![]() ![]() First off, for some reason, the panel rooms didn’t have any extra microphones for the audience during Q&A sesssions. What Can Be ImprovedĪnime NYC nailed it in most parts, though I want to point out a few things that need to be addressed. There was something for everyone, as I managed to find some Golden Kamuy fan art prints on sale from a few artists. I was glad to see so much artistic expression up there. It’s really hard to talk about this in words, but you have to see it to believe it. There was a block of artists in a section as you go up the entrance to the area, then a narrow space to go through, followed by a wide section of even more artists, along with a nice view of the Hudson River too. Artists’ Alley had a space well-deserved for them. ![]() Of course, I can’t talk about a convention without talking about the Artists’ Alley. Tokyo Attack! provided all the arcade-style cabinets, and it was neat seeing fans gather around either waiting to play or chatting it up with other players. There was also a section of the dealers’ room dedicated to video games. What was neat about the panels was that there were sign language interpreters for fans with hearing disabilities. Although I didn’t attend any other panels and special events on Friday and Sunday, the panels I attended (especially the latter 2) focused on topics that were of great interest to many fans. I got to attend 3 panels on Saturday: Kodansha Comics Panel, Cosplay with Disabilities, and Japanese Feminism 101. There was a main stage, below the exhibit hall, which hosted the major guests of the convention. The exhibit hall was packed with so many things to see and do close by, there were 3 panel rooms that hosted all the panels. Some of the most popular cosplay I noticed were My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Persona 5, Final Fantasy XV, and Overwatch. Cosplayers were out in full force, and the best part was that almost all of the cosplay was anime and/or Japanese-influenced. Although the con took up only half of the convention center, a good amount of foot traffic trickled throughout. The Event ItselfĪs soon as I first came into the Jacob Javits Center and saw nothing but anime and manga, I felt something magical was going to happen. In October 2016, the dream happened when Anime NYC was announced for November 17-19, 2017. There’s another NYC-based convention called Liberty City Anime Con, but it didn’t quite seem to fill the void. With anime and manga picking up steam again in 2013, thanks to Crunchyroll and the success of Attack on Titan, NYC-based fans were clamoring for an anime convention that made them feel important versus NYCC. Some fans have noted that they were basically stuck in the basement of the geek hierarchy in NYC. While NYCC continued to have anime/manga guests and booths, the amount of Western-based content always dwarfed it, and marketing never gave much attention to anime/manga. It didn’t help that all of this happened during a time where the anime and manga markets in the U.S. The NYAF part of NYCC was phased out in 2011 and NYCC became the complete attraction. That year had a good hurrah of Japanese guests, but sadly it was the last. NYAF had a decent amount of success until it was absorbed into New York Comic-Con in 2010. There was Big Apple Anime Fest in 20, but a gap in the market arose after it shut its doors, and New York Anime Festival debuted in 2007 to fill it. While Anime NYC made its debut this year, there have been prior attempts to have anime conventions in the NY metropolitan area. With a good amount of support from Crunchyroll and other industry supporters, Anime NYC was what I and many other NY-based anime fans wanted for so long – a new place to call home. Anime NYC ( ) is an anime convention created by LeftField Media, an organization made up of fans and convention organizers, for the city that never sleeps. Tony attends the latest attempt at a proper NYC-based anime convention to close out 2017Īlthough the peak season of anime conventions has passed, a new convention the weekend before Thanksgiving was a welcome sight for a community starving for an in-depth showcase of Japanese pop culture. ![]()
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