MangaNEXT 2012
Looking down on the lobby from the second floor.
Location: Sheraton Meadowland Hotel and Conference Center, East Rutherford, NJ
Dates Attended: February 25th, 2011
Another new con to add to the list! This was my first time attending MangaNEXT, a small con in New Jersey with a Manga industry focus. I haven't read a large amount of manga, but I was curious to check out the con since I have heard things about it for several years. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much in the way of programming that caught my attention and ended up feeling like I had seen everything after just a few hours. Still, while I fear I was not the target audience for this convention, I enjoyed my day and think that people who are more familiar with the world of manga than myself would find much of interest between the industry guests, artists, and more.
The Sheraton Hotel has a nice lobby; the natural lighting made for good pictures. Unfortunately outside there were 50 mph winds, so I was unable to get a good look around. The parking lot had large cement pillars that could make for a good industrial look. Upstairs was somewhat darker though there was a span of windowed space that could be used for photos. As far as food was concerned, I saw a Starbucks and a restaurant that seemed on the expensive side. The Starbucks didn’t have a lot of seating, but there were a good number of chairs and tables in the lobby.
The Dealer’s Room was on the small side, but there were definitely some good booths; a little bit of everything one would expect to find. There was plenty of room to move around and look at everything, plus the lighting was decent. I think there was more shopping to be done though in the Artist’s Alley. The quality and variety of the artwork was fantastic and it was really my favorite part of the convention. Every artist I spoke to was friendly and many were taking sketch commissions right there; I was also pleasantly surprised to see some industry professionals with tables. It was worth the half hour drive to explore and I didn’t leave empty handed.
There was a photo booth set up, but cosplayers had to pay for their pictures; five dollars for one print. There were also several tables set up to do promotions, including one that was promoting the recently released The Secret World of Arrietty and handing out full-sized movie posters to con-goers while the movie trailer played. My group did pop in on the Super Mario Super Panel, but the room was crowded and the audience seemed to be on the rowdy side so we ended up ducking out quickly; it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I want to say that every member of the MangaNEXT staff I interacted with was helpful, polite, and friendly. Having been to a good number of conventions in the past few years and read a good deal of post-con feedback, I know one can never appreciate a good staff enough. Because of this, I extend my personal thanks to the staff members I met for being accommodating, smiley, and downright nice. You folks were great!
All in all, I had a good time at MangaNEXT, though my time there was relatively short. It made for a nice day-trip and gave me a dose of convention that I would have otherwise been waiting until April to get. I think someone with greater knowledge of the manga industry than I would benefit more from the offered programming and suggest some broader panels for the future, maybe about genres or production. I’d definitely keep an eye on this con for next year because I really do look forward to seeing what they will do next.
Dates Attended: February 25th, 2011
Another new con to add to the list! This was my first time attending MangaNEXT, a small con in New Jersey with a Manga industry focus. I haven't read a large amount of manga, but I was curious to check out the con since I have heard things about it for several years. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much in the way of programming that caught my attention and ended up feeling like I had seen everything after just a few hours. Still, while I fear I was not the target audience for this convention, I enjoyed my day and think that people who are more familiar with the world of manga than myself would find much of interest between the industry guests, artists, and more.
The Sheraton Hotel has a nice lobby; the natural lighting made for good pictures. Unfortunately outside there were 50 mph winds, so I was unable to get a good look around. The parking lot had large cement pillars that could make for a good industrial look. Upstairs was somewhat darker though there was a span of windowed space that could be used for photos. As far as food was concerned, I saw a Starbucks and a restaurant that seemed on the expensive side. The Starbucks didn’t have a lot of seating, but there were a good number of chairs and tables in the lobby.
The Dealer’s Room was on the small side, but there were definitely some good booths; a little bit of everything one would expect to find. There was plenty of room to move around and look at everything, plus the lighting was decent. I think there was more shopping to be done though in the Artist’s Alley. The quality and variety of the artwork was fantastic and it was really my favorite part of the convention. Every artist I spoke to was friendly and many were taking sketch commissions right there; I was also pleasantly surprised to see some industry professionals with tables. It was worth the half hour drive to explore and I didn’t leave empty handed.
There was a photo booth set up, but cosplayers had to pay for their pictures; five dollars for one print. There were also several tables set up to do promotions, including one that was promoting the recently released The Secret World of Arrietty and handing out full-sized movie posters to con-goers while the movie trailer played. My group did pop in on the Super Mario Super Panel, but the room was crowded and the audience seemed to be on the rowdy side so we ended up ducking out quickly; it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I want to say that every member of the MangaNEXT staff I interacted with was helpful, polite, and friendly. Having been to a good number of conventions in the past few years and read a good deal of post-con feedback, I know one can never appreciate a good staff enough. Because of this, I extend my personal thanks to the staff members I met for being accommodating, smiley, and downright nice. You folks were great!
All in all, I had a good time at MangaNEXT, though my time there was relatively short. It made for a nice day-trip and gave me a dose of convention that I would have otherwise been waiting until April to get. I think someone with greater knowledge of the manga industry than I would benefit more from the offered programming and suggest some broader panels for the future, maybe about genres or production. I’d definitely keep an eye on this con for next year because I really do look forward to seeing what they will do next.
This review was written for Jolt Photography. Do not repost without written permission.