AnimeNYC 2026 was another great time of all things anime, cartoons, video games, and more! Panels, cosplay meetups, exclusive premieres; anything you could think of and want was there and popping.
This year was once again a four-day con that ran from Thursday to Sunday (August 20–23). One of the biggest panels on the first day was “Netflix Presents,” which showcased sneak peeks of shows like “Sakamoto Days” season 2 and “Cyberpunk,” and debuted the sneak peek to the “LEGO’s One Piece” show coming to Netflix in the near future.
I did quite a lot of shopping on that first day. From Sailor Moon to Avatar to Jujutsu Kaisen to Witch Hat Atelier to FNAF and more, there was so much anime and non-anime merch to choose from! There were also a number of unofficial meetups on Thursday, including the My Little Pony meetup that my friends and I had the pleasure of being a part of. Truly a magical and friendly time.
The energy was up for Friday, which ran all day, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with dance parties taking place all over the Javits Center. All throughout AnimeNYC weekend, the DJs continually activated attendees’ dancing feet with great mixes of music. The cosplayers showed up and out, my friends included, as we experienced a really awesome Five Nights at Freddy’s group cosplay.
There were cosplays galore, from FNAF to One Piece to My Little Pony to Witch Hat Atelier to Adventure Time to Undertale to Sailor Moon to Apothecary Diaries to Gachiakuta and so much more. This range only extended and got bigger throughout the weekend, with so much creativity and hard work displayed under a huge glass roof. Many cosplay meetups took place for media like My Hero Academia, Jujustu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, Fairy Tail, Nintendo, Jojo Bizzare’s Adventure, Date Everything, Sonic, Witch Hat Atelier, Sailor Moon, Gachiakuta, Haikyuu, Dragon Ball Z, Honkai Star Rail, Chainsaw man, One Piece, and too many more to name.
There was also a Black cosplayer meetup and it was lit! We were all vibing and having a good time in the Black beauty and creativity of us as Black cosplayers. Nobody does it like us! I would recommend giving us a bigger space at Anime NYC next year, because when we show up and show out, the community comes through every time! Just a bit of advice for next year.
Saturday once again was lively with even more people in the Javits Center. My friends and I used the bag check option, which was only $5, so I didn’t have to carry my heavy bag and could enjoy the con with free arms. It was a very convenient and necessary step to enjoying my con to the fullest. I attended the Haikyu!!: The Next Match panel, which included Yuki Kaji, the voice actor of Kenma Kozume, and producer Hibiki Saito, who worked on Haikyu!!: Dumpster Battle. It was a great panel. The fans, the energy, and love for this show could be felt throughout the room. Just like Haikyu!!, this panel was lively, educational, chaotic, hilarious, and an amazing time.
We checked out the Destination cosplay area in the river pavilion, the fourth floor of the Javits Center, and headed to the One Piece cosplay meetup because my friends and I were cosplaying from that media. I recommend, when it comes down to these meetups, providing the host(s) with some kind of speaker and/or mic so they can be heard better. Also, if there is a One Piece meetup, maybe don’t have other cosplay meetups going on around that time, because that meetup was huge and pretty much took up most of the floor. If there is a way that the space for the cosplay meetups can be expanded and be given more room, that would be great.
Overall, it was a good time Saturday.
Now for Sunday, the closing day: No one ever wants it to come to an end but all things must. I went to the Studio Ghibli cosplay meetup, which was really nice and calm. I was Granmamare and my friend was Ponyo. Just like Studio Ghibli’s work, this meetup was colorful, sweet, funny, and peaceful.Then I continued shopping around, hanging out with friends, and soaking up the beautiful energy of Anime NYC before it sadly came to a close.
WiFi this year worked better than last; still some hiccups here and there, but nothing that can’t be worked on. Another wonderful year at Anime NYC — it’s always the place to be!
Speaking of, next year is Anime NYC’s 10th anniversary, so definitely pull up and show out. Anime NYC 2027 will be heading back to the Javits Center next year from August 26–29. I hope to see you all there to celebrate together!
