Cosplay Review of AnimeNext 2014

The weekend of June 6 I went to my favorite convention of the year, AnimeNext. It’s held in Somerset, NJ in a moderately sized convention center surrounded by gorgeous greenery on all sides. It was the nicest it’s been for a long time…probably because it’s the first year it didn’t downpour!

From running through the rain last year. Both my husband and that cross got out of the car bone-dry

The trade-off was almost unbearable heat. It didn’t stop people from dressing up, though! I was happy since I go to conventions just to see the cosplay. Honestly, I’m a teensy bit addicted to it. I can’t believe what people manage to pull off each year! One of my favorites, by far, was this spot-on Frozen group: I was in love with the Shopkeeper. He even had a little bottle of Yoohoo! he carried for pictures! Anna and Elsa were super popular, but so was Attack on Titan. You couldn’t turn around without seeing a soldier or a Titan on your heels. Personally, I think Starbucks Titan took the cake…or the latte, I suppose.

They’ve gotta stay awake somehow!

Retro! I have a weak spot for cosplays from older franchises. Since they’re pretty basic, people can put creative spins on them…or just do an awesome job of getting the originals right!

Bob Ross! He’s painting a happy little tree on that canvas.

Waluigi, Luigi, and Wario, Mario Kart Racing. Rainbow Road, anyone? Mononoke, Princess Mononoke. I want that mask so bad. Tetris Block. He was looking for someone’s day to ruin. Gaston, Beauty and the Beast. This guy was in character all weekend long. It was wonderful. One More Time! Did I mention that I love Daft Punk? Well, I love Daft Punk. I was really happy to see that they made their yearly appearance here too, just like Deadmau5. It isn’t a con until you’ve seen one of those two. The Deadmau5 costume was amazing. The picture doesn’t do it justice.

His hat glowed from the inside!

“Can I get your picture?” Then, of course, there were the amazing cosplays. Those are the ones that you walk past and can’t help but turn to take a second look. Here are some of them:

Dante and Phlegyas (I think?), Dante’s Inferno. Look at those props!! Look at their hats!!

Syaoran, Sakura, and Kurogane, Tsubasa Chronicles. I can’t get over how beautiful her hair was.

Anubis (Egyptian god of death). You could hear her coming from down the hall.

Pokemon Card Dress and Shoes. The back was all Psychic Energy cards!

Marceline, Adventure Time. It was simple, but everything about the costume was perfect.

“Hold on, I’m recording.” It’s hard to get a feel for the con just by looking at pictures from it, though, so check out this fantastic video by Close Quarters Cosplay! It really shows how playful and intimate AnimeNext is: There’s also this adorable skit by SERENITee from the ever-popular Masquerade, taken by FMAPhotoStudio: Those guys can move! And some Sleeping Samurai from AnimeNext’s YouTube page, just because. After all, who doesn’t love watching people beat the ever-living poop outta each other?