Anime NYC 2022: An Anime Conventions In New York
I’ve attended Anime NYC every year since it started. Watching it grow bigger and bolder every year has been special. 2022 was no different. There was quite a bit of chaos in 2021 with the lines and organization. It was nice to see that they took steps to fix that for Anime NYC 2022.
Anime NYC also implemented pre-registration for Special Events. Conceptually, it was a good look, but also came with a downside. I don’t know for sure, but I feel like most attendees were not aware until it was too late. At least that seemed to be the word on the Twitter streets. And because of the confusion with all of that. A lot of people missed out on events they wanted to see. – including us.
Now that we got that all out of the way. Let’s talk about all the fun stuff.
Drey and I attended the convention all three days. Shout out, to Anime NYC for supplying us with press credentials. So many people pulled up to have a good time. With a large chunk of them being Black and Brown faces, which makes me hella happy. These spaces traditionally have been white-dominated and still are very white-centered, even in a city as diverse as New York. But that’s slowly changing! And I’m all the way here for it!
More importantly, the youngin’ that find their way into these spaces are going to be able to see people who look like them represented. In staffing, press, the guest list, and panel selection.
Panels we attended while at Anime NYC 2022
Kinks and Curls: ethnic hair in the cosplay community, Diversity in Manga: Why We Need More?, Classic Black Anime Characters 101, SketchPad: Live Art & Music Session, Creating Safe Spaces for Black/ POC Women and Celebrating 25 years of Toonami and Records of Anime: Collecting Anime Music Vinyl.
We also attended the yearly Masquerade. This time around it was hosted by Fantastic Frankey and King Vader. There were so many entries and every single one of them looked amazing. The con floor cosplay was immaculate too. The Cosplayers were really showing out.- Nahmean. Senpai Squad was present with some of their fly-ass collection cars. The show floor was lined with vendors selling all sorts of merch. Artist alley was full of talent and I got to see some dope original artwork. Of course, a nice selection of fan art.
I bought an okonomiyaki kit. Hit the Bandai America booth and purchased two Gundam model kits because I wanna dive back into the Gunpla. Copped a limited edition Heavy Arms (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz Variant) and Neo Japan Gundam from G-Gundam. I also brought a graphic novel called Knight of Abyss and supported an indie artist. Got a few prints with it as well.
All in all, I had a really dope time. We even bumped into some moots and chopped it up a bit. The bros over at V.O.E Podcast (Vibes Over Everything) and talented Konnkrete.Creationz. It was nice meeting you guys. Appreciate the warm welcome. What a great way to close out the year.
Did you attend Anime NYC 2022? If so, what were some of your highlights?
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