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New York Anime Fest - Author's Notes Notes assembled on a cold, rainy morning at the Newark Liberty International  Airport: Sorry for a small number of Friday costuming pictures, but we were late in getting to the convention. Our original flight itinerary gave us enough time to make a connecting flight, but that was changed when the second flight was cancelled and the first flight was delayed for deicing. Combine that with heavy traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel, and we didn't get to the Javits Convention Center until after 6 p.m. Friday, several hours later than planned. At least we got there in time for the underlit Friday night stage costume contest. The small number of entrants in that contest -- only 21 entrants, regardless of the chance of winning a trip to the 2008 World Cosplay Summit -- and Friday's light attendance led to some initial doubts about the new event's possibilities. However, Saturday was as crowded as 33rd St. after a Knicks game. It was hard to walk from one place to another in the main dealers' room hall, which is a sign of success. And there were more entrants for the Saturday hall costume contest (look for the pictures with the grey background in the group of Saturday pictures) than for the Friday stage show. Sunday seemed busier than Friday, although some dealers packed up and left early when Central Park Media had their last-minute giveaway. Most of the major anime vendors who also appeared at the February Comic Con run by the same company were back, with smaller presences. ADV Films did not use the big two-level display they had in February, and Viz had a smaller setup. TokyoPop's booth, busy with author signings and a gothic lolita fashion show, was the same size as in February. The dealer's room interleaved artists' alley tables on an aisle with larger vendors, putting them on the same level for sales opportunities. Several other conventions -- Katsucon, Otakon and Anime Boston among them -- were represented at the show. One of the more interesting booths was the Domo Nation booth, the launch for a campaign to introduce the Domo-kun Japanese TV network mascot as a marketable character in the U.S. We've been seeing the big, brown and boxy Domo-kun costumers at conventions for years, but this is the first time that anyone's tried to turn him into a product. We might have missed something, but we saw only one Domo-kun costumer all weekend - while we spotted the return of the furry Kappa Mikey mascot character at the show's booth. For those who have been at the Javits center; the comic con used a large upstairs room, while the anime fest used a slightly smaller downstairs hall, combined with a second neighboring hall that was used for panel rooms, video screenings and the maid cafe (recommended here for their salads). Based on the Saturday crowd, the inaugural event was a success, although there's plenty of room for growth in the nation's largest metropolitan area. Midtown Manhattan offers retail competition other conventions don't face, such as the Border's that's in the same complex as Madison Square Garden. We've noted that New York conventions are commuter conventions because of the cost of lodging and the lack of hotels next to the Javits center. For this weekend, the author became a commuter. With the nearest decently-priced motels in Secaucus, not far from the New Jersey location of AnimeNEXT, we booked a room there. Then, to get to the convention, it took a cab ride to the Secaucus train station, followed by a NJ Transit train ride to Pennsylvania Station, and a cab ride to the convention center. That was necessary when we learned that New York cabbies barely know how to find Secaucus, and when we discovered that a cab ride to that part of New Jersey would have cost three times the price of the train and cab combination. This writer had one weekend regret: he missed a memorial for Steve Pearl because he never learned of the event. Several fans gathered to celebrate the life of the American Otaking, and we would have been obliged to attend. The New York festival finishes 2007 convention trips for this site at 27 events; overall, we're just short of 200 in ten years. We're planning to get back to conventions in 2008 with Ohayocon, where we're told we'll have space again for a photo booth. We've already been able to set aside time for three days trips to Katsucon and Anime Boston, and we hope to make plenty more trips in the new year. New York Anime Fest Main Page