Company/Event Message for Fans/Attendees

“Anime NYC is a creation of LeftField Media, an event company made of dedicated fans and convention organizers. Anime NYC is not run by Crunchyroll but created with tremendous support from Crunchyroll and publishers across the anime industry.”

Taken from: http://animenyc.com/

What to Expect

Inspired by anime and Japan, Anime NYC was a godsend for those who love all things otaku. There were tons of panels—which we will go in more detail down below—and exhibits to visit. There were also special events such as a Sailor Moon day—which even had all the voice actors and actresses there—an Anime DIVA night and special screens of the Full Metal Alchemist live action movie, though you had to get tickets for this separately. All of that is just the tip of the iceberg as attendees and guests could of course see amazing art done by various artists in the Artist Alley. Needless to say, Anime NYC gave people a lot of bang for their buck and could easily give those who went hours of entertaining things to do and see. Though, expect to walk around a lot.

What to Bring in Order to Enjoy the Event

Anime NYC had tons of things to see, items to buy and places to go while it lasted its three-day run. Next year in 2018, if you came underprepared—which don’t feel bad, many do if this is their first convention of any kind—let us tell you what to bring for the following year to make it easier for you to enjoy the convention. If you’re planning on going for multiple days or even just one, dress comfortably! While this might be harder if you’re cosplaying—some of the outfits we saw were incredibly ornate and looked to weigh a lot—non-cosplayers can live with light clothes. Though with the season being the winter, have a light sweater or jacket prepared as New York City can be a bit chilly at night.

For guests and attendees to Anime NYC, you might also want to buy merchandise. We can’t blame you, a lot of us here at Honey’s Anime went through some hefty amounts of cash to buy manga, limited edition Anime NYC merchandise and even Japanese inspired treats. That’s why we recommend getting a large backpack and or tote bag to carry all your swag. Bags will be checked before entering the convention, so make sure to not bring anything that might get you booted before even getting in. Though if you’re a cosplayer, there will be more exceptions to what you can bring as long as you get it checked by security at the props check area.

Finally, our last bit of advice is to plan accordingly. Sure, it might be fun to just run around the convention without a plan or a goal but that means possibly missing out on cool panels and special one-day events! Your best bet is to regularly check Anime NYC’s app or website for guest announcement times, special event days and the floor map. The latter shows off where all the panels and exhibits can be found in the convention center. Even though only a smaller portion of Jacob K. Javits Convention Center was used for Anime NYC, it still will benefit those who want to maximize their trip to get a lay of the land before going via the floor map. If you follow these clever tips and tricks, you will find your next Anime NYC convention to be a lot smoother and offer up a bevy of things to do and places to see.

What to do While There / What is Available

With Anime NYC, we figured there would be a ton of anime related panels and shows but even us here at Honey’s Anime were taken aback. Quite literally, there were dozens of panels that one could see such as Crunchyroll Simulcast Preview Panel, the Official Sailor Moon Special Premiere, The Women of Mobile Suit Gundam and tons more. There were even areas of Anime NYC dedicated to things like the Japanese Arcade scene—which offered a dozen or so arcade cabinets such as DDR, Street Fighter V and even some crane games—and places where people could play board games. Bandai Namco even had a place where people could play their upcoming Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet demo to win shirts and other neat swag. Also, let us not forget the wide array of dealers/artists who were selling merchandise such as Anime/Game statues, video games and of course manga. Needless to say, while Anime NYC wasn’t huge in size—as it only used a smaller portion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center—it still had a lot to see and do.

Cosplay

Seeing as how Anime NYC is an anime themed convention you could bet there was a ton of anime inspired cosplay. We ran into thousands of cosplayers who were dressed as characters from popular anime series such as Kill la Kill, Boku no Hero Academia, Sword Art Online, Hellsing, and the list goes on. There were also a lot of video game inspired cosplay from Persona 5 to Street Fighter V. Some of our writers here at Honey’s Anime even got to talk with them for a brief moment here and there—Anime NYC was indeed busy—to gauge their thoughts on the convention and it seemed unanimous that they loved it like we did. Now, let’s just hope some of these amazing cosplayers come back for Anime NYC 2018. When they do come back—and we’d place a large bet they will—let’s also hope we can snap some more pictures!