The Recap: Anime NYC Builds a New Chapter in Move to 4-Day Convention
Expanding its offering from three days of programming to four, Anime NYC is entering a new chapter. This year the convention built off of what has continued to make them successful — from cosplayers, robust programming, to vendors and artists. And in the event that you missed all the fun, EnVi was on the ground to give you the scoop on 2025’s Anime NYC.
The Recap
At this point, it’s clear that Anime NYC is the convention to be sustaining in-person anime culture across the East Coast. Not only is the convention key in connecting fans across the world to anime, but it is also bringing in anime heavy hitters. This year, the convention welcomed a number of Japanese talents like SPY x FAMILY voice actors Kenichiro Matsuda and Emiri Kato (who voice Bond Forger and Becky Blackwell). Aside from Japanese talent, the convention hosted a variety of artists and vendors to its halls. Through its four-day run, Anime NYC saw historic crowds, with the lively Javits Center filled to the brim with over 148,000 fans. Of course, with change comes its ups and downs as the convention continues to navigate exponential growth through the years.
The Good
Anime NYC has become home to a thriving culture of fans. Gone are the days of scrappy meetups and small conventions being the only avenue to engage with anime culture. Anime NYC is diverse with inclusive programming featuring creators of color, disabled, and queer talent. Putting the culture of New York on the forefront, the convention included local talent like New York City rap group If The Shoe Fits, and BIPOC collectives like Plus Ultra Entertainment. Focused on giving a holistic experience to fans across interests like cosplay, gaming, manga, and film/TV, Anime NYC has made the push to diversify its programming. For cosplayers in need of immersive sets, Destination Cosplay and Candiiland had dedicated areas. If fans wanted to engage only with Gaming, they were able to with organizers like Play NYC and a host of indie studios offering gaming experiences to fans. If that wasn’t enough, fans could also meet their favorite voice actors at panels while getting first of its kind previews to the hottest animes out. With these panels, came dedicated ASL interpreters giving hard of hearing fans the opportunity to partake in these one of a kind showcases.
This Year’s Learnings Make For Next Year’s Improvements
Though Anime NYC is growing positively and learning from its previous years, there are some growing pains with the exponential growth of the convention. Crowds were dense, packed full with thousands of fans trying to navigate an already overwhelming showfloor. This is not unique to Anime NYC of course, but as the convention becomes more and more popular through the years it becomes important now more than ever, to create easy to navigate environments through the weekend. This becomes increasingly necessary when high profile guests are set to walk through the convention floor, driving unsafe crowds at booths. Aside from navigation, there was certainly room for improvement across accessible spaces. Dedicated quiet rooms were noticeably loud making it harder for neurodivergent patrons to decompress through the day.
Panels, Programming and More
Not an hour went by without a diverse schedule of programming. Anime NYC’s schedule was jam packed with events from industry mixers, to voice actor meet and greets, to exhibitor and fan panels. For any fans looking to dig into Anime NYC for the first time, you’ll find that the programming is so robust, you could completely go through the weekend attending just panels alone. The four-day weekend started off strong with a special presentation from Netflix, who offered fans a sneak peak at shows like “Sakamoto Days.” The fun kept going for Netflix, who brought out Vinnie Hacker, a social media influencer and the voice of Slur in the show. Anime NYC also partnered with LucasFilm for the first time to chat all things Star Wars, bridging the gap between legacy IP and anime formats.
Aside from larger panels, there was also a strong roster of medium to intimate panels from creators like Stardust Megu who hosted a session on costume craftsmanship when entering competitions. And if there wasn’t enough programming, fans got the chance to catch the highly anticipated Cosplay Masquerade. As a juried competition (participants need to be accepted to compete), Anime NYC’s competition was rigorous and highly entertaining.
And though Anime NYC’s main focus is Japanese culture, there was a healthy representation of K-pop throughout the weekend with a number of K-pop Random Dance Play events. It should come to no surprise that with the continued success of KPop Demon Hunters and K-pop, that fans in the East Coast are looking for spaces to celebrate the musical genre given the lack of a KCON in New York City. On Friday, Hailey House Imnida hosted the K-Planet Dance Competition, and a workshop teaching XLOV’s “1&Only.”
Our Cosplay Picks
Cosplayers are a necessary lifeline to any convention, and this year at Anime NYC, fans brought their A-game.
Exhibitors, Gaming, and Artist Alley
This year marks the second year of PLAY.nyc’s partnership with Anime NYC, giving the attendees another outlet for fun during the convention. At Hall 1B, there was a combination of indie, tabletop, and arcade games. Fans saw new and revisiting names such as Ai2U, Cybrlich, and Coolmath Games as well as the headlining game, Starlight Revolver, allowing attendees a chance to see Ironmouse and CDawgVA in a sponsored panel.
Not only were there robust gaming opportunities, but also incredible artists at Anime NYCs artist alley. And this year, heavy hitters within the art community graced the convention’s halls. From his outstanding appearance at Anime Expo, internationally acclaimed illustrator, Acky Bright, appeared at Anime NYC as the Guest of Honor. Attendees were able to stop by his booth for raffles, autographs, and watch his live drawings that occurred throughout the convention weekend.
And what is any convention without its exhibitors like HIDIVE, Monsters We Make, and Gachiakuta, who had massive and impressive fabrications and booths throughout the four-day weekend. YouTuber CoryxKenshin also made an appearance onto the showfloor throughout the day, surprising his most passionate fans.
The convention now sets its horizon for 2026, where fans can attend at the Javits center from August 20th through August 23rd. With so many different offerings, it’s safe to say that Anime NYC is worth every penny.
Want to keep up with more coverage of Anime NYC? Read our review of Anime NYC 2024 here.
