The author hoped that fans appreciated the best part of Anime Central's return to Rosemont, Ill., the vastly improved dealers' room. In 2000 and 2001, the convention had a bizarre setup where dealers were scattered across two rooms on different floors. In 2002, the convention's new home allowed the dealers to be placed in one large room.

One odd quirk: the author got a cheap room and ended up on an upper floor; isn't that supposed to be the other way around? Traffic report: outside of a rush after the costume contest, there was no major wait all weekend for the Hyatt's four elevators, despite the large attendance. Plea for etiquette: fans need to learn how not to get on elevators and ride up four floors just so they can ride back down to the ground floor. Regret: the author didn't have time to enjoy the hotel's seafood buffet, expensive at $30 but offering an unending supply of food.

The most amusing part of the convention for this author - unintentionally so - was watching Anime Central volunteers as they rushed to set up the spectator lines for the Saturday night costume contest. Shouting orders as if it was a military operation or a construction site, the workers grabbed stanchions and plastic chains, stretched them one way and then another, and got the job done just in time to direct what was said to be 1,500 fans into the main ballroom. Too bad the contest still started about an hour late.

For once, the author can't judge the costume contest stage presentations. That's because he got the pictures of contestants before they went on stage, and didn't go into the ballroom until the prizes were handed out. The author noted that the loudest cheers came for the three-headed Ghidra costume from the Baranek brothers; a few hours earlier, Mike Baranek was secretly carrying one of the foam monster's feet in a plastic bag, hoping to get approved for the contest.

There were several people interested in the author's cosplay book project, and he hopes to find more on the next weekend at Sakura Con and Fanime Con (yes, both conventions on the same weekend).

Other points: lots of parents who brought their children, making costumes for them and pushing their babies around the halls in strollers...import cars were on display for the weekend, along with some attractive women to hand out literature on a car club...the Anime Central tradition of rain during the convention weekend continued, accompanied by a drop of temperature that plunged the weather from summer to fall in 12 hours...the Japanese guests of honor got a lot of enjoyment from the attention they received from American fans; the sight of hundreds of people queued for sketches and autographs in the Midwest seemed to be a pleasant surprise. Toshihiro Kawamoto brought a fine collection of his artwork, Hidenori Matsubara got a hug and a kiss from a Belldandy costumer...Ken Akamatsu had a pretty and doting young wife...the convention could be nicknamed "Asuka-Con" for the many costumers in Soryuu Asuka Langley costumes, including actor Tiffany Grant and her two Asuka suits.

The only thing that the author saw that was really wrong was when an ambulance rolled up to the hotel's main entrance, paramedics walked inside and returned with a female fan on a gurney. That fan returned the next day, saying she had suffered a seizure but was otherwise all right.

Watch for Anime Central to move to mid-May in 2003. Don't be surprised if part of the convention moves across the street to the Rosemont Convention Center to clear up Hyatt space for more events.