With a pretty long day with bait musuems and a fairly successful AnimeNYC before it, there is nothing left to do now but to go home, let’s see how our journey went and let’s review some of the merch and loot that I brought back from this years trip to NYC.

We checked out of the hotel pretty late, at like 10:30am this time, the flight back home this year was later than normal, around like 2:30pm so there was ample time to get to the airport. With that said, we decided to go back the same way we came here, using the subway and public transit oh boi.

After some minor confusion and hesitation on what subway station to enter, we decided to enter Penn station proper into the concourse to get to the subway, something which have no done before as I am used to just soldiering it down the stairs with luggage in and but my sister said to try this way maybe it’s easier/has more elevators etc. Let’s see.

While the initial escalator down to the underground is good and nice, we ultimately kinda backtracked back to where the other subway statiosn we were supposed to go to anyway so yea, it’s good if you want to reduce stairs but it is overall more backtrack so it has some pros and cons.

Riding the subway in NYC, on our way out.

We eventually get to Roosevelt and something station, the same one which we used for the free Q70 shuttle to the airport. Oh boi stairs? No, the elevators were working now but damn, it’s extremely slow, and you have to take like 3 of them just to get back to the top, which is normally like 3 flights of stairs. Slow but I guess the price of lazy and accessibility I suppose.

Because the elevators were so slow we barely made it to the bus which was already loading people on board. We just managed to make it and squeeze in, very tight but yea. We could have just waited for the next bus but who knows that will be, better make it on while it’s here.

After a very squished and tight busride, we make it successfully back to LaGuardia airport. Proof of alive existence, from my sister, a sigh of relief I suppose and applause.

Proof of airport alive existence, still tired but alive, let’s go home edition.

Check into Air Canada and drop off luggage. I still remember my first time coming to NYC alone and I came here so early, like 3 hours or so and I had to wait because it was early they weren’t even accepting luggage for my flight yet. Not today luckily.

LaGuardia is so nice an familiar to me. Everytime I come to NYC I think about maybe using another airport like JFK or Newark cause it’s a bit cheaper but in the end, the location of this airport and it’s easy connection to the subway/transit is unbeatable and I still end coming here.

Wow very busy going through security this time of day, super busy, it was a bit of a wait. Good thing I don’t have to take off my shoes or unpack my laptop and other electronic devices from my bag, fucking Pearson is the worst. I still don’t understand how Pearson scanners can’t detect/scan computers in their bags? same for shoes? Pearson need to upgrade their machines for sure man, sucks so much.

Since we are on our way out, gotta get some of that Shake Shack for lunch, as per tradition.

They have touchscreens now to order, nice, I can’t remember if they had them the last time I came here. The prices once again have increased a bit I think.

Ended up getting some special limited burger that has bacon and avocado. It seems very California or so with the avocado but why not.

Overall pretty good shit, I don’t know if the avocado adds much, just some more creamy texture same for the bacon, just more salty smoky taste. I know we have Shake Shack at home now but for some reason eating it at the airport in NYC just tastes better, maybe it’s just me but maybe they give more meat in the patties in the US or something I dunno, more thick. Good shit, although still so expensive, I think my meal combo was like $25+ or something when all is said and done, shit expensive but what can you do.

Waiting for our plane now. We got a email/notification to do a survey for AnimeNYC for feedback for this year’s convention. I usually do this later but decided to do it now, since why not good to kill the time. My sister did the same. When we finished we just barely noticed that they were announcing that they were boarding our flight, like all passengers, not just any particular zone. Oh shit lol. We were so engrossed in the filling out the long ass survey that we almost missed boarding our flight lol shittt. I didn’t think the survey was that long to do, like 20-30mins but I think the flight itself was boarding a bit earlier than usual so yea, shit happens. Luckily we got on.

When we got on, I think we were like the last 3 or 4 people left to board, damn lol. I guess doing that survey really made us lose track of time. Ahwell, what matters is we did it.

Once again the flight is extremely quick, like only an hour in the air and an additional 30 mins or so of pre-flight and post-landing waiting. I noticed that these new seats now for these cheaper flights have a place to put your phone to watch shit instead of having a flow blown screen entertainment system, hm, not bad. Our flight went without incident and made it back to Toronto with little issue, good shit.

However, since Pearson is like the worst airport, we spent alot of time waiting for customs declaration and waiting for those dumb machines and they were absolutely swamped, it was like all of a sudden 10 planes landed at once and everyone wanted to go through the system.  Two lines, one for Canadians and another for others and for some reason they got mixed in and blended. In the end it didn’t’ matter because almost everyone went through the same process anyway. The security is so busy and overwhelmed with people, it’s super easy for illegals or criminals to jump pass customs it’s actually embarrassing. Just look at the luggage pickup area, it’s normally never this busy but for some reason it was super busy. It was so busy that the screens which normally show where your luggage was being dropped off, didn’t even show our plane because it overflowed, there was too many to display so it didn’t show our flight.

We eventually found the turnstile that had our luggage and got our luggage. The next task was to get out of here, we had our dad pick us up but that itself was an ordeal because the traffic outside for pickup was horrendous. By the time we got back home, due to traffic and just general slowness, it was almost 3 hours since we landed back home in Toronto. Damn, the drive home is longer than the actual flight. Ah-well, at least we made it back in one piece with not losses to our shit. With that said, let’s review some of the things I got from this trip and some final thoughts at the end.

Unlike previous trips and like recently from Alaska, not too many clothes items this year. Just a Hololive Justice tshirt from Omocat to fulfill the stamp rally and an official animeNYC shirt which I usually get as well, this years design is pretty good.

When I saw this vinyl Final Fantasy Tactics selection OST with the new artwork for the remaster that came out last year, I knew I was gonna buy it at the Kinokuniya. As a big fan of the original game and fan of the music from this game, this was a no brainer. Looks like I have become something of a vinyl collector myself, just like hats I suppose and other physical media. I must cherish and get physical media as much as I can before it all goes away in this ruined digital only world meta.

I also saw that they were selling a new collectors editor of Mushishi in hardcover omibus version in Kinokuniya so I was like, hell yea boi I must buy. They had a sign saying that if you brought the first vol they would give you a mini postcard shikishi board as a bonus. They only had volume 3 for some reason so I brought it any ways, I asked if they had the bonus and they said no, it’s only for the first vol. So wut. Later on in the con I found another store that did have vol 1 and so I brought it. I thought about maybe going back to Kinokuniya and asking hay, I brought vol one but you forgot to give me the bonus shikishi, but I opted not to, due to time constraints and such with Hololive booth being a prioority. Ahwell, guess I have to buy vol 2 and wait for the vol 4 and 5 omnibus books when they come out. One of the best anime shows ever created.

The two signed artbooks by Nagishiro Mito, most famously known as the illustrator and character designer for Hololive’s Shirakami Fubuki. I can’t remember how much they were, I think they were like $20 each and if you brought them both, you auto get his autograph on them, since dude was just sitting there at the J18 booth. It still kinda sucks for my sister how her lottery autograph experiences went and the animeNYC fuckup on communication but at least for me pay to win is fine for me lol. Next time they do this, they should communicate clearly and not even have his autograph as a lottery draw in the first place, makes it easier for everyone. Like these are not even personalized, which is better in my opinion.

The art book pack I brought for Rosuuri which I also had her autograph. The artbook package came with two keychains and a nice tote bag too I think, or was that extra? I can’t remember but either way getting this signed was also cool as she is a frequent illustrator for many things I like and especially many Hololive illustrations.

The sleepy Ina plush from Ohmonah and the mini Kronii boros/snek plush from that rimustar plush store. Both gotten for the hololive stamp rally but still cool. I originally got Bae plush from the gacha but I swapped with my sister since she was making a bae itabag, unfortunately the bae plushie I traded with her got lost somewhere as she had it on her bag and probably came off, sad, but sometimes losses happen. She ended up doing the same gacha again and got Fubuki instead and brought a bae rat plush from ohmonah anyways to fix the failure/regret.

All the ‘free’ stuff gotten from the hololive booth via the stamp rally. Really, it’s not quite free at all since you have to buy stuff in order to finish the stamp rally but it’s fine since I love hololive and buying stuff lol. The postcard for the super kararoke is nice too but I wish there was something more other than that. The hololive ID Anya fan is what I ended up with, not the worst but would have like someone else honestly. The bookmarks are ok, an improvement over the stickers they had last year but I wish they had something even more substantial like another nice tote bag, keychain, clear file or even plush. The only true freebie was the fan, as all you had to do was show proof you installed the Hololive dreams game.

Didn’t buy much plastic this time other than these items. A Ram big acrylic stand, official Azurlane New Jersey racequeen stand and a Irys gamer keychain from artists in gaming area. The New Jersey racequeen is actually a hybrid stand/magnet, you can put it on the fridge since it has magnets which is nice, which is what I will be doing lol. Each of these items were kinda expensive, I think both big standees were $35 and the irys keychain like $18.

From that store with uma/holo merch I ended up getting a kitasean magnet sticker, special week clear block card and a uma mini plate for $40. It’s still overpriced but sure why not. At the top left is a card thing I got of Raora from rimustar booth after you do the gacha, the other stickers and the mini 3d printed pebble are gotten from Holo fans just around giving stuff to other fans. The far right are some bullshit pins of shows of upcoming shows that I probably won’t watch from Hdive booth I think.

The full suite of goods from the Arknights endfield booth and it’s glorious round bag. That plush of that creature could have been a bandana, my sister could have gotten a metal mug, ahwell. The other shit are just clear plastic things I think.

I said it already but I’d say it again, the hyperdimension Neptune series is more or less a dead series now but I still like it’s art and illustrator work. Picking up this JP only pre-order bonus from this Noire spinoff Vita game at least to me, is rare, buy. If I go next year to AnimeNYC I should check out their booth on the first day to see what fresh new ‘retro’ goods they have in stock then.

When you buy something at ohmonah, they give you this hololive bag, it is a very nice bag and I used it for all the days of the convention to carry all merch and goods, even other bags. They are the same illustration used for the charm bags they were selling but honestly, why would I buy them when I can buy plush goods for equal or cheaper cost? Wonder why they picked bae instead of Kira, would have made it the full Myth lineup.

On the other side is the fuwamoco illustration, good shit. This is a nice bag indeed, comes with several straps to hold it with hand or on your shoulders.

All the free shit from that new game booth, Silver Palace. I have no idea, these are quite well made, including the bag but part of me feels like this is such a waste considering the game isn’t even out yet and nobody knows anything about this game or it’s characters. Excellent art tho.

GamerSups free samples of their energy drinks. Too bad they didn’t have any of their more choice flavors like the ones they were samples at the booth. The towel on the right from some unknown/not yet debut vtuber and it’s company, once again, why? Shouldn’t you do this later maybe when your talent has actually debut? I don’t know man.

These are mini-book samples of the offers that the J-novel booth had. Some I took more than one, others, I just took one.

Same place, except for free bookmarks, aka free paper. It’s nice that they don’t care, just take what you want really.

Since I brought tube this time, brought some prints as it is expected. Saw this nice Metal Slug print, it’s pretty rare niche shit so gotta buy nice.

Hololive prints of Gigi and Maid Kronii from lucidsky, another artist that I buy from on a yearly basis. What can I say, know what I like.

Some non-holo vtuber prints, Shiina Amanogawa aka ‘Sadbee’ as I call her from Phase Connect in her new Chinese clothes also by lucidsky and Dokibird from RoboCat, another artist I have been buying prints from for years now. Good shit.

Last two prints also from RoboCat, the same holo style that I like with the foil and frame of Gigi and Nerissa. Good shit. His shit is always more expensive than others but he knows his shit is better than most and the foil costs more too I think, his paper is thicker too so hm. With this, I have the full Advent set of his art. He should draw Promise/council girls but I’m surprised he hasn’t, I guess they are not his thing, while Gigi of Justice everyone universally likes watching understandably.

On to the last of this year’s NYC trip merch, some magnets and shit from the museums I went to on the last Sunday, pretty solid. I have no complaints. I normally buy a hat or shirt but I think after buying so much in Alaska, I can hold for another time, I mean, the chances that I will be back in NYC are high granted Hololive appears again at AnimeNYC so no rush, it’s not a ‘i’ll never be back here again’ kinda trip so yea.

And of course the last but not the least, the grand ultimate merch of this trip, the supremely rare and coveted Trader Joe’s tote bag which has captivated the people for some reason. My sister says that this bag is only popular in some regions where there is no Trader Joe’s like in Canada and elsewhere around the world as it something of a symbol of Americana, in that you are rich enough or know people well off enough to go to the US and buy a grocery bag to wear. I don’t know man, but it’s a thing. Do people really love Trader Joe’s that much? It’s just a grocery store to me with a bit more unique/unusual goods than most. Once again, I will put this to the test and I try and use this for groceries next week. If I am mugged or beat up for this bag to be stolen from me, then I guess they are right, this bag is hot shit. I still don’t get it tho.

And that wraps up my NYC trip in 2026 this year, once again, I mainly went for Hololive, and that is solely the main reason, everything else is extra. Unfortunately, this year they had their yearly EN concert in LA during Anime Expo so they did not have their EN concert in NYC like they did for the past two prior years. I hope they do it in NYC again next year or even a more different city that I haven’t been to but who knows, it’s only been NYC or LA due to popularity and travel reasons but we’ll see. If they do it again in LA, I might go to Anime Expo maybe but it’s too far man and LA isn’t a great city for exploration at all, I prefer NYC. It was a slightly different experience going to the con not solo, since my sister decided to come this time but in the end it was about the same, which is fine.

In terms of the con itself, I would say honestly it’s probably one of the weakest iterations yet which is saying something, they had guests but it was only last minute and they did not announce them properly so nobody knew about them and did not have any proper autograph or other special panels that I know of, if they did, I certainly didn’t know about it. It seems like this year AnimeNYC has had major issues with communication and PR, they are just kind of everywhere and don’t know when/how to communicate when they have guests. I experienced/heard first hand the fuckups that staff had with the Mito autograph ordeal when it came to guests and other instances/incidents such as artists/vendors money being stolen and even pokemon cards being stolen from guests/vendors. The issues with not lines persists and they really need to figure that out, if they grow more it’s going to become a bigger issue, just like Anime Expo, the premiere line-con in North America for basically everything.

The industry this year is weaker, with major space being taken by questionable companies like Friskies cat shit, which certainly raises an eyebrow and the absence or downgrade of many anime/game industry booths compared to last year compared to what usually appears at Anime Expo. The artists this year is weaker, several artists I thought was going to be here this year, did not appear, and some artists I thought were great, had much smaller booths, for instance RobotCat usually has a huge booth but this year it was quite small. The gaming area has improved a bit and it has largely been parity in terms of cosplay, although that is not something which I actively seek out, it seems that many popular fanbases were excluded from official meet up photo spots, such as Touhou leading to them organizing elsewhere like in the food area which also raises questions to organizers. The Hololive Karaoke party was great but it was kinda expensive for a ticket, the cost for admission for a 4 day pass to AnimeNYC has also increased quite a bit since the first time I went 4 years ago in the fall. I think Thursday is good but if it means making things cheaper, I don’t mind cutting it for a cheaper ticket and 3 day pass.

Overall this year’s AnimeNYC was ok, it was definitely weaker than the last year, and I can say that it is probably the weakest AnimeNYC that I have attended since coming to this thing since 2023. I don’t know what it is, but it seems like a organizer/management issue, they need to get their shit together if they want to continue to grow and make the con better, or else if they neglect it and make poor choices, they may very well end up collapsing if they cannot sustain it’s growth properly with good guests and bringing back holo and other events. However, despite my criticisms, I will still go to this con, given that Hololive is coming again with a special show/concert, and I think that’s what this con has become, if this con does not get Hololive to appear, it basically has nothing worth mentioning for me and that’s just the reality of the matter as it stands now with the caveat that I enjoy coming to NYC yearly, so I don’t mind if the con is shit every other year or so. I can always find enjoyment in some new activity/museum/sightseeing or even going on another food/pizza journey, NYC is  huge and I still haven’t gotten tired of it yet. Would I go again? Of course, granted Hololive is here again, otherwise no, I wouldn’t as per usual.