop jazz man!). Even cover bands and indie raves are on the rise.
Long live Mitsuwa
TCG players spoke: the One Piece store is permanent! There’s rumblings that Kinokuniya US might send more anime-exclusives here now that our store has a bigger footprint. We’re saddened that MaMa’s House abruptly closed, but excited for the new tempura shop in the Food Court.
More visible than ever
1 out of every 20 Chicago cars has an anime sticker. 30% chance it’s Nezuko is peaking out the rear window. Spotting so much anime representation in the wild — clothing, shoes, backpacks, jewelry, tattoos, hairstyles — warms our ancient hearts.
Our 2025 Predictions
Corporations don’t get anime
We noted this last year and it hasn’t improved. Funimation’s poor merger into Crunchyroll’s culture is a sign of more to come as execs wring more revenue out of a stubborn value-driven audience. Will fans will endure heftier prices sure to come? Idk, will con roommate #6 stop camping out in the tub?
Netflix is still winning
Chicago anime fans are largely practical Midwesterners who dislike paying for multiple subscriptions. Netflix caters to casual anime watchers, but is also pouring money into live-action adaptations like One Piece S2 & Yu Yu Hakusho for the hardcore fans. Our Anime Discussion attendance is always higher when we select a Netflix anime. Crunchyroll wishes they had the market cornered like this.
The Great Consolidation continues
Continuing 2024 trends, more animation studios will get snatched up by behemoths to expand capacity. At this rate, Sony might outright buy everything by 2026. Who’s to say? We hope this leads to fewer anime titles with better production and increased pay for creators. But all signs point to No.
Edutainment for the masses
YouTube has widely replaced educational panels at conventions. We’ve got mixed feelings about it. There is no substitution for in-person energy and real time questions. But we’re glad that Japanese culture educators can connect with a global audience and maybe earn some pocket change. Ask your cons to invite your favorite niche edutainers and give them top billing so we go full circle!
Onward!
Many thanks for supporting AnimeChicago as attendees, contributors, and advocates of our work! We’re honored that you believe in our mission as much as we do.
2025 brings a lot of programming. We’ll continue meeting every Sunday to plan and promote remarkable experiences for Chicago’s anime fans. If you like what we’re doing, even $20 helps fund our social events, art initiatives, public education, curation & facilitation, and beyond.
Stay tuned to AnimeChicago.com and subscribe to our Quarterly Recaps for email alerts.