Another wonderful year at Anime NYC 2025! The convention delivered a solid lineup of special guests including voice talent, guests of honor, and musical performers, exciting anime season updates, a vibrant artist alley, and the return of Hololive.
Musical Guests
We were graced this year with Yoko Takahashi, who did a meet and greet and performed a full concert. Fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion got to hear their favorite childhood song sung live—the iconic “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis.” While I didn’t attend this concert since I had seen her previously at Manga Barcelona, I heard it was incredible.
Another notable music guest I was excited for was JAM Project, who performed amazingly and brought incredible energy to their set!
Artist Alley
The artist alley, as usual, completely blew me away with the talented vendors. One standout was illustrator Stacy Figueroa Art, who had adorable Apothecary Diaries charms and even rarer Cyberpunk: Edgerunners merchandise!
Cosplay Scene
Cosplayers came out in full force! It was amusing to see the unofficial cosplay photoshoot area now had a hard “no” sign posted, thanks to last year’s crowd taking over the far side of the Javits Center. But that didn’t deter them as they decided to use the official area this time.
Surprise Encounters
I had a fun moment accidentally bumping into the Real Real Japan podcast hosts, Cameron and Sugi. At first, I thought they were fans cosplaying them, but no—it was actually them! They’re fantastic teachers who break down the quirks of the Japanese language and keep listeners updated with the latest nuances.
Venue & Logistics
The convention was again hosted at the Jacob Javits Center. While the high attendance is great news for the convention’s success, the space felt slightly cramped this time. I wish they would utilize the full extension of the convention center to give attendees more breathing room.
My only real complaint was the lack of mobile service inside the venue, though this is a common issue at most pop culture conventions held at the Javits.
Overall, Anime NYC 2025 was another fantastic year, and I’m already looking forward to next time (August 20-23rd 2026)!
Did you go to Anime NYC 2025? What were your highlights? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
We’re always looking for new writers that are truly passionate about stuff – we give you the review materials, the platform and the support to say what you feel from the heart. If you’d like to write opinion pieces about pop culture topics or reviews, reach out to us using the contact us form.
