AnimeNEXT 2019 Overview
This past weekend we got the opportunity to do press coverage for AnimeNEXT in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This is one of my favorite cons to visit just for the good energy that’s there and all the elbow room you could ever want. This year AnimeNEXT came back stronger than last year, it feels like a lot more people came to the con. AnimeNEXT should be a popular con by now that can do big numbers, especially at The Atlantic City Convention Center.
The Atlantic City Convention Center is one of the best locations in my opinion because of how spacious it is and how many more people AnimeNEXT could welcome and still give you all the elbow room needed. I have to keep mentioning the amount of space at this con because others lack this with their venues.
As we walked around going to panels and events it was so much fun. The events are always new guests and the panels are always different too. There were more diverse panels than last year so it was more good ones to choose from which makes it hard to choose one. I was able to sit in a few panels between the events and seeing the amazing cosplayers walking around. I really love going to cons for the cosplayers and the masquerade.
AnimeNEXT masquerade is always fun with the skits and hall cosplay contest. There is always something new going on each year which makes it exciting to go each year. There’s nothing like seeing peoples creativity with their cosplay and if they decide to do a skit. I applaud the brave ones for getting on stage and performing because it’d take a lot out of me to do that. The dance groups are always my favorite they are always in sync and I know all the practice that went into their routine finally paid off.
The anime car show was apart of this year’s attraction and it was great to see all these decked out cars from anime fans. We got to record the cars and the inside of them were decked out too. The Totoro car was by far my favorite because of how creative it was. The gaming area is always fun as a gamer it’s one of the sections I look forward to going to each con. They had the Japanese arcade games which are my favorite to play since I’m pretty good at them.
The classics like Seg
a Genesis was there as well as Nintendo systems. I got to play Tekken 7 with Lizzo and win a few rounds so I did want to mention the glory run I had before she knocked me off my pedestal. The gaming area is always fun and this year the butt of the jokes was how many air fresheners we spotted all over the game area. It was ridiculously hilarious that there was at least four at every table. Most game areas are really funky after a while but I don’t remember AnimeNEXT having one of the funky areas maybe because everything is so spaced out. I feel this is an inside joke for con goers all over and we all know what this means.
The guests were amazing this year, as usual, we got the opportunity to interview Sandy Fox and Richard Epcar and it was a blast. Both amazingly talented and so humble and sweet that you just never want to stop talking to them. We didn’t get to see all of the guests since it was a schedule conflict but we got to enjoy just about every performance. The dance parties were fun and loud like a party should be! We stopped by the 80s cosplay prom and stayed a while at the night dance party before food was calling our names.
Artist Alley and the Dealers room was set up in the same area as last year and there were some familiar faces but more new ones than last year. We didn’t get to get all of our Japanese snacks because we were running around but we did walk through and see what was new. The artwork in artist alley is always my favorite but I had to take a break from buying because I ran out of space to hang artwork and that doesn’t stop me from buying more. I have a bad habit I’m aware of and I need to reorganize my house so I can make space for more.
AnimeNEXT is always fun and will always be at the top of my recommendations list when people ask me about the cons. There is always something fun to do and we have content coming out for this con soon. were working as fast as we can to push it all out this week and we have high hopes of doing so. We want to thank AnimeNEXT for the opportunity to do press coverage this year and we hope to come back next year.
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