Anime NYC Online Preview – 4 Nights of Fun!

Joining the ranks of virtually every major pop culture convention, New York City’s premiere anime event has gone virtual. Anime NYC Online is this week, and we’re going to take a look at what they have on offer.

Anime NYC Online has had months to get ready for their first virtual event; the news that the event would be moving online was announced all the way back in August, around the same time it became official that New York Comic Con would not be held at the Javits this year. This year’s convention officially runs from November 17-20, with programming happening primarily in the evenings (Eastern Standard Time).

However, both the virtual show floor and the online Artist Alley launched today and will be available for the next three months; you can browse vendors and and shop artist booths until February 15, 2021. There are over 100 companies and creators for you to check out, and quite a few of them have exclusive deals and unique merchandise.

(On a personal note, Anime NYC has my all-time favorite Artist Alley, so you should absolutely visit and try and support the artists, if you can. I get paid on Friday and definitely anticipate spending way more than I should.)

Programming is operating a little differently with this event than some of the other virtual cons that we’ve seen this year. Major cons like SDCC@Home and NYCC Metaverse took place primarily on YouTube, hosting a number of panels on their respective channels. (In the case of NYCC, I believe it had a fuller schedule this year than it’s had in years.)

Anime NYC Online will split its programming between YouTube – for things like premieres and screenings – and the free NTWRK app (which you can get here) – for the more traditional panels. There will also be a DJ Party on November 17 and a Love Live! concert on November 19 that will be viewable through the end of the month. You can view the full schedule here.

There are some other special extras for everyone, like the chance to make your own badge, digital downloads for your phone or computer, and a cosplay showcase, all of which can be found at Anime NYC Online’s main hub here.

I think we’re all a little weary of virtual conventions, but I’m sure we all agree that they’re necessary given the circumstances, and I appreciate that the cons are doing their very best to still give us a good event, even if we’re at home when it happens.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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