Anime NYC 2021 Review: Got Me In My Feelz

Before the much-needed Thanksgiving break, Breazy and I headed up to the Big Apple to attend Anime NYC 2021! First thank you to the staff for inviting us to attend and hosting a safe event. The Blerd Team got to see many familiar faces and nerd out about some of our favorite anime properties. So what did we think? We are using the same rating criteria as the other events we attended which are: The Venue, Event Schedule, Vendors & Special Guests, Wait Times, and Overall Vibe. Scores of 10 mean near perfection and are going to be especially hard to obtain. We will try to be as objective as possible (we have no affiliation with Blerdcon) and your experience may differ. Here is our review of Anime NYC:

The Anime NYC 2021 Venue

Anime NYC 2021 was held at The Javits Center in Manhattan just blocks from Times Square. There are many reasonably affordable hotels walking distance to the event. We immediately noticed that the convention center had great lighting, was comfortable and was very easy to navigate. We did not make it too far inside before Breazy had to take a picture with a Gundam display at the Bandai Namco booth:

Around 53,000 fans attended the return of Anime NYC. Saturday was by far the most populated day, so if you want to avoid crowds we suggest attending early on Friday. That being said, there was access for accessibility, decent space for roaming, and an intuitive layout to get from place to place.

The Anime NYC 2021 Event Schedule

Anime NYC pleases with a full event schedule for the entire three days. Some of the events inclued a My Hero Academia Live Concert, Attack on Titan manga gallery, cosplay meetups, and of course multiple interesting panels. Anime NYC gets bonus points from us for holding multiple panels centered on diversity and inclusion was central to the convention. This was even more prevalent than a few of the other conventions that we went to earlier this year and included panels on Black Trailblazers in the Anime Industry, Inclusivity in the Anime Space, BLERD: From Cons to COVID and Black Again!, The Fanboy Fighter Forum (held by Fantastic Frankey!), and Kinks and Curls: Ethnic Hair in the Cosplay Community.

One special moment that got me in my feelz early on was during the Black Trailblazers in the Anime Industry panel presented by Noir Caesar and hosted by Victoria Johnson. Every once and a while someone will make a statement that pulls on your hear strings:

The second moment that got me in my feelz was during the AMV contest. The winning video for the Romance/Sentimental category and Best In Show was called Quarantine Dreams by AllyKatAVR:

The Anime NYC 2021 Special Guests & Vendors

The vendor hall had every type of anime merch you could imagine plus more! Anime NYC got points from us for having a well organized vendor hall with diverse vendors. Some of your favorite Black-Owned Anime Streetwear Brands were there and you know I had to pick up a new Hypland puff jacket to combat the cold NY weather.

Anime NYC had a bunch of special guests that came out, many from the blerd community itself including Zeno Robinson, RDWorld1, VantaBlackCosplay, DJ Taylor Senpai, PierrestepZ, Mikal Mosley, Kia Sangria, Kiiing Krystal, Jared Ross, Fantastic Frankey, Curtrichy, A.J. Beckles, Anairis Quiñones, & Arthell Isom.

There were wait times to meet with some of the special guests, especially voice actors like the Saiyans themselves Sean Schemmel & Christopher Sabat; which takes us to the next category:

The Anime NYC 2021 Wait Times

If you are going to Anime NYC, definitely be prepared to wait in line. The combination of the cold weather of NYC and the convention being on a pier definitely made the wait slightly more painful for some of the attendees. Some of the panels also had extended wait times which could be frustrating, especially after waiting to get in. If there are events or panels that you definitely want to see, make sure you get there early and plan out your day (there is an Anime NYC app that has scheduling on it for ease of use). Points do go back to the staff for readjusting after Friday and controlling the flow of traffic better.

The Anime NYC 2021 Vibe

Vibe is the intangible overall feel category that we give conventions. Anime NYC rivals the best with its overall fun factor and commitment to an inclusive environment. Factors that led to this include special guest interactions with con-goers, various DJ’s playing music, social interaction between attendees, and overall a feeling of welcomeness.

Anime NYC 2021 Photos

Did you get a chance to go to Anime NYC 2021? If so, let us know what you thought of the event on our social media @blerdofficial