I only managed to attend one panel last year. It was a “reserved” event for Hajime Isayama, the creator of Attack on Titan. The process to get in was poorly managed and I missed the start of the panel in spite of the planning and getting there early to wait in line. The Anime NYC staff working the doors seemed to have just given up. Attendees charged the entrances, cut the multiple lines that weaved themselves around the hall, and entered the panel room without ceremony to gobble up any open seat they could find.

I learned my lesson and did not bother with reservations this year. There were enough panels with interesting sounding content that I avoided the frustration of vainly waiting in line and just wafted into the back of a room to enjoy a panel without the stress or disappointment of the previous year.

This is not to say that this year’s Anime NYC convention was without its challenges. On Saturday, I was made to walk around the outside of the Javits Center for 20 minutes, looking for an entrance. I either encountered locked doors or was turned away by staff, informing me that the door was “exit only.”

I attended two panels this year: the Crunchyroll Live Music panel and one on Japanese ghosts (which I learned at the panel is a misnomer). Both excited me to follow up and further familiarize myself with the panels’ subjects.

The bands that participated in the Music panel were Cö Shu Nie, Survive Said the Prophet, and Hiroyuki SAWANO with SennaRin. I wasn’t able to attend the concert the following night but have been exploring Cö Shu Nie’s music on YouTube and Spotify. I really like the visual aesthetic of their music videos and have been Googling the English translations of their lyrics.

“Yurei: The Japanese Ghost” was the second panel I attended. Zack Davisson’s entertaining lecture on the evolution of the depiction of ghosts or more accurately “spirits” in Japanese art and cinema was the perfect end to my first day at Anime NYC.

I had never thought about the depictions of Japanese ghosts until Zack’s lecture. I never noticed that American depictions of ghosts are varied but there is only one depiction of a Japanese ghost/spirit – the now iconic white gown and long black hair. I guess all these years I have been confusing Japanese ghosts with their multitude of demon representations. I found his table in the Artists Alley the following day and purchased his book. Yokai Stories.

I’ve attended Anime NYC since its inaugural convention in 2017. I go every year to practice my photography by taking pictures of cosplayers that have caught my eye (most of whom are dressed to represent shows I don’t know) and sit in panels on topics I want to learn more about or simply with fun titles.

My favorite panel to date is a “cosplay challenge” I saw in 2018. It was set up as a game show where contestants were to create cosplay outfits from a box of fabric scraps and office supplies. They created a “Happy” from the show Fairytail, and a Gundam. I do not remember who won. Pictures of the final results are uploaded to my Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAob73

Pictures of this year’s Anime NYC are also available on my Flickr profile: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB3S8K

Leftfield Media, the organizers of Anime NYC, have announced that the 2024 convention will take place earlier in the year, August 23-25. In the same announcement, they said they would be expanding the space and providing more tickets for entry.

I am excited by the possibilities but have my reservations. More people mean more lines, longer wait times, and an increased likelihood of being directed to a locked entrance like this year or waiting in line in vain like the previous year.

I remember the COVID and security checkpoints debacle that was the 2021 Anime NYC.