Convention guests may compete to see who has the cleanest room upon their check out day. Three lucky rooms will win prizes. To participate, only those checking out on Sunday, August 5, 2012 will be considered. Winners will be contacted directly and then pictures of the winning rooms and their room numbers will be shared on the Hyatt Regency O’Hare’s Facebook page! For your own safety and security, we will not post the names of the winning guests.

The top three cleanest rooms will win the following prizes:
1. Two nights complimentary room and tax!
2. One night complimentary room and tax!
3. $50 room allowance!

Inside helpful hints and tips from winners of other cleanest room contests:
1. Linens removed from the bed and placed with the towels in front of the closet.
2. All trash (pizza leftovers, leftover amenities, Got Soap?) into one trash bag.
3. All recyclables into a separate bag (including Red Bull cans, glass, Mountain Dew bottles, water bottles and all other recyclables).

Tipton and Smith joined us last month at AnimeWorld Indianapolis, and AWC is excited to show Monica Rial what AnimeWorld is all about!The three panelists, all of whom have made exciting and successful voice-acting careers with FUNimation studios, hosted an informative (and oftentimes funny) Q&A panel this afternoon with convention guests.

The panel began with a quick overview of the actors’ experience in the business.

Rial has an outstanding amount of experience in the industry; her voice has been used for more than 250 roles. Her work in the business also includes script writing.

Tipton has been in the voice acting industry for four years. Her voice can be heard on series such as Moka in Rosario + Vampire and Mizuki in Baka and Test.

Smith has had many roles in prominent anime series such as Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Honey and Clover. His most recent work is involved with the critically acclaimed series on Nicktoons, Monsuno, an American anime series written, recorded and produced in America and animated in Japan.

The panelists answered any question attendees asked. One particular question for Rial was about the new Panty and Stocking series and her overall thoughts about it, which Tipton described to Smith as Powerpuff Girls animation loaded with hilarious, inappropriate filth.

Rial said that she actually found the scripts to be funny. She explained her sense of humor and how Panty and Stocking wasn’t shocking for her–in fact, she oftentimes joked in the studio about scenarios that would make Panty and Stocking even funnier and more scandalous! Rial said that its nearly impossible to offend or shock her.

One aspect of voice acting that was particularly interesting was Smith’s explanation of how voice-actors are much more of a community among one another rather than competition. He told a story about how a close colleague and friend told him about an audition that Smith ended up being cast for–a role that his colleague would have been a perfect fit for. However, his colleague simply felt the role was more like Smith and gave him the tip to audition.

The panelists also gave some great tips for aspiring voice actors. Tipton told audience members that even the smallest bits of improv and role-playing can make an impact on your confidence and ability as an actor. Before she began her career voice acting, she told attendees about how she and her friends used to act out the voices while playing video games. Not only did all of them have a blast, but she was able to discover new ways of creating a variety of characters through voices.

So that’s just a sneak peak of some of the great panels that are going on at AnimeWorld Chicago this year. If you couldn’t make it out for Friday’s panels, don’t fret! There are still two days of great panels and tons of opportunities to meet your favorite voice actors. Join us tomorrow at the Hyatt O’Hare in  Rosemont, Illinois!

ADULTS Weekend pass
July 1st – Aug 4th, 2012 = $45.00

Friday ONLY Day pass
July 1st – Aug 3th, 2012 = $19.95
Saturday ONLY Day pass
July 1st – Aug 4th, 2012 = $24.95
Sunday ONLY Day Pass
July 1st – Aug 5th, 2012 = $19.95
*CHILD
Children 6 and under = FREE
Children 7-12 = $ 19.95 per weekend.
Children 7-12 single day pass = $ 9.95 per day.
*Children’s badges are available ONLY with a paid adult. Children 12 and under MUST be supervised by an adult. All parents must fill out the Parental Consent Form for all under the age of 18 and present it at time of registration at the event!

Weekend Family Package
2 Adult, two children = $ 79.95
2 Adult, three children = $ 94.95

On-Site Registration Hours:
Day 1    Friday, August 3th:    9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Day 2    Saturday, August 4th:    9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Day 3    Sunday, August 5th:    9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Be sure to take a look at our program guide to see all the awesome things you can do at AnimeWorld Chicago 2012!

We look forward to seeing you all at AnimeWorld Chicago!

We also have a more detailed PDF file for download for those of you who wish to view it on your computer or print it out yourself! Click here to download!

Any updates we make to our schedule will be seen on our Twitter, Facebook, mobile app, and passed along to our staffers to inform you all!

Check out all our awesome programming and find out which events you want to attend! We hope to see you at AnimeWorld Chicago!

• Two Free Gaming Rooms:Again, Anime World Chicago has two awesome video game rooms set up for your enjoyment. In the console room, we’ve got the full gambit of consoles from the original Nintendo, forgotten classics like the Dreamcast, and, of course, the modern trinity of Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii. Come check out our selection, and if you don’t see a game you want in the machine? Ask our staff, and (if they have it) they’ll gladly swap the game in for you!  And even more exciting is the return of Anime World Chicago’s Free Play Arcade Room! From DDR to Pump it Up, from Mega Man the Power Battles to Marvel vs Capcom 2, from The Simpsons to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, our arcade room has an awesome selection, and, best of all, is FREE! Many thanks to Credits Remaining (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Credits-Remaining/171575132875197) for helping staff and equiping our awesome game rooms!

• Gaming TournamentsIt’s back! Anime World Chicago’s Console tournaments are back and looking for the best contenders to step up and put their skills to the test. We’re bringing back some old favorites and introducing some new tournaments this year. Get here early enough Friday and put your name in for the Mystery Retro Tournament, where AWC’s tournament makers will challenge you with an old school forgotten hit to see if your skills can truly stand the test of time. Last year, we brought you Chu Chu Rocket…this year? Who knows! Saturday will see a day full of tournaments in our gaming rooms, as we bring you tournaments for Halo Reach, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and even a DDR tournament in our Arcade room’s actual (Free Play!) DDR machine! And lastly, if you’ve still got a bit energy left, there will be a Nintendo 64 Pokemon Stadium tournament on Sunday morning! Think you’re the best? Then BE THERE!

• Anime World IdolReady to get up and rock? Think your skills could bring a crowd its feet? Then let’s see you prove it. New this year to Anime World Expos is the Anime World Idol Rock Band 3 Challenge. Our panel of (not-so) expert judges are ready to get blown away by what you and your bandmates bring. But let’s make this clear. This isn’t some talent competition where we boringly count missed notes and judge technical skill. We’ll leave that to other “official” tournaments. This is all about getting up in front of everybody else and rocking out. We’re looking for the people who are going to get up there and have fun, go nuts, and make the crowd laugh, stomp, cheer, and scream for them. We don’t care what difficultly setting you are on, we are here to HAVE FUN! (And I will be disappointed if somebody doesn’t get up there and perform Don’t Stop Believing. Seriously, we can’t let AWI out do us with Living on a Prayer, can we??) Sign up in advance in this thread here in the forums: http://animeworldchicago.invisionzone.com/topic/427-anime-world-idol/

• Tabletop EventsTabletop is back and better than ever. Not only do we have the usual awesome library of games to check out, we also have several awesome events just waiting to be played.Friday will see the return of the Magic the Gathering booster draft tournament, and our resident champion will be on hand to defend his title from last year. We’ll be drafting from the released just this month Core 2013 set! Friday night will see the game room filled with laughter as we host a late night Apples to Apples session. We’ll have multiple boxes of Apples to Apples available, so just come in and jump in a game, and get to know your fellow con goers!Saturday will see the Yu-gi-oh Booster Draft tournament’s return, this time drafting from the Eternal Dawn booster set, a set made JUST made for booster drafts. Come face down your fellow duelist for glory, a trophy, and prizes! And stick around after the Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament to catch the back stabbing action as the tabletop room hosts an informal Late Night Munchkin gathering. Many different types of Munchkin will be available so show up with your friends and jump into a game!

• Mahjong Tournament Ever wonder what that tile based gambling game you always see show up in anime is?  We have an awesome opportunity for you as the local Mahjong club will be hosting a Richi Mahjong tournament in our tabletop room, Friday afternoon, starting at 3PM! All are welcome to come and join or just watch this fascinating game!

Schedule information pertaining to LittleKuriboh such as panels at AnimeWorld Chicago will be posted soon.

Please stay tuned for more information regarding panels, concerts, new guest announcements and more for the 2012 convention season.

Christopher Smith is in the middle of a very busy year. In gaming it can be summed up in one word – Skyrim. Chris is the voice of the evil Daedric Lord, Molag Bal in 2011′s Game of the Year. He’s also heard every Thursday on NickToons as Bren, and Jon Ace in the American anime series Monsuno. Chris has also had roles in anime such as Captain Bright Noa for Gundam: Unicorn, the latest in the Gundam franchise. He’s also the voice of Major Peter Soyuz in Full Metal Alchemist: Sacred Star of Milos, and Lucius Isaac for the Marvel anime adaption of Blade. He’s Kinnosuke in DuRaRaRa, Matoko Kibune, Rose, and Wonderweiss in Bleach, Headmaster Kaien Cross in Vampire Knight, Kittan in Gurren Lagann, Ishidate and Shuura in Naruto, and The Puppeteer in Ghost in the Shell. He’s upwards of 25 characters apiece in Code Geass, Monster, and Redline. Hanamoto-Sensei in Honey and Clover, The Mikado in Moribito, Abe in Ghost Slayer Ayashi, and featured prominently in Twelve Kingdoms, Overman King Gainer, Tenjho Tenghe, Gundam Force, Samurai Champloo, and a few dozen more. He’s also multiple roles in the upcoming big-screen remake of the 70′s hit Gatcahman (G-Force/Battle of the Planets).

In games, he’s Rufus in Street Fighter 4 (Super SF, & SFXTekken), Superman in Mortal Kombat vs DC, and Emperor Mateus in Final Fantasy: Dissidia, and Dissidia: Duodecim, Agent Smith in Matrix: Path of Neo, and Professor X and Odin for Marvel Pinball Games. He was Tenebrae in Tales of Symphonia 2, Commander Cadigan in Dead Space, and Supreme Commander Gaghan in Star Ocean 4. He’s Fandrel Staghelm, Mal Ganis, and Razslo Crushcog (plus a dozen others) in World of Warcraft, Nobunaga Oda in the Samurai Warriors franchise, Sun Wu Kong in Warriors Orochi, and Yuan Shao in Dynasty Warriors. Scalpel and Firehawk in Command and Conquer 4, and he voice-matched Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving, and Anthony LaPaglia for Happy Feet. He’s major bad guy Juda in the newest Fist of the Northstar, and Sgt “Gunny” Garrity in the upcoming reboot of Steel Battalion. He’s multiple characters in Vandal Hearts 2, Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Atlantica Online, Lunia, Skycrawlers, Xenosaga, and about 100 other games.

Want to meet him in person? Be sure to stop by at AnimeWorld Expo Indianapolis or AnimeWorld Expo Chicago this year!

Schedule information pertaining to Christopher Smith such as panels at AnimeWorld Indianapolis and AnimeWorld Chicago will be posted soon.

Please stay tuned for more information regarding panels, concerts, new guest announcements and more for the 2012 convention season.

Kent Williams is a Texas-born, Dallas actor. He’s logged 22 years of classroom instruction introducing K-12 students to such fine arts disciplines as marionette puppetry, stage stuntwork and Japanese kabuki theater and is finishing out a 3-year project with the U.S. Dept. of Education and Dallas ISD. A Telly Award-winning puppeteer, Kent is Executive Director of Le Theatre de Marionette and pulls strings alongside fellow FUNimaniac Todd Haberkorn. On stage Kent is a company member of the critically acclaimed Undermain Theatre, best known for it’s basement performing space and premiering of brave new works. An SMU theater grad, Kent is a go-to fine arts instructor for Big Thought and Junior Players and has been teaching in the ghettos, barrios, exclusive parochial academies and prisons for over two decades and can boast that both Travis Willingham and Maxey Whitehead were former students as preteens!

Kent continues to enjoy the conveyor belt of character-voicing opportunities at FUNimation. A particular favorite is Hatori Sohma from Fruits Basket, also a dragon. Other various series that Kent has contributed his voice to include Fullmetal Alchemist, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, Trigun, One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho and Trinity Blood. Want to meet him in person? Be sure to stop by at AnimeWorld Expo Indianapolis or AnimeWorld Expo Chicago this year!

Schedule information pertaining to Kent Williams such as panels at AnimeWorld Indianapolis and AnimeWorld Chicago will be posted soon.

Please stay tuned for more information regarding panels, concerts, new guest announcements and more for the 2012 convention season.

Alexis Tipton has been a Voice Actor for FUNimation Entertainment since late 2008. She has been in over 40 titles and has voiced roles such as Julia Chrichton in Full Metal Alchemist: The Star of Milos, Yomi Isayama in Ga-Rei: Zero, Musubi in Sekirei, Sun Seto in My Bride is a Mermaid, Moka Akashiya inRosario+Vampire, Yuki Saegusa in Dance in the Vampire Bund, Mizuki Himeji in Baka and Test, and many more both announced and unannounced. Alexis has also provided vocals for character songs and a few of FUNimation’s trailers. On top of voice work, Alexis has been an active cosplayer for the past eight years and has been featured in a handful of magazines as well as the book Cosplay in America. Want to meet her in person? Be sure to stop by at AnimeWorld Expo
Indianapolis or AnimeWorld Expo Chicago this year!

Schedule information pertaining to Alexis Tipton such as panels at AnimeWorld Indianapolis andAnimeWorld Chicago  will be posted soon.

Please stay tuned for more information regarding panels, concerts, new guest announcements and more for the 2012 convention season.

GIRL POWER: Girls can kick some major butt, AND look good doing it! So show us just how much in your AMV. Whether it’s full of clips from one specific anime or clips of several awesome girls from several different shows or movies, show us what you think Girl Power is all about!

The D20 Girls Project will select one AMV contest entry that they think best shows off GIRL POWER and the creator will be awarded this FABULOUS PRIZE PACK!

-1 T-shirt
-1 copy of the D20 Girls magazine
-1 custom-drawn chibi
-1 unisex D20 necklace

So check out our the contest pages for more info and get cracking!
AnimeWorld Indy AMV Contest here!!