Is buying a ticket to Anime NYC worth it? The East Coast anime festival topped out at 148K fans in attendance for the 4-day event. My experiences on Day 2 and Day 3 at Anime NYC were like night and day – but in a good way!
Anime NYC 2025 – Saturday, Day 03
For whatever reason, I had the most ridiculous morning trying to get out to the city. I won’t go into expressed details, but I planned to leave by 9 am and I left at 11 am. I would have shaved a half hour off of that time, but the train literally left the moment I stepped on the escalator to reach the platform – forcing me to wait the aforementioned half hour longer for another train.
This put me in a bit of a bind, as it takes (at least) an hour and 10 minutes for me to reach the city, and then at most (depending on the crowds) another 15 minutes to reach the Javits Center. I was in a rush and worried I would miss my 12:30 pm free autograph signing for the raffle I won with Yuji Kaku – the author of Hell’s Paradise.
Luckily when I exited the train station I took the high road to the convention – literally.
I’d never been on The High Line before, despite going to college and then working in the city for years prior to the pandemic. That, and Roosevelt Island were the two places I continually heard about, but had never visited (until now).
I remembered that The High Line had an exit right by the Javits Center, so I continued amongst the crowds of tourists and the gaggle of locals toward the Javits Center.
I passed some questionable art installations on the way there, and finally when I had the water in my peripheral I spotted the stairs, took them downward, and reached the street that headed towards the Javits Center.
The Yuji Kaku Hell’s Paradise Autograph Session
You know, Anime NYC had reported that 100k attendees would be at the convention, but I did not feel it until Saturday.
(The official numbers after the convention ended were reportedly 148k fans in attendance.)
The silver lining was that everybody remained polite and understanding that the show room floor and exhibition halls were crowded, and nobody (at least from what I saw) randomly stopped in the middle of the floor to talk or block “traffic” coming from either side. Also, nobody smelled like B.O., which is always a positive thing when attending any convention.
The instructions for the wrist band pickup were in the confirmation email for the autograph session. It does tell you where to go, but due to the crowds I missed the sign for where exactly I needed to pick it up.
Thankfully, there were a lot of Anime NYC crew members around answering everybody’s questions and pointing people in the right direction. (I even had a crew member personally escort me to one of the exhibit halls on level 1 yesterday because they happened to be going the same way at the time).
The process for picking up the wrist band was pretty simple, and crew members (politely) reminded everybody to have their IDs out and QR codes up to scan – so the line went smoothly and I barely waited 5 minutes, honestly.
I reached the back of the line for the autograph session and a crew member was checking wrist bands, while another was telling everybody: what could and could not be signed (only the official manga or if not, a poster the talent provided), that there was no video or photography (which is typical for Japanese guests as they value their privacy), and the provided option of receiving signatures from additional production staff in attendance.
(I believe they were no doubt there in attendance to participate in the main stage Hell’s Paradise panel with Yuji Kaku and producer Kirito Iwashita later that evening.)
CoryxKenshin’s booth for his new manga Monsters We Make happened to be right next to the line for the Hell’s Paradise autograph booth.
At a certain point, a mob of people came out of nowhere screaming Cory’s name and cellphones came out. I even saw one person getting a piggyback ride to boost themselves higher to get a photo of the elusive samurai himself.
I don’t know what happened, but apparently Cory just disappeared and fans were left disappointed, crowding his booth and wondering when he would return.
I guess art truly does often imitates life, huh?
Anywho, after a fair bit of wait time it was finally my turn for the autograph session. I don’t remember if I wrote this in my episode one review for the Jigokuraku anime, but I thought the story’s premiere was based on the first Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s expeditions on his quest for immortality via the Island of the 8 Immortals.
I remember coming across that research, along with some stuff about The Dragon King in a book from a few centuries ago about Japanese history – ironically after seeing a documentary about the Celestial Emperor’s tomb (resembling a burial mound) filled with mercury on a random history channel documentary uploaded to YouTube one day.
Interlude: I am currently sitting under the dual shade of two medium sized oak trees in a public park writing this on a beautiful (but humid) Sunday afternoon. Somebody in front of me is playing basketball on a closed court. He isn’t very good, and I even turned off my music (I’m listening to the KPOP Demon Hunters soundtrack) because I thought maybe I was throwing him off.
(I don’t think I was.)
I finally got to the signing with the mangaka and wanted to confirm my suspicions about the story’s inspiration. I spoke to the translator and told her that I watched the anime when it came out and really enjoyed it, as it reminded me of the myth about the Island of the 8 Immortals.
It was very loud in the autograph area and she didn’t quite catch what I said and when she did, I’m not sure she knew what I was talking about. Regardless, she did translate part of what I said and suddenly – Kaku sensei stopped writing and looking up with a lot of enthusiasm, told me (in Japanese) that mythology is what he based his story on, and that it was something he was very passionate about.
Interlude: (I just had to look up from writing because a family just came to use the adjacent basketball court, and the guy in front of me has now started doing dribbling drills in an attempt to show off. His shirt is completely soaked in sweat and he has no rhythm. If he had rhythm, maybe that would help his game some. Then again, I haven’t been a part of a basketball team since middle school – so what do I know? 😊)
I thanked Kaku sensei for his response and told him that his manga was a very special book before leaving the autograph area satisfied with the knowledge that the story does pertain to the Island of the 8 Immortals mythology.
Show Floor and Cosplay on Anime NYC Day 3
I decided to walk through the show room floor and take pictures of some cosplay in order to kill time and enjoy myself a bit before the panel I was attending at 3:15 pm.
I met some cool people and had even cooler conversations with them about their con experience, and cosplays.
(Romance Saja wanted both poses included.)
What I noticed this year compared to last year is that a lot of people were more relaxed around the convention, show floor, and exhibition halls. As I mentioned before, everybody knew it was crowded and people were taking breaks whenever they could.
There were a lot of people with tripods standing in corners or hugging the walls away from impeding crowd flow making (what looked like TikTok) dance videos, and elaborate photoshoots were going on in the spaces between the major pathways.
Also, there were tons of food trucks outside the Javits Center and the crowds reminded me a lot of my trip to Anime Expo in 2015. LA has more of a food truck culture than we do in NYC, but it was interesting to see how much the convention had expanded beyond the boundaries of the Javits Center.
Anime NYC Gaming, Community Hall, and Play NYC
The gaming and community hall presented by Starlight Re:Volver did not disappoint.
It was cool seeing all of the indie game booths, table top gaming, and the Japanese style arcade systems courtesy of Psychic Drive.
Manga Inspired Storytelling Panel
Manga-Inspired Storytelling was a panel hosted by Mad Cave Studio’s Nakama Press, and Sakura Phoenix Studio. I had met Mario B. Long at the Industry Mixer the day before. There, he handed out flyers to a panel he would be co-hosting, and promoted his new graphic novel, God Tier.
The group at our mixer table had talked a bit (or rather, at length) about themes of mythology, and I had internally made the decision to check his panel out that day. Mario also mentioned that he has lived in Japan for 20 years and now has the first ever Black-owned manga company in that country.
The panel was moderated by Maya Lopez, senior marketing manager at Mad Cave Studios.
The panelists included:
- Mario B. Long, creator of God Tier
- Amit Tishler, author of Edenfrost and The Last Wardens
- Chris Batista, an artist for Gatchaman and the iconic Speed Racer
- Chris Moses, author of Synap
- Carrie Harris, writer of the very popular Miraculous Chibi
The panel sought to explore how the phenomenon of Japanese manga has influenced creative storytelling worldwide, and the medium’s transformative impact on the panelist’s approach to their own original works (and some reimagined classics).
God Tier is a graphic novel series for Nakama Press. It is written by Mario B. Long, with art by Kuroi, Pablo Rey, and Yufo.
“A high-octane battle between gods and mortals erupts in a dystopian world, leaving two siblings trapped in a war of survival between gangs, police, and supernatural beings.”
Edenfrost is a graphic novel series by Amit Tishler, Bruno Frenda, and Taylor Esposito.
“Two Jewish siblings summon the power of a Golem to fight their way through the fires of the Russian Civil War. Will the monster be their salvation, or hasten their demise?”
The Last Wardens is another literary work by Amit Tishler and Elliot Sperl, with Rui Silveira, Francesco Segala and Frank Cvetkovic.
“A team of paranormal misfits struggles to protect humanity after destroying its best line of defense.”
Synap is a graphic novel by Chris Moses with Andrea Giannini and Reed Hinckley-Barnes.
“This high sci-fi adventure series will definitely attract fans of Evangelion and Gundam Wing, along with fans of anyone who enjoys soap opera turmoil focused on found family.”
Speed Racer is an all-new interpretation of the classic Tatsuo Yoshida manga and anime, MachGoGoGo. It has been reimagined by David Pepose, Davide Tinto, Mark Russell and Chris Batista.
“An all-new interpretation of Tatsuo Yoshida’s classic manga/anime MachGoGoGo, known to Western audiences as Speed Racer!”
Gatchaman is also a project Chris Batista worked on, alongside Cullen Bunn, Carlos Lopez and Buddy Beaudoin.
“The triumphant return of Gatchaman, the iconic Japanese animated franchise of a five-member, bird-themed superhero team!”
Miraculous Chibi is a graphic novel series worked on by Josh Trujillo, Carrie Harris, Ryan Jampole, and Lex Hobson.
“Enjoy some humor and slapstick action with your favorite heroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir! Adapting animated Miraculous Ladybug shorts, and brining new original content.”
After the Manga-Inspired Storytelling panel, I popped into another industry panel to kill time before my next event.
I then booked it back through the convention crowds and made it to the press room – where I stayed for about 3 hours.
Emerging from there, I had a growing curiosity and interest in attending the Yen Press x Crunchyroll Presents: Lord of Mysteries panel all day. I even found their booth to receive one of the collectible Klein Moretti the Fool Tarot Cards being handed out as a timed freebie.
Sadly, the panel wasn’t all that interesting.
Yen Press x Crunchyroll Presents: Lord of Mysteries Panel
In hindsight, this was probably my fault and my own misunderstanding for interpreting the panel description to ultimately be something it was not.
With a packed larger-room with crowds of fans even standing along the back of the room, there at its head sat three panelists – 2 men and a woman – who I believe worked at Yen Press and Crunchyroll in a professional capacity. (They mentioned their titles and companies but I simply missed the chance to write it down.)
There was a mother and son duo seated to my left and when ice breaker exercises were initiated to the audience by panelists, I learned that her son was a really big fan of the series and dragged her to the panel without knowledge concerning the context of the show.
I eagerly explained to her the show’s premise and mentioned that it was my favorite show I was watching this season. She seemed impressed when the panel started and she saw the quality of the series’ artwork and its mature occult themes for herself.
They left somewhere a ways into the panel, and a woman in a maid outfit and her friend then sat down next to me. We didn’t talk, but they seemed excited to finally get a seat – I’d gather they had been standing in the back until then.
The panel continued and detailed the Chinese web novel’s serialization on Qidian in 2018 and then its English release on Web Novel in 2019 with a completed 1,432 chapters and 60.3 million views.
The panel also mentioned its sequel, Circle of Inevitability, and the various original story iterations in manhua, donghua, and video game adaptation format. Official series merch by Yuewen was also mentioned.
From there, the audience learned about the joys and challenges of translating the Chinese novel while conducting research for accurate contextual localization of a fantasy story set in the Victorian period. Their experience was quite interesting to hear.
The Lord of Mysteries English voice cast was announced, featuring Joshua Waters as Klein Moretti, Jan Sinclair as Leonard Mitchell, Brian Mathis as Dunn Smith, Daniel Van Thomas as Alger Wilson, and Alexis Tipton as Audrey Hall.
An exclusive (previously recorded) interview with writer and creator Cuttlefish That Loves Diving and the donghua production staff was played onscreen – which is relatively rare concerning East Asian creators and writers, as they usually don’t make appearances on camera.
Cuttlefish That Loves Diving spoke about his creative inspirations for Lord of Mysteries and everybody’s surprise at the series’ popularity with the overseas market.
At the end of the panel we were instructed to line up by row-section and quickly received Lord of Mysteries posters upon exit from the panel.
I emerged from the basement panel rooms to a darkened New York City skyline. It’d been a while since I’d been out past dark at a convention, and even longer in general.
The energy always shifts, with convention goers quietly walking with purpose to the last events or show room booths they would like to see one last time before heading out.
From there, people go to off-site events, parties, just walk around the city, or back to their moderately expensive (and overpriced) hotel rooms.
For me, I was heading back to the train station to wait around the hour or so it’d take for my train to get back home – and I was kind of glad I decided to “stay out late” while I was waiting and reflecting on my day at the train station.
Walking through the now somewhat empty feeling Javits Center halls I sifted through the waning crowds and observed people gathered around talking and cosplayers completing their last sets.
I took one last look at the Javits Center and walked toward the city lights, a familiar sight from a former time that feels lifetimes away, now.
Is Anime NYC Worth It?
Overall, Anime NYC has grown tremendously since its 2017 debut. Back then, I was still working at the Japanese Cultural Center when I attended (I actually brought the tickets before leaving work one day, if I remember correctly) and was somewhat slightly disappointed yet comforted that it was mostly local booths and organizations that I knew about from work in attendance.
Compared to now, I could have never imagined that the rumored “NYCC clone” convention would have come into its own, hit its stride, and emerged to rightfully claim the title of the East Coast’s largest anime convention within the United States.
Honestly, I haven’t been to Anime Expo since I graduated college in 2015, but it may even be giving that “line con” a run for its money as the current best anime convention in the country – not to play up any East vs West coast rivalry, or to pit unique conventions that offer differing regional experiences to fans against one another.
(I should also mention my bias against the West Coast here, as well since it gave me legitimate culture shock as if I had left the country when I visited Los Angeles for the first time after attending college and working in New York City for so long…)
Either way, I think that for now, as an anime fan born and raised in New York living on the East Coast – Anime NYC is the place to be if you would like to experience the full authenticity of Japanese culture in America and the invigorating energy of New York City as an anime fan.
The convention has loosened up on its draconian bag check points of the past (in favor of having State Troopers, ICE, and Police patrol the convention and guard alongside Javits staff in addition to hiring more Anime NYC crew members) and figured out an efficient line management system that (eliminated events like the 2021 fiasco and) leaves fans excited to wait for the panel or event, and not pissed off, frustrated, and confused at where to go or stand.
The quality of guests from Japan and located within the United States is exciting and worthy of buying a ticket for multiple days. I just wish there were a few more unique panel offerings – but I’m sure its getting there and come next year, Anime NYC will be an even greater experience for fans across the country and even internationally, in time.
But, tell me your thoughts: have you attended Anime NYC? What has your experience been like?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Anime NYC Convention Reviews!
☆ In Asian Spaces ☆ Ephesians 6:12 ☆
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