AnimeNEXT 2015: End Of An Era For A Great Starter Con

AnimeNEXT is the largest independently organized anime convention in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. The convention features Japanese creators of anime and manga, voice actors from anime series, Japanese musical acts, artists, vendors and exhibits, panels, workshops, and gaming. AnimeNEXT has been around since 2002 and is organized by Universal Animation held at the Garden State Exhibition Center in Somerset, NJ.

For me AnimeNEXT is a big con. Not in terms of size, because I have been to bigger cons. I mean in sentimental value. This was the first ever con I attended, way back in 2011 with a group of friends I made in my last year of college. While it wasn’t that long ago, I have attended the con every year since. I actually planned on not going back to the con after having such a horrible time back in 2013. But after my ColossalCon 2014 plans fell through last minute, I went to Anext and actually had a blast. It took me out of my cosplay and con going funk I was dealing with at the time. So I decided to attend one last time this year, and I am glad I did

While the con hasn’t changed much since I first started going, other than number of attendees, this year’s Anext definitely had a lot of congoers. It was very noticeable as cosplayers could be seen all over the area where in previous years they were more spaced out, and mostly gathered in one area. It was nice to see so many people in attendance for the con. However that was a double-edged sword as lines were crazy. I heard people were on the pre reg line for hours, some even succumbed to the heat during the weekend which I’ll get to later on. But it was noticeable how crowded this year was. In my previous years I hardly noticed the amount of people there if it wasn’t for a photo shoot, gathering, or at the rave. But it shows the con has definitely had an increase in attendees compared to last year.

One thing I will give AnimeNEXT — the area for it is great. The Garden State Exhibition Center is perfect for this con. Surrounded by hotels it’s just the cosplayers and attendees there. And it makes for a good “out of area” experience. Some of my favorite things to do at the con is watch the Pokemon/Digimon Soccer game, see the various group meet ups by the lakefront, even play a couple matches of Volleyball with other attendees. These are a few things this con has over others — due to the area, a lot of fun events can take place.

Going back to the weather, this year was one of the hottest weekends I’ve experienced at this con. I expect this kind of weather at cons like Otakon and DragonCon. It wasn’t even this hot at ColossalCon. Most of this con’s activities and main areas are all outside, so the heat was excruciating. Some people even suffered from dehydration, heat exhaustion, and fainting. What I did love is how the con handled that and how there was bottled water given out by con staff for congoers to stay hydrated. It was nice to see something like this at a con. It’d probably be harder to do at bigger cons, but due to the smaller size of Anext it was a nice gesture by the cons.

Also, during the con, I heard it is moving to Atlantic City for 2016. Maybe the con creators saw how big the crowd for Anext got over the last few years, and needed a bigger convention center. Last month Atlantic City Boardwalk Con took place and was a hit with a lot of cosplayers. Maybe they’ll have the same luck with their first year at this new location. However upon talking to a few cosplayers and congoers at AnimeNEXT there seemed to be a divided feeling on the matter. Some hated that the con was moving, some were happy. Much of the AnimeNEXT audience seems to be high school kids, a much younger crowd than that you see at bigger cons. A cosplayer actually said in a conversation I had with roommates that she’s been attending the con for the past 10 years, ever since she was in 9th grade. Sadly one thing’s for sure, they are going to lose a lot of their younger audience next year. I really hope the best for AnimeNEXT. It’s a cheap con to attend which was its big selling point. Now moving to a new location can help them, or it can hurt them. If you are in or close to the new area I recommend checking it out.

Every year I attend this con, and I saw it as the way to kick off summer. But after attending every AnimeNEXT since 2011 I have to say in all honesty that this was my last year attending.

Not because the con is a bad con, far from it. If you’re in the area, and love smaller cons it was perfect. A lot of my friends actually attend the con, and seeing them alone made it all worth it. But after attending ColossalCon just before it, I found a new summer kick off con. AnimeNEXT has and always will be a good con in my book. Even though due to area of the con, if it rains like it did in 2013 it really shows how small it can be, with the new con center I hope that won’t be an issue. But after experiencing ColossalCon, it’s time to move on. But for those unable to attend ColossalCon, AnimeNEXT is a pretty chill small con, and one that can be perfect to bring in beginners to the cosplay congoing scene, it worked for me.

(Ed. Note: All images used are from Adam Etheridge‘s 2015 AnimeNEXT coverage.)