I wrote about my experience attending this year’s New York Comic Con as press, but towards the end of writing and publishing it, I felt like it was missing something: personality.
A Fan’s-Eye View: The Best Cosplay and Show Floor Anecdotes
Usually, I like talking about my day, nonchalant experiences, and anecdotes from the show floor, and to show off photos of things I like, or found interesting. Not saying I didn’t have the liberty to do so in my official NYCC 2025 coverage, but it would have messed up the flow had I done so.
Despite kind of being in a rush the days I attended the convention (trains, traffic, and weird unforeseen circumstances), I did take a lot of photos of cosplay, convention booths, and just cool things that happened between working that I would love to show off.
I start all convention days off as I always do when in the city: I went to H-Mart to buy snacks for my bag. I brought snacks with me as well. Why, you may ask?
Well, after witnessing people confirm the price for, and then still purchase things like simple hot dogs and basic nachos with cheese for $10+, I (personally) just don’t think that’s the best course of action for my convention experience.
I didn’t do a Kinokuniya pre-convention run either this time, since I had no manga signings or autograph sessions to attend.
After completing that now time-honored tradition, I joined the crowds of cosplayers and con-goers alike heading toward the Javits Center.
I stopped in the Crystal Palace foyer and walked around – trying to find my intended destinations and taking photographs (with permission!) of cosplayers along the way.
Superhero, Star Wars, and The Nightmare Before Christmas Cosplay Gallery
Of course, because it is Comic Con, the superhero cosplayers were out in full force! Chucky, Jack Skellington, and Star Wars cosplayers patrolled the area as I crossed the length of the palace to get to the HBO/George RR Martin panel.
Glinda the Good Witch blessed con-goers traveling below with a flick of her magic wand.
Glitch Productions, MAPPA, and the Most Buzzed-About Booths at NYCC 2025
Returning to the Show Floor, I walked toward the Bushiroad booth and saw a promo for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, which had life-sized stands of the characters – some of which you could take a photo with. Other characters were on an elevated platform out of reach, but you could still snap a shot at the right angle and distance.
Heading toward the new Community Stage in Hall 1E, I attended the Persona Cooking Demo and just soaked up the laid-back atmosphere not present in the busier parts of the con.
I’m not sure if this will be a recurring theme, but heading back to the Crystal Palace to reach another part of the Show Floor, I again spotted Star Wars, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and superhero cosplayers.
There was a natural, unintentionally funny meet-up between a reporter and a Spider-Man cosplayer who was just trying to deliver some pizza.
The Avatar: the Last Airbender booth was admittedly very disappointing, and not because of the immersive experience. Every single day I attended the con, I could not even get into line for this booth experience. And it wasn’t just me – people at the booth expressed their displeasure at being told conflicting directions to follow regarding the line cap, when to join, and its wait time – which unfortunately, fell on deaf ears.
I actually struck up a conversation in agreement with one of the upset fans who tried to express the issue to booth line-control staff as they walked away and shared my experience of being told essentially the exact same thing – to come back at “xyz” time, only to return and be told by one booth attendant to head to the back of the line, and then to be passive-aggressively talked down to, and commanded to leave the area when trying to communicate being sent back to the line as advised by the front of their booth – by different sets of people, at vastly different times during the day for about an hour each time (returning in increments of 15-20 minutes as advised since I wasn’t allowed to “loiter” or “block traffic”), two days in a row before deciding to avoid the booth altogether for the duration of the convention.
Which is a shame, because Avatar: the Last Airbender has such a large fan base of people (like myself) who ‘grew up watching’ it, and new fans now that it’s on streaming services like Netflix. Seemingly every single time, from my own perspective as a longtime fan, Nickelodeon self-sabotages for some reason whenever this particular IP is involved.
WEBTOON, Konami, and the Gacha-Fandom Experience
The Gachiakuta garbage game “Pitmaster” that I saw at Anime NYC also made a debut at NYCC. While standing in line, people who had played the game before gave advice to find the smallest pieces of “garbage” possible to get the best prize.
I don’t know how true that was (I found something so generic and random that looking back, I can’t even remember what it was) and won a mini poster for my effort – which was fair enough.
The eBay booth was giving out prizes after completing activities in their secluded section (I won a branded bag for losing at the claw machine), and I won a pin (and the trivia game!) at ANA’s booth.
Walmart had a booth outside in the convention parking lot which I heard was really good and had Mario plushies as prizes amongst other things, but I totally forgot to swing back and check it out during my time at the con.
WEBTOON had a gigantic claw machine in the middle of the booth, but after standing in line for quite some time (about an hour) with little movement, I left to head to a panel. I’m not sure what actually ended up being in those machines, but I’m sure it must have been good, haha.
While heading over to the Glitch Productions panel, I was texting with my mom, who was at home watching the news in hopes that she’d spot me walking by on camera. I asked her which news station she was currently watching (she was switching between Pix 11 and ABC), and she said the latter.
I looked up from my phone and literally saw Entertainment Reporter Joelle Garguilo in cosplay, surrounded by people. I walked up to the group and told Joelle that my mom had been watching her on TV all day, and she invited me to join their show for the live convention segments.
So, that’s where I remained for quite some time, talking to a couple (who put his girlfriend on his shoulders to be in the shot) and a Javits Center employee who wanted to make the evening news. After their segment was done, I had a pleasant conversation with Joelle before moving on toward the Glitch Productions panel room at the far end of the convention center.
As I mentioned in my “official” convention roundup, I literally reached the Glitch Productions panel as the last person admitted entered the room. And no lie, I did dramatically drop my bag on the floor and let out a huge sigh.
Other people had the same idea of kind of lingering around the room in hopes they would open up more seats, but security shut that down quickly by (loudly) stating that even standing capacity was capped, and nobody else was getting in the panel by lingering at the door. So I left, as security let in one more woman and a child as they flashed their badges before switching shifts with another security guard (who repeated the same message to lingering crowds before the first man fully walked away).
Since the last event I wanted to check out was 3~ hours away (the 2nd Annual Penguin Random House Murder Mystery Party) and I feared it would be capped by the time I got in line, and since it was getting late, I decided to just call it a day.
While leaving, I heard other Glitch fans who were turned away talking about at least visiting the booth, since they “needed something” and that apparently, shipping was too expensive for merch ordered through their website.
It took a while to actually leave that section of the con (the Gundam panel line was HUGE), and after I left the convention, I walked to 2 Bros. Pizza and grabbed a whole pie before catching the train home.
The next day I did go to the Glitch booth, where I met the Pomni cosplayer I mentioned in the other post who waited 5 hours for that panel. I also saw a friendly Caine cosplayer, and questioned my own moral resolve as I watched a little girl in front of me on line affectionately grab and cradle a possessed Pomni plushie, as her grandma paid for it and the pair left smiling.
Honestly, the whole possession thing in general creepy me out, and I found that TADC episode was quite spooky – but apparently, I am more fearful of those things than a mere child! ☺
(Those “possessed” plushies, Labubu “dolls”, and things like Chucky dolls usually creep me out.)
There was a Little Nightmares 3 statue of a decrepit baby, leering ominously, placed in a corner to promote the new video game.
I took another swing around the Show Floor and passed the Konami and Viz Media booths.
There were more great cosplays between the booth aisles, and lots of card game competitions going on. Apparently, you could learn to play D&D at multiple times during the convention, but I just wasn’t able to make the time slots work with the rest of my schedule.
(I really wanted to, though!)
The MAPPA booth had an Attack on Titan artwork display, of course, prominently featuring the moments before and after Mikasa beheaded Eren, followed by booth staff handing out postcards with ‘freedom’ child Eren on them.
The NYCC Show Floor Drama: Line Caps, Conflicting Info, and Lessons Learned
Overall, I really enjoyed my time at New York Comic Con this year. It is currently one of the largest (if not, the largest) pop culture conventions in the United States, and while I did mention the capped panel and ATLA booth drama, that’s not indicative or reflective of anybody’s overall general convention experience.
There are a lot of people from all over the world who attend these events. Things happen, and it’s not a reflection of the convention or the people working there. Sometimes, people just get overwhelmed, or there is simply miscommunication amongst teams on the floor.
I am not making excuses for those involved, but I just would like to point out that sometimes, that’s how things go at big conventions like this, and even occasionally smaller ones.
From Waiting in the Dark to Finding Purpose: The Enduring Magic of Comic Con
Back in the day, I used to wait hours just to get into the convention, leaving home in the dark and watching the sun rise while standing outside on a crisp fall morning while in line. Or, I spent hours in line for tickets to certain events like special meet and greets for creators and fandoms I deeply cared about – like the Kishimoto shikishi autograph signing in 2015, which literally took waiting around all day, and camping in that area for the very last raffle drawing to call my number – making that experience possible.
At the end of the day, there are always way more wins at a convention than losses, and due to the sheer capacity of fan attendance at the event, I wanted to highlight that duality after covering all of the positive things I experienced in my other post.
If you are thinking about attending NYCC, you should go!
Even if you attend alone, like I now do, you will definitely meet people who share your hobbies, meet people in your fandoms, and have life-changing events that otherwise would not be possible without the synergy of this Pop Culture Event.
So go, have fun, and tell me your thoughts about your own experience this year at NYCC!
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more New York Comic Con.
☆ In Asian Spaces ☆ Ephesians 6:12 ☆
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