Anime NYC 2021: It Was Ok, But The Artists Though....
AnimeNYC 21 - Show Floor
When one thinks of pop culture conventions in NYC, New York Comic Con instantly comes to mind. However, Anime NYC, which you can probably guess by the name, was too held at the Javitz Center. With my third convention during these covid times, let me tell you my experience and how I handled it. I will say this, ‘something should have been addressed when we first arrived at the convention’. The line to enter the building was pure madness. I didn't think the convention would have that big of a turnout, especially as I didn't see this extensive line at NYCC.
This was mishandled so much that on Saturday, they had no choice but to change their entry system. All in one night. While it was disappointing that they let it get that bad in the first place, it was also praise-worthy they fixed it that fast. Respect. After all, I still give credit where credit is due.
NARUTO AKATSUKI BUTTON UP SHIRT (BLACK)
Inside, I noticed that many features were condensed to one floor: The merchant hall, artist alley, autograph stations, and specialized aspects like the custom cars area were all packed together. Probably because the convention was smaller than NYCC, I’ll say this, ‘it was convenient to get around’. Typically, when I go to conventions, I always say, ‘I'm not going to spend that much,’ but end up going against my wishes and buy multiple items anyway, like a button-down Akatsuki-themed shirt from the company, Hypland . I've always been big on the Akatsuki crew and their pattern from the Naruto series, and with a decent price point, I bought it immediately.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba also encompassed the convention with merchandise, banners, and cosplay. I couldn't help but buy a kimono from the series and decided to go for the burgundy and tile pattern from one of my favorite characters, Giyu Tomioka. Around the merchant hall, there was also a sizable memorial display dedicated to Kentaro Miura (creator of the hit manga/anime series, Berserk). Surrounding the production were markers to write a “thank you” message to the legendary Kentaro, and being the Berserk fan I am, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to contribute.
Kentaro Miura Memorial
Covid, however, did not stop the artists from selling their merchandise at this convention, as the Artist Alley spanned multiple aisles, one artist I checked out was named Mike Toney, an artist who drew himself as various characters (one example being the banner behind him, where it's a drawing of himself with the shadow powers of Pride from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood). His graphics were fantastic, and he also mentioned he was trying to move away from drawing himself as other characters to making original characters.
Another artist I checked out was someone I knew personally named Med and her sister, Rodi. They primarily had prints and merchandise from Persona 5 and Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which is fine with me as I love both games. I had to support (as I’m a huge fan) so I purchased a few items, such as a print of Goro Akechi that said: “TASTE MY WRATH” and a stand of Makoto with her persona, Johanna. There were other artists from whom I bought some Nintendo-themed pins as they were the final ones in stock as well!
Panel Life
For me, I only attended two panels. One that I had planned to go to as soon as I heard about it was the Guilty Gear Strive Industry Panel featuring the voice actors of Axl Low (Alex Gross) and I-No (Amber Lee Connors) and the other, a Demon Slayer panel as well. Once the panel started, the voice actors (VA’s) answered questions, briefly explained Axl and I-No's relationship, said their favorite lines, and discussed what they had in common with their characters. Both actors were pretty entertaining, especially when Alex would randomly break into the Axl voice (for those that don't know, Axl is British and has a very cockney voice) or when Amber would bring the same “spice” that I-No has. Recently the third DLC character was revealed for Strive, Happy Chaos, a character that I was looking forward to. While the trailer had been announced a week ago, they still showed it to us at the panel.
Admittedly, I was hoping Happy Chaos (HC) would be a flashier dual wielding gunslinger character as opposed to “a guy that just got out of bed that shoots a gun like a kid”, however, I'm still happy with him and seeing his trailer on the big screen was incredible. Adding to it was Amber fawning over him, saying “What can I say? I love a man who looks like they'd murder me in my sleep,” with Alex noting that HC had Adachi’s (from Persona 4) gun stance, saying “We live in a society. Bottom text”. There was also a bit more news, which simply revealed the announcement of a new Guilty Gear Strive tournament. While this wasn't news for me, it was great for people that wanted to compete. Afterward, they did a Q&A session, which sadly had to end before I could ask what additional characters were being added to Strive in the future. Still, it was great to see that both were big fans of the series, and had their dreams come true by getting these roles. The event ended with some Guilty Gear cosplayers posing for a group pic with both of the voice actors. Overall, it was a solid panel!
Happy Chaos from Arcsystemworks
With the second panel, the Demon Slayer-focused event, considering the fan love and presence, one could definitely say that the fandom was much bigger than Guilty Gear Strive. Here, they featured the three main voice actors from the show: Zach Aguilar who voices Tanjiro, Aleks Le as Zenitsu, and Bryce Papenbrook as Inosuke. Similar to the Strive panel, these voice actors answered questions by the moderators with each cast member choosing their favorite moments in the show. My favorite, was Bryce choosing the part where Zenitsu got serious and decapitated a big demon. One interesting fact from the panel: the VA’s rarely recorded together and that most of the work for the movie, Mugen Train, was done from their homes.
They also talked about the video game, Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles, and how they contributed their voice to the gameplay. This would've been great to see at the Strive panel, however Demon Slayer: HC was a more accessible and cinematic game during the convention. The panel also advertised the free new update which included demon characters: Yahaba and Susumaru. Overall, the panel was pretty entertaining, yet sadly, there were no other reveals, except a teaser for season 2 (Entertainment District Arc) of the anime. Although it was brief, it was an unexpected treat as they revealed the dubbed version.
With most conventions, there were a variety of actors/voice actors to get autographs and photo ops with, and Anime NYC was no exception. Out of the choices I had, I decided to get a photo with Robbie Daymond, since he voices some of my favorite characters like Goro Akechi from Persona 5, Hubert from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Happy Chaos from Guilty Gear Strive. One issue I had with the autographing/photo-op lines was how they were handled. There were no posted times that the guests would be there, and no signs or anything on the website, outside of the prices for the autograph. No convention I've ever been to lacked this info, and it was somewhat frustrating. Thankfully, I was able to catch Robbie at one of the expected times. It took an hour or two to get to him, but it was worth it as he went to the back of the line to check up on us. Additionally, he also agreed to my video recording request (I won't say what I had him do since it contains an expletive and is indirectly a spoiler). He also said, “Ah don't worry we'll get ya next time!” when I told him that I forgot my copy of Persona 5 Royal to sign.
Finally, there was an after-party I was going to attend, as well as see a screening of the anime film Belle, but my time at the convention was cut short as I became bedridden with a bad cold (maybe Covid) on Saturday night. While this was definitely upsetting, I still feel like I got a lot out of the convention, especially meeting with Robbie Daymond, which was the last thing I was able to do.
Overall Anime NYC was a solid convention with a few hiccups, but I would definitely look forward to attending next year. Hopefully, I won’t get sick….
I will say this though ‘if you saw me on Saturday I was cosplaying as Alucard from Castlevania’ (Season 4 Netflix show version to be specific). Hopefully, I made it to someone’s social media timeline.
