This year, I had the privilege of attending Anime NYC 2025. In the same vein as having covered press for Comic-Con since 2022, after a decade of writing reviews on comics (@fanboyfactor, @thecomicssurfer), this is the first Anime-Con I’ve attended as press. This is significant in many ways, as I haven’t been there since the conventions’ second and third years in NYC, around 2018 and 2019, before and post-COVID. It was fascinating to see how much has evolved since then. I attended the event on Saturday, Aug 23rd, and Sunday, Aug 24th.
Attending the con, I was accompanied by friends of mine (Lindsay, Christine, Nancy, Liam, and a few others). I spoke to my Editor, Brian, before taking the floor, about approaching this article as a journal/diary of sorts, and proceeded with that. As I explored the convention, I was stopped in my tracks when I saw Christopher Sabat’s signing beginning to fill with people in line. My friend and I hopped onto the line immediately. What made the wait worthwhile was interacting with other con goers who had a sense of humor. We met a Mother and Son, Melissa & Jayden, who were a delight to chat with about convention experiences, and how stories are a time capsule of experiences that can never be recreated.
The moment finally arrived, Lindsay and I were face to face with the only @christophersabat who voices some of my fave characters ever, especially Vegeta in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z/Kai/Super. He was a very personable, courteous guy who was a worthwhile meeting. It was a childhood moment that came full circle since my friend and tattoo artist 222designs (Wesley Quiles, creator of Substance Man) tattooed Majin Vegeta on my arm from the episode Final Atonement/ For Those Whom He Loves, Vegeta Perishes. Aside from complimenting the tattoo, he provided a free print and autograph, even though that wasn’t what was initially paid for, which spoke volumes.
After the prince of all saiyans, I met a slew of illustrators, such as legendary Udon Entertainment illustrator Edwin Huang (IronPinky). I chatted with him about his work on the Street Fighter comics and his journey as an illustrator. Other artists I came across were Pixigloom, whose bubbly, neon colored artwork was too good to resist. Suweetie Arts, which happened to have adorable cat illustrations, prints, and stickers that were irresistible to ignore. Additionally, I came across the apparel booths, visiting Chill Vibe (Chill Worldwide) clothing, which had cool, stylized apparel and street wear such as denim jackets, windbreakers, and other apparel.
Sunday, I headed to the Kaiju Battle booth to play a demo of the Kaiju 8mobile game produced by Akatsuki Games. The game is a mobile-style RPG that allows you to play as a slew of characters from the Kaiju 8 manga/anime. I had fun testing the demo out, trying out different moves for specific characters, utilizing special attacks to take down Kaijus as seen in the series. After testing out the game, I think it’ll be fun to play for any mobile gamer, that are fan of the series. Afterwards, I met with a friend to drift around the con, and we came across the Japanese Consulate booth. The vendors offered to have us try out some of their beautiful attire, fitting Nancy and me with a stylized Kimono that made us feel fashionably cool. The vendors were very pleasant to chat with!
Overall, despite having only attended the con for Saturday and Sunday, it was a pleasant time meeting up with friends, checking out different vendors, meeting other artists, cosplayers, entertainers, and people alike. In between it all, fun time spent with friends, enjoying seeing how stories, regardless of medium, can have a positive impact on people, regardless of genre /medium, that nurture creativity and connection, regardless of culture and walks of life.
@japanconsny @ironpinky, @pixigloom , @sueweetie_arts , @slayrizz amongst @Akatsuki Games other illustrator’s, cosplayers, entertainers alike.
Newsdesk