Otaku’s Run New York: Anime NYC 2025
Anime NYC, the East Coast’s Largest Anime Convention, debuts as a four-day event. Due to some adulting, Drey and I only attended for three days, but we made the most of the experience.
We started our con weekend off at Crystal Kay’s concert at the Racket during her first-ever North American Tour. I’ve been a fan of CK for a long time, and I didn’t think seeing her live would be a possibility. However, the opportunity presented itself, and I’m grateful for being able to be a part of it. This was separate from the Convention, but it still aligns with a celebration of Japanese Pop Culture. In any case, I had a really nice time and wanted to share it with you guys. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s just get into the main festivities.
Panels and Programming
Firstly, let’s start with the panels. Ranging from industry-run programming by the likes of giants like Bandai Namco Filmworks, Seven Seas Entertainment, and Yen Press to more creator-focused workshops, like J-Pop Dance classes and Comedy Shows. However, I tend to lean more towards the latter because community is the sort of point of conventions.
Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the “Creating Your Lane in Comics and Manga” and “Oh Grow Up: Josei and Seinen Manga/Anime” Panels. Nevertheless, they were both informative, entertaining, and energizing in their own right. For more, you can read our recaps.
Gaming Hall at Anime NYC
Of course, visiting the Gaming Hall is always a highlight for me. It’s a collaborative effort of a few smaller organizations brought together to house a full experience. Citi Gaming brought Consoles, Psycho Drive supplied Japanese arcade Cabinets, and Hex & Co. brought a tabletop (card games and board games) experience. In fact, there was even Mahjong. For those looking for something a little different, Co-Operatives had an Escape Room. Play NYC was also in attendance for the second year in a row. I got to play some cool indie games like Ghost Eater, Scrabble StarCrossing, WyshBound, and a few others.
Dealers Hall and Artist Alley
The Dealers Hall and Artist Alley area was packed. So much to see. Manga, Clothing, figures, and all sorts of other merch. One of my favorite things to shop for is Indie Comics or Manga, maybe a t-shirt, but mostly small purchases. But this year, I bought a jacket from the Asian American Streetwear brand M.Rage. Picked up a Cinnamoroll pin for my niece. Drey brought a keychain, earrings, and a few other things. One of the coolest vendors I came across was VanessaDuong.art. She creates these unique canvases using plaster and acrylic paint. You can check her out on Instagram.
In addition, there were a lot of Industry booths throughout the Hall. My favorite was the Aniplex of America Booth. Their 20th Anniversary wall featuring Shikishi of their biggest series was mind-blowing. As someone who’s been a fan for decades and someone who has recently rediscovered her love of art, this was really eye-opening.
Cosplayers Shined at Anime NYC
For a while, it felt like cosplay culture was dying at Cons, but at Anime NYC, it felt so alive. There were so many amazing cosplayers of all ages, races, shapes, and sizes. Mash-up, closet cosplays, and even prop builders. From Cardboard Gundam to Pokémon. I think there was something to see from any type of anime fan.
Sadly, we missed the Annual Masquerade this year, but we were able to catch our fill on the show floor and at Cosplay meet-ups. There were tons, Soul Eater, Kaiju No.8, and a Vocaloid one. We even ran into an unplanned K-pop Demon Hunters Session and, more surprisingly, one for Itabags. An Itabag is a decorative bag that people use to express their chosen fandom. They can have pins, figures, and or photocards depending on the theme you’re going for. People are really creative, and getting to see some of that in action was kinda cool.
Special Events
Lastly, the second annual American Manga Awards was held on Friday. The was Yoko Takahashi: 30 Years of Evangelion Celebration, which I was a little salty about missing. The JAM Project performance during The Hero (ONE PUNCH MAN Special Event). DAWN’S EMBRACE (OBEY ME! VIRTUAL CONCERT) and hololive STAGE World Tour ’25 -Synchronize!
In conclusion, there were so many things to do. Anime NYC was a blast. Thanks for the great experience and for allowing us to be a part of it. Can’t wait to run it back next year. Did you attend Anime NYC? If so, what was the highlight of the weekend? Let us know in the comments section below.
Stay tuned for more of our Anime NYC 2025 Content.
