Anime NYC returned once more to the Big Apple this 2018 and we here from Honey’s Anime weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to be there for its second year. This year we also teamed up with Anisong World Matsuri to even help out with their special event held in the Hammerstein Ballroom! Truly, Anime NYC 2018 was larger than last year with tons of special events, panels to see and of course, great cosplay. Let us talk about our experiences as well as help newcomers who plan on venturing to Anime NYC next year—seeing as how they announced a 2019 convention—enjoy as much as they can. Let’s get rolling. folks!
Basic Info:
| Website: | http://animenyc.com/ |
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| When it Established |  Anime NYC first came to New York, New York last year—2018—thanks to Crunchyroll and fans’ desire to get a big anime convention into the city. That’s why, as hard as it might be to believe, this is only the second year of Anime NYC’s conception! |
| Length of Event |  Anime NYC 2018 lasted three days from November 16th to November 18th. In other words, it was a three-day convention lasting from Friday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday, Anime NYC 2018 opened as early as 10 am and closed at 10 pm. |
| Place/Location |  Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (AKA Javits Center, NY) |
| Cost | Here are the following prices for the different days of Anime NYC 2018 as well as special ticket pricings.
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| Hotels | The beauty of NYC is that hotels aren’t hard to come by, but the pricing can vary quite significantly. Due to Anime NYC’s still low population—versus the bigger conventions like NY Comic Con—hotels at least don’t raise up prices too dramatically during the convention weekend. Element New York Times Square West is a good budget hotel for $105 a night—this is the city so don’t expect low prices unfortunately—and the Courtyard by Marriott New York is $117 a night. If you have some pals, you could always ask them to stay for a few nights—which helps save some cash you’ll need for the convention—or look for Airbnb for various rates and prices. Just remember though that commuting in New York City is where you’ll save the most money as there are dozens of means for getting from place to place. Many hotels are within walking distance of Javits Center and even taxis won’t break the bank. |
Company/Event Message for Fans/Attendees
The following is a quote directly taken from Anime NYC’s homepage linked here (http://animenyc.com/)
“Anime NYC is a creation of LeftField Media, an event company made of dedicated fans and convention organizers. Anime NYC is built with tremendous support from Crunchyroll and publishers across the Japanese pop culture industry.”
What to Expect
Anime NYC isn’t the biggest anime convention—especially if you compare it to Anime Expo for example—but it still can be quite a bit to take in for newcomers of conventions. During our time, we got to take in several big events of Anime NYC 2018 such as the Anisong World Matsuri concert, various panels focusing on Fate/Grand Order—which was a big presence for this year’s Anime NYC—and tons of actors, singers and voice actors appearances. That’s not even including the artist alley—which is always a grand spectacle in of itself—and the various vendors who sell merchandise like anime, snacks and anime related merchandise (figures and body pillows for example). You should also be ready for one other major element during Anime NYC, a lot of walking. Luckily, we are veterans of all things convention related so we will prepare you for everything we can. Down below are some major tips on what to bring to next year’s Anime NYC and what to do when you get there.
What to Bring in Order to Enjoy the Event
When you get up and prepare to journey into the heart of Anime NYC, you need to be prepared with comfortable and appropriate attire. Wear light clothing that will keep you warm—seeing as how it can be quite cold during the fall season in NYC—and that will make moving around the convention center easy. If you plan on cosplaying at Anime NYC 2019, you can wear simple clothes to the Javits Center and then change in the changing area to prevent having to wear your attire in the cold city landscape. Those who are just interested in buying merch and soaking up the sights, bring a big backpack/bag—though there are some you can buy or obtain at the site or obtain from booths. For our last piece of advice, bring water and or snacks. While the Javits Center has tons of food options and booths dedicated to serving those who desire subsistence, they can be a bit…expensive. Bring your own drinks and light snacks to avoid running out of energy while at Anime NYC. Oh, also folks, DON’T BRING WEAPONS OR WEAPONS THAT LOOK OVERLY REAL!
What to Do While There/What is Available
Once you’re in Anime NYC, the real battle commences. Once you’re in the sea of cosplayers, patrons and convention goers, things will become crazy fast. Don’t panic though! We recommend the weeks leading to Anime NYC that you get a plan of what you want to do first and plan out your schedule accordingly. Say, for example, you want to see a press panel for a game only being shown at Anime NYC but also want to nab tons of merch and take some pictures of cosplayers—with their consent—before going to the panel. Look up the time you need to be at the panel and revolve your schedule accordingly.
Be prepared for lines and make sure to do what you need to early and leave some time to head to the panel. The same can be said if you plan on buying tons of anime gear. Look up prices ahead of time and anticipate the rate changes for Anime NYC’s sellers as well as the realization that they need to make some extra money themselves. There are numerous sub events to also enjoy at Anime NYC but those change with each year so it’s up to you to read the website and learn what’s available and when. Though our best piece of advice for newcomers—and even veterans—is to have fun and absorb all you can from Anime NYC.
Cosplay (Optional)
Below, we show off some of the images we took of cosplayers—we even make an appearance in one photo—that we snapped while at Anime NYC 2018! These are just some of our own pictures, but rest assured, there were millions of other cosplayers and pictures we could have taken but were just so busy! Cosplay is huge in Anime NYC—which makes sense for obvious reasons—so it isn’t hard to find many who are dressing as their favorite anime characters. Just make sure to get permission to take photos of people to be respectful. They might cosplay and want to be seen in public during the convention but they might be less inclined to have pictures randomly taken of them without their consent.
Final Thoughts
Anime NYC 2018 was a blast and we really loved how Crunchyroll learned from their first outing and made this convention bigger and better than last year’s. Our major regrets come in the form of us not having enough time to see everything and that we wish Anime NYC 2018 was even bigger! Luckily, we did get numerous opportunities to see a lot of what was offered by Anime NYC 2018 and you’ll be sure our site will have tons of articles dedicated to those sights.
Did you go to Anime NYC 2018? Tell us your experiences while at the convention and what you loved—or disliked—about your time there! Be sure to keep an eye out for more Anime NYC 2018 articles done by us here at Honey’s Anime! Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to get some rest…
Author: Aaron
