Uchi-Con

A free, one-day anime convention hosted by the University of Chicago's Japanese Animation Society. Check our "About" page for more information!

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Thank You!!

Thank you everyone for a great Uchi-Con! This is the largest that Uchi-Con has ever been, spreading across two buildings, with more events than we've ever tried to put on, special guests, and lots of fantastic prizes and giveaways from our sponsors! 

This year is also the biggest crowd we've ever had: about 1200 guests registered with us this year. That's 200 more than last year and we're really blown away!

Thank you so much to all the wonderful cosplayers, artists, vendors, panelists, and guests who make this con so great for all of us. We hope to see you again next year~!

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Registration

If you didn’t manage to pre-register for the convention, never fear! You can register on the day of the con at our registration table. Just fill out the form, we’ll give you a wristband, and then you can go off and enjoy the con! 

Be sure to pre-register next year, so you can get a cool badge with your name on it and everything!

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Here’s our guidebook for this year!

Take a look and start planning your day!

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Game Room Melee Tournament

Uchi-Con's game room, run by I Play Games and Kevin Fair, will be hosting a Super Smash Brothers Melee Tournament! 

Registration will be open until 11 am on the day of con, with the tournament starting at 11:15. The prize is a $25 Gamestop gift card, sponsored by Gamer Grace, so if you want to test your Melee skills and maybe win a little extra game money, be sure to register!

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Cosplay Contest

Are you in last-minute cosplay crunch mode? Why not enter the cosplay contest? If at least 50% of your costume has been made by hand, you're eligible to compete for the chance to win great prizes provided by sponsors like Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Arda Wigs! 

You can sign up at any time, even on the day of the con, but you can sign up in advance by filling out this form on our website! Note that you must have made an account and be logged in in order to see the form. Additional guidelines can be found on this page as well. Day-of sign-in will be at the Registration table.

Anyone not entering is welcome to come watch, at 3 PM in the Max P. Theater in Ida Noyes! We're looking forward to seeing all the great cosplay you have to show us!

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Don't forget that preregistration for Uchi-Con 2017 closes on January 28th, one week before the convention! You can preregister by going to our website, uchi-con.com, making an account, and then filling out the preregistration form under the Registration tab. Only people who have preregistered get nice badges with their names on them, so be sure to preregister before it closes!

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We’re excited to welcome @ardawigs to Uchi-Con 2017! Arda Wigs is a high-quality cosplay wig seller based locally in Chicago.

They'll be doing wig styling demonstrations at their table, and they'll also have ways to win gift certificates and discounts, so you should definitely go check out their table on the day of the con!

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Forms are now live on uchi-con.com!

Remember that this year you have to make an account on the site AND pre-register before you can sign up for anything else!

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Hi everyone! School is back in session and we're gearing up for another Uchi-Con! I've got several announcements for you today!

This year, forms for Pre-Registration, Artist Alley Registration, and Panel Signup will ALL be going live at noon on November 1st, on our new website, http://uchi-con.com/

Speaking of our new website, you MUST make an account on the site AND pre-register before you will be able to register for anything else. All artists and panelists must go through these steps as well!

Uchi-Con will be taking place on February 4th, 2017 this year! Save the date!

If you have any additional questions, please check our FAQ at http://uchi-con.com/event/faq!

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Thank you so much to all the wonderful people who showed up Saturday at the lovely Ida Noyes! The weather was great, the cosplay was even better, and guess what? We broke 1,000 guests this year! We look forward to seeing some of you guys at ACen later this year, and we would love to have everyone back for next year’s Uchi-Con, which will of course be even bigger and better! We look forward to seeing all the beautiful cosplay photos and videos of our little con on Facebook and Tumblr! 

See you next year~!

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Coming to Uchi-Con and want to participate in the cosplay contest? You can sign up here!

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The official tag for Uchi-Con 2016 will be #uchicon2016!

We’ll be tracking it throughout the day on Saturday! If you have any great cosplay pics or experiences to share, you should put them in the tag for everyone to see!

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Full Con Schedule

Now that we are done with all of our announcements and the con is officially less than 1 week away, here is the schedule for all the major events at Uchi-Con 2016!!

Panels: Max Palevsky Theater

10am-11am "If You Die in the Game You Don't Die in Real Life: Blending RPG Elements into Everyday Existence" Hosted by: UChicago Humans vs Zombies

11am-12pm "Japanese Ghost Stories and Manga Master Shigeru Mizuki" Hosted by: Professor Ada Palmer

12pm-1pm "Fantasies vs Realities: Fans, Fictions, and the Evolution of Yaoi" (18+) Hosted by: Sex Week & UCJAS

1pm-1:30pm "Hypothetical Literature: The Rhetorical Formulation of Japanese Science Fiction" Hosted by: Brian White

2pm-3pm Cosplay Contest

Performances: 3rd Floor Theater

11am-12pm "Kojo Daiko Jams at Uchi-con" Performance by: Kojo Daiko

12pm-1:45pm "Kid Yuki and The Otakus: Live Concert" Performance by: Kid Yuki and the Otakus

1:45pm-2:30pm "Tsugaru-jamisen Demonstration" Performance by: Joshua Solomon

Special Events:

10am-2pm Kimono Dressing Location: Photobooth  Hosted by: Japanese Student Association

3pm-4pm Super Happy Fun Go~Go~ Date Auction (must be 18+ to bid) Location: 3rd Floor Theater Hosted by: Tri Chi Fraternity

4pm-5:15pm The Cat Returns Film Screening Location: Max-Palevsky Theater Hosted by: Doc Films

4pm-4:30pm Swing Dance Lesson Location: 3rd Floor Theater Hosted by: Chicago Swing Dance Society

4:30pm-6pm Masquerade Ball Location: 3rd Floor Theater

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Our final schedule for Uchi-Con 2016!

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Before I get to the last announcement, a quick reminder: pre-registration will CLOSE on January 23rd, i.e. TOMORROW. If you want to come to the con and haven't pre-registered, we highly suggest you do so! You'll get a super nice name tag, and you won't have to wait in a long, boring line with everyone else who forgot to pre-register. Here's the link to pre-register: http://goo.gl/forms/DPuuQYOSTm

Now, without further ado: our final announcement!

Uchi-Con will be ending with a glorious Masquerade Ball! Grab your friend, partner, family member, or your favorite inanimate object and dance the afternoon away to your favorite songs from anime, video games, and even Disney! Don't know how to dance? Come to the dancefloor half an hour early for a swing lesson taught by UChicago's own Chicago Swing Dance Society! Don't have a dance partner? If you're over 18, you can come and bid for a temporary one at the date auction right before the ball!

Basically what I'm saying is you have no reason NOT to come to the dance and end your Uchi-Con experience on a fun (musical) note! The 30th will be here before you know it, so it's time to put the finishing touches on those cosplays! We hope to see you soon!

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Announcement #7:

This year, Uchi-Con will be holding a Date Auction! Several lovely volunteers from the Animation Society and the UChicago honor society Tri Chi will be in cosplay and in character! Anyone can attend, and those over 18 in the audience can bid for some company at the following event! But what could that possibly be? Keep your eyes peeled for the next and final announcement to find out!

Uchi-Con is only 9 days away!

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Announcement #6:

The Japanese Student Association at UChicago will be presenting a kimono dressing booth! Kimonos can be a little tricky to put on properly, but these pros will make sure you look great! The photo booth will be right across the room so you can get a picture right away!

The price will be $20 for the help getting dressed and the photo. If dressing up and looking great is something you enjoy, you should come check it out!