I spent three days at AMKE 2026. This is the second year I attended the anime convention in Milwaukee, and there was something to do every day.

I came with a new cosplay (costume play) as Ralsei, from the popular video game Deltarune. And, I came to buy things, play games, meet new friends with amazing cosplay, and explore. 

 My favorite part was playing video games at the arcade booth, where I met some cool people who also have taste in gaming. There’s also a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament that was going on! So, I saw a bit of that as well. You could play for free at the video game center. There were arcade and console games, PC games and rhythm games (like Guitar Hero) and Gachapon (for those who don’t know, it’s capsule toys in a vending machine).

I went to a panel for the video game Undertale. It was a retrospective of the game and what influenced its creator, Toby Fox, to create the game, and how it has influenced us. There was also a competition game. Whoever played the longest time for one of the objectives in the game won a prize, a plushie of one of the characters, Flowey and whoever got second and third place got a pin of whatever character they chose!

There was also a panel for the anime series Love Live! The characters were discussed, the story lines and many famous songs they have – from worst to best. It was a huge deep dive on the show. There were also some fun facts about some of the voice actors and what they were currently doing. One of them is making facial products and another is also a drummer!

I bought several items from the booths. Independent artists had their items for sale that included posters, stickers, and key chains. There were also Japanese video games, CD’s, and anime DVDs. 

A lot of people at MATC are into anime. I even saw a student illustrator who graduated in May. AMKE 2026 was held at the Baird Center on March 6-8. Organizers estimated an attendance of 20,000 at this year’s event.