Introduction

Nine years ago, Anime NYC graced the Jacob Javits Center and gave anime fans a place to call home for several days. Cosplayers, vendors, merchandise, photo ops, voice actors, and panels galore made it a place where, just for a moment, we could dive into our inner nerd and geek selves and experience pure bliss — as long as we could handle the financial aftermath. Cons aren’t cheap, after all. We once again laced up our best walking shoes, grabbed our backpacks, and sprinted toward Anime NYC 2026. Is this beloved convention finally nearing its perfect form, or does Anime NYC still have lessons to learn from events like Comic Con or Anime Expo? We share the good and the not so good from our time at Anime NYC 2026.

Fantastic Assortment of Vendors and Booths

One common complaint across past Anime NYC conventions was the occasional feeling that there simply wasn’t enough to see and do. The Jacob Javits Center is a genuinely massive facility, and in earlier years, the convention barely utilized a fraction of it. As the years have passed and Anime NYC has grown in popularity, the event has expanded to match — and in 2026, it is easily one of the biggest anime conventions on the East Coast. With four days available, it felt like just barely enough time to take in everything Anime NYC 2026 had to offer. That’s a great problem to have.

From the stunning artwork of Artist Alley to the packed Exhibit Hall filled with small and large vendors alike, Anime NYC 2026 had something for everyone. Yen Press and Seven Seas Entertainment were on hand with stellar prices and a wide selection of series. Pokémon cards and anime-related cards of all values were available from numerous vendors catering to collectors at every level. Official merchandise from major anime groups? Crunchyroll and Anime NYC’s own officially licensed product lines were both represented. We could spend pages listing every vendor we visited, but we’re still recovering from the extended bouts of line-standing.

Needless to say, Anime NYC 2026 clearly listened to its community and delivered a convention worthy of the price of admission. We even got to meet the creator of Project 100 (which we reviewed here), who was showcasing art pieces from the series and the upcoming second volume (which we hope to review soon). A genuinely lovely moment.

Perhaps the most exciting discovery was the gaming-focused section of Anime NYC 2026, featuring indie games, dice-related titles, and several Japanese arcade cabinets. It was a little hidden — it took us a while to find it, and honestly we only tracked it down thanks to observant convention-goers who posted about its location online — but when we found it, our eyes lit up. Watching people play card games and roll for initiative in quick D&D sessions was exactly the kind of unexpected joy a great convention delivers. Our only complaint about this section is how hard it was to find. Anime NYC 2027 might want to give it a more prominent spot.

After four days, our wallets were thoroughly emptied — but we walked away with mountains of merchandise, big and small. Maybe not the wisest financial decision here at SunsetNerdVerse, but you only live once, right? We’ll keep telling ourselves that as we chip away at the credit cards we may or may not have used on pins and prints from Artist Alley.

Panels and Events Galore!

Are you a fan of VTuber Iron Mouse and her incredible voice (which should tell you something about our tastes)? Or maybe you wanted to experience Re:Zero music performed live? Anime NYC 2026 had you covered on both fronts. The panels and events this year were phenomenal, and we genuinely wished we could clone ourselves to attend more of them simultaneously. Panels showcasing upcoming anime and films were scattered throughout the weekend (we heard a whisper that 5 Centimeters Per Second may be getting a live-action adaptation), and voice acting legends like Johnny Yong Bosch and Sungwon Cho were both in attendance and both absolutely worth seeing. We saw some comments online suggesting there wasn’t enough to do at Anime NYC this year and we were genuinely puzzled. If you couldn’t find something of value at Anime NYC 2026, you simply weren’t looking hard enough.

Overcrowding Is Getting Worse…

Unfortunately, with any convention as large as Anime NYC, problems are inevitable, and the biggest one this year was overcrowding. In past years we’ve made similar notes about crowds becoming an issue, but Anime NYC 2026 took it to an entirely new level. Thursday (the opening day) was relatively manageable. Lines existed for day-one merch and popular booths (the Arknights: Endfield booth sold out remarkably fast), but getting around felt fine. Even waiting to enter didn’t feel like much of a burden.

That all changed on Friday.

We had anticipated, as convention veterans here at SunsetNerdVerse, that the weekend would be packed. We were not prepared for what actually happened. Reports from various sources put attendance at over 150,000 across the convention, and we felt every single one of them on Friday and Saturday. Navigating through Artist Alley or the Exhibit Hall became a constant exercise in patience and apology. We found ourselves bumping into people so frequently that it became a minute-by-minute occurrence. The crowding created cascading problems: panels without advance reservations became essentially lottery tickets, certain areas of the convention carried some notably unpleasant odors, and taking photos without blocking foot traffic became a genuine challenge.

We’re not suggesting limiting badge sales (that would be doing a disservice to thousands of fans), but we do think Anime NYC 2027 needs to better utilize the full convention space, particularly the upper floors of the Jacob Javits Center. Moving panels and events to higher floors would spread attendees more evenly and help take some of the pressure off the main floor. It’s a solvable problem, and we hope the organizers are listening.

Law Breakers Ran Rampant This Year!?

A side effect of the current world climate made itself known at Anime NYC 2026, and it went well beyond the typical harmless convention mischief. Police were called in response to theft involving art prints and Pokémon cards, and one incident made the news when nearly $10,000 worth of Pokémon cards were stolen. Fortunately, the individuals responsible were identified and apprehended quickly, and we noticed a noticeably heavier police presence afterward. Crime shouldn’t be a concern at a place like Anime NYC, and for the vast majority of attendees it wasn’t. But the actions of a few bad actors cast an uncomfortable shadow over what should have been a purely joyful event, and it’s something the convention will need to address with increased security measures going forward.

Anime NYC 2026, even with its few issues, was an extraordinary experience. Given unlimited time and no work obligations, we would have spent every hour within those walls without a second thought. We still managed to hit a solid number of panels, reconnect with friends, make new ones, and acquire enough merchandise to make our families genuinely concerned about our financial priorities. We cannot wait for what will be the 10-year anniversary that is Anime NYC 2027, and we hope to be there as badge holders once again, ready to Naruto run straight to the nearest limited merch booth. Let us know in the comments or on our socials what you loved about Anime NYC 2026 and any standout moments you experienced. As always, stay in our forever nerd heaven here at SunsetNerdVerse. Catch you all at Anime NYC 2027!