Cosplay at Anime Central 2025

Anime Central 2025 Cosplay Music Video

Anime Central (ACen) is an annual three-day anime convention held during May at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare & Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. It took place on May 16-18 2025.

Rey Gets Destroyed...

"No, you're NOT a Skywalker!"

The Jedi has had enough of Rey Palpatine.

Is anime getting BANNED in Texas?

Anime Ban in Texas?

Well, maybe. Kinda sorta. A bill is making its way through the government that could ban any media that features POTENTIALLY underage LOOKING characters in lewd acts. This could hit anime as characters look "underage" even if they're like 23-years-old.

Meet the main cast for the Harry Potter TV series...

New 'Harry Potter' Cast Announced!

Arabella Stanton will play the role of Hermione Granger, Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, and Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley.

Arabella Stanton played the role of Matilda Wormwood in the West End production of Matilda The Musical from September 2023 until 2024. Dominic McLaughlin has been cast in the comedy film in Grow, in which he will star alongside Nick Frost and Golda Rosheuvel. Unlike his co-stars, Alastair Stout has no other acting credits, except appearing in Albert Bartlett's advertising campaign for the Jersey Royal potato.

"The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen," executive producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod said in a statement about the actors.

"What the heck is up with that ending?"

It's a HIT!

Lilo & Stitch DESTROYS Records DESPITE Backlash Over Ending!

The Lilo & Stitch live-action remake made a LOT of money this weekend. Like... A LOT. And this will give Disney a MUCH needed win at the box office. Let's just hope they don't start green-lighting more unnecessary live-action remakes, but they probably will. Also, the internet is big mad about Nani ditching Lilo for college. Why did they change the ending? And what happened to Jumba's accent?

We Remember...

WAR GAME

Based on the picture book by Michael Foreman, WAR GAME tells the story of Will, Lacey and Freddie – three young Suffolk lads who leave their idyllic country lives to fight in the trenches of World War I. Surrounded by the chaos and confusion of war, they can only dream of their football team, their friends and the families they have left behind. 

On Christmas Day 1914 however, a football game is started between the Germans and the English. Scrambling onto No Man’s Land, the men come face to face with the enemy they have never seen and the true futility of their fight. For a brief moment - differences are forgotten, the men unite and the seeds of hope are planted. But joy has no place in war and the men are soon recalled to the trenches to continue the battle. 

From a football game in the fields of Suffolk to a football game in the heart of Flanders - WAR GAME follows the realisation of three young men’s ambitions to play for England and the ability of the human spirit to exist even in the harshest conditions. Featuring a powerful and moving sound track from the composer Julian Nott, and including Kate Winslet on the voice track. 

WAR GAME has 18 won awards worldwide including: The British Animation Awards; The Pulcinella Award, Italy; Best Television Special - Annecy International Animated Film Festival, France; BANFF International Television Festival, Canada; Tokyo Kinder Film Festival, Japan; Best Animation Prize, ANIMA, Argentina.

When you Mix Totally Spies with Demon Hunters...

KPop Demon Hunters

When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira, and Zoey aren’t selling out stadiums, they’re using their secret identities as demon hunters to protect their fans from ever-present supernatural danger. Together, they must face their biggest threat — an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. 

From Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), comes a fiercely fun and action-packed kpop odyssey featuring brand-new, original songs. Also featuring a new, original song performed by Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Chaeyoung of TWICE.

A Brief History of Our Anime Fan Club...

ANIMATRIX MEMORIES
The story of Animatrix is actually the story of two clubs, and the fall of one...

Pilot Episode...

Spice Frontier: Escape From Veltegar

Their search for Earth's lost spices just crash-landed them into a world of trouble! 💥 When the six-member crew of the Serrano wrecks their ship; Kent, C-LA, Ada, Eloy, Mod and Nexus must race against time and some mysterious planet inhabitants to escape before they become the main course.

What’s next for Spice Frontier?

Steamroller Animation is an independent studio that has thrived in a competitive industry for more than a decade. While we've built a successful business providing high-quality animation services, our budget for original content is limited. Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar marks our first pilot-length episode, created with a new real-time pipeline in Unreal Engine.

Over the past 3.5 years, we've invested our profits into developing this technological framework that will support a future range of incredible stories. Spice Frontier is our industry calling card, and we're seeking investment, co-production partners, broadcasters, and distributors to bring future episodes to life. Support independent filmmaking so we can share more Spice Frontier with the world!

The worst of the worst dinosaurs were left here...

Jurassic World: Rebirth
A new era is born.

This summer, three years after the Jurassic World trilogy concluded with each film surpassing $1 billion at the global box office, the enduring Jurassic series evolves in an ingenious new direction with Jurassic World Rebirth. Anchored by iconic action superstar Scarlett Johansson, Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey and two-time Oscar® winner Mahershala Ali, this action-packed new chapter sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind. Also starring acclaimed international stars Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the film is directed by dynamic visualist Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp.

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. Academy Award® nominee Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.

Ali is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team member; Critics Choice and Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey (Wicked, Bridgerton) plays paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis; Emmy nominee Rupert Friend (Homeland, Obi-Wan Kenobi) appears as Big Pharma representative Martin Krebs and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer, Murder on the Orient Express) plays Reuben Delgado, the father of the shipwrecked civilian family. The cast includes Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs. Lopez) as Reuben’s family. The film also features, as members of Zora and Krebs’ crews, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF) and Ed Skrein (Deadpool). Jurassic World Rebirth is directed by BAFTA winner Edwards from a script by Koepp (War of the Worlds), based on characters created by Michael Crichton. The film is produced by Oscar® nominee Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, both longtime Jurassic franchise producers and of last summer’s blockbuster, Twisters. The film is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Denis L. Stewart and Jim Spencer.

Anime Viewing Schedule for May 24, 2025...

 A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K
Saturday, May 24, 2025

Fountaindale Public Library

VIEWING SCHEDULE

          11:15 - 12:05   Apothecary Diaries - Season 2 eps 1-2

          12:05 - 12:55   Frieren 27-28 [End]

          12:55 - 1:30     Club Meeting

          1:30 - 2:20       Lazarus eps 3-4

          2:20 - 3:10       The Super Cube eps 3-4

          3:10 - 4:00       To Be Hero X eps 3-4

          4:00 - 4:50       M.S. Gundam GQuuuuuuX eps 3-4

 

"... to get to the other side!"

 

Fountaindale Public Library
300 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL 60440 

Peggy J. Danhof Board Room

(Second Floor)

 

From 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM

All anime presented are fan-subtitled unless otherwise noted.

Don't miss these exciting anime series: Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura

* ANIME DESCRIPTIONS ARE BELOW *

Achieving peace is a team effort...

PEACEMAKER - Season 2

Season 2 consists of eight episodes and will feature John Cena reprising his role as the DC Comics antihero he previously portrayed in The Suicide Squad and Season 1 of Peacemaker. The new season follows Christopher 'Chris' Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante super hero, as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost.

The Fall of Bungie...

Bungie BUSTED Using STOLEN Marathon Art Assets!

The Marathon situation has gone from bad to worse. Bungie was accused of stealing art for the game from a freelance artist -- and now they're admitting it and apologizing?! Even the Bungie Art Director is apologizing. So, are they actually sorry... or sorry they got caught?

Save the Whale!

Fly! Peek the Whale

‘Tobe! Kujira no Peek’ is the story of two brothers who find a small, injured albino whale, hide it in a secluded inlet, and nurse it to health. The whale is discovered by a circus leader who takes it captive, and the boys seek to free it. This is a family movie with a cute, cartoony whale. It has other expected elements like a cruel group of bullies and the greedy circus owner, indifferent to the animal’s pain. The movie is of note for several reasons. First, it was directed by Kouji Morimoto, who apparently had some serious animator connections in the early 90’s; this movie has many quality keys. Second, the character art is by Satoru Utsunomiya, who has a distinct and original style. Subjects move with fluidity but have simplified, geometrical facial features, hair, and body shapes. This is perhaps exemplified through the eyes, big yet low in detail, just beady and shiny. Fans of his work on Gosenzo-sama may want to investigate. The movie is set in a coastal town in Spain and is realized with beautiful art direction of the architecture and coastal formations.

Next Club Meeting is May 24, 2025

A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K

 "We're already having issues with the new Pope!"

M O N T H L Y   M E E T I N G

 
Fountaindale Public Library

300 W. Briarcliff Road

Bolingbrook, IL  60440

Peggy J. Danhof Board Room

 (2nd Floor)

Saturday, May 24, 2025

11:15 AM - 5:00 PM

 

We will be in the BOARD ROOM on the Second Floor.

 
Hope to see everyone there!

 

A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.

 

(Click below for maps)

"It's dead, Jim..."

Cartoon Network is DYING

According to a Bloomberg report, Cartoon Network is on life support. Kids aren't watching it anymore, WBD is barely supporting it, and its ad revenue is a fraction of what it was 10 years ago. But if you've been watching Clownfish TV, you'd already know how bad it really was.

Your choices, your actions...

That’s what makes you who you are...

S U P E R M A N

Superman stars David Corenswet in the dual role as Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The film also stars Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Sara Sampaio, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Christopher McDonald as Ron Troupe. 

Superman opens in US theaters on July 11

Superman is executive produced by Nikolas Korda, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars Winther. Behind the camera, Gunn is joined by frequent collaborators, including director of photography Henry Braham, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Judianna Makovsky and composer John Murphy, along with editors Craig Alpert (“Deadpool 2,” “Blue Beetle”), Jason Ballantine (the “IT” films, “The Flash”) and William Hoy (“The Batman”). 

When it's Wednesday...

Wednesday: Season 2

She’s baa-aaack!

Watch the first official teaser for Wednesday: Season 2. 

Part 1 is coming on August 6th (Wednesday). 

Part 2 is coming on September 3rd (Wednesday).

Only on Netflix.

Awakening of the God-Slayer...

SLAY THE GODS

Follow the journey of Lin Qiye, a blind high school student who unexpectedly becomes a night watchman, tasked with protecting the nation from "mystical" invasions as the mist descends and gods reawaken. Leading his team, he tirelessly eliminates mythical creatures that emerge in modern society and eventually sets out on the path of god-slaying, evolving from guarding his small family to defending the nation.

This is why I was sent to Detention...

Bob's Burgers - "My Butt Has a Fever" Full Song

Song From The Bob's Burgers Movie Short Film "My Butt Has a Fever"

"A mother's love never dies..."

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Animated Film by Gabe Hordos

What’s it really like to study animation in Japan?

A Day In the Life of A Foreign Animation Student In Japan!

In this video, we follow Manfrini Nicolo, an Italian student at Yoyogi Animation Academy, through a full day in his life. From navigating Tokyo’s fast-paced train system to attending animation classes, eating out, and winding down at home, this is a rare inside look at the real experiences of a foreign animation student in Japan. But beyond the classroom, what does it take to live in Japan as a foreigner—adapting to a new culture, language, and lifestyle? Is studying animation in Japan as exciting as it seems, or are there hidden challenges no one talks about? Watch now to find out!"

Death, Rebirth, Repeat...

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL

The story is told from the first person point of view of the protagonist Keiji Kiriya. Keiji is a new recruit in the United Defense Force, fighting against the mysterious creatures called "Mimics" which have laid siege to Earth. Keiji is killed on his first sortie, but through some inexplicable phenomenon wakes up having returned to the day before the battle, only to find himself caught in a time loop as his death and resurrection repeats time and time again. Keiji's skills as a soldier grows as he passes through the time loops trying to change his fate.

Fans make their own FLCL...

FLCL REANIMATED

Over 300+ artists/animators from around the web have collaborated to bring you: FLCL REANIMATED Enjoy 4+ years of hard work and love from our team as we've recreated Episode 5: Brittle Bullet.

This is our love letter to an all-time classic.

No matter where you are, someone loves you...

Lost in Starlight

When an astronaut leaves Earth for Mars, the vast infinite space divides star-crossed lovers in this animated romance that crosses the cosmos.

Nan-young, whose astronaut mom failed to return to Earth when things went awry during her Mars probe. Nan-young has always dreamed of exploring space too and longs to go to Mars in hopes of finding a trace of her mom. Her dream comes true when she is selected as one of the astronauts for a Mars probe project. Before she blasts off though, she meets Jay, a musician who also fixes retro sound instruments.

Lost in Starlight is coming May 30, only on Netflix

What are the chances?

Frieren's mimic gag is surprisingly deep...

We all love the mimic gag because it makes sense when you think it over with her logic. The mimics don’t really hurt her, but because she lives so long, that 1% chance to find a real chest is probably a gamble she’s won at some point. And like a true gambler, she can’t stop.

He’s going to be the greatest samurai in Japan!

YAIBA: Samurai Legend

Follow Yaiba on his quest to be a real samurai in this new 

anime series from the creator of Case Closed and WIT Studio!

Yaiba Kurogane is an adventuring boy who knows how to be a samurai and little else. Yaiba lives with his father, Kenjurou, in the forest. One day, while Yaiba was eating, a troop of gorillas came to attack. Yaiba and his father escaped and hid inside a box, but they did not know that the box was full of pineapples and was going to be transported into the city. In the city, Yaiba finds out that he is a legendary warrior and has to fight the evil of a demonic looking high-school student named Takeshi Onimaru.

Amusing Fact: The anime shows how Yaiba's antics and behavior inadvertently turns Onimaru from a nice decent high school boy into an utterly evil demonic world dominating maniac. Witness the creation of a supervillain!

The people that Yaiba meets along his journey to become a true samurai encourage him, train him, or inspire him to greatness, though at heart he is still a child, and his incredible skill with a sword is matched only by his kindness towards his friends. Though he tends to leap before he looks, and his thick-headedness tends to turn potential allies into enemies, his friends soon clobber him, and salvage the situation. This unlikely group embarks on a host of incredible adventures where they meet legendary figures from Japanese history, and finally overcome impossible odds, and put everything on the line, to save the entire planet from a threat not of this world.

Happy Star Wars Day!

Star Wars - 80's Family Sitcom

They're baaaaack!

Rick and Morty - Season 8

Rick and Morty season 8 premieres May 25 at 11pm on Adult Swim.

FREE Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 3, 2025!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is Saturday, May 3

FCBD 2025 Full Lineup of Books Revealed!

We're excited to finally reveal the full list of Free Comic Book Day 2025 comics you can get for FREE at your participating local comic shop on May 3. Did we mention it's free?? To find a participating shop near you visit:

FreeComicBookDay.com/StoreLocator

(Comics available while supplies last. Selections may be limited per customer.)

Star Wars Anime Fan Film...

STAR WARS: Heir to the Empire

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire is one of, if not the most popular story from the Star Wars EU. Brought to us by author Timothy Zahn, I and others have long dreamed of seeing this story, and others from the EU, adapted into a visual medium. 

This is first episode of Heir to the Empire, brought to you in a 90's animation/anime style. This ~18 min cut is what I originally intended to be the first episode. The 7 min cut has now been retitled as a teaser.

- Jar Jar Jargon