Anime’s ‘Big Three’ showcased at New York Comic Con 2022

By Ryan Pullido
Eagle News Service

(Eagle News) — As the annual New York Comic Con concludes for the year, thousands of people walked away with positive memories of the event. New York Comic Con offered a celebration of pop culture for attendees covering anime and video games to movie and television shows. 

One of the highlights of the event was the 20th anniversary of the franchise anime Naruto. The manga, written by Masashi Kishimoto and published on September 21, 1999, received positive feedback from fans all over the world, which led to fans translating the manga and making it available online before it was licensed.

A Naruto display at the New York Comic Con 2022. (Photo by Ryan Pullido, Eagle News Service)

In 2003, Viz Media acquired the rights to the manga and published it in their comic magazine Shonen Jump. On October 3, 2002, Naruto became an anime series and hit the television screens in Japan. The anime became a worldwide hit and later became dubbed as one of the “Big Three” of the anime world — the other two being Bleach and One Piece

The “Big Three” anime were heavily featured at this year’s Comic Con. A giant model of One Piece’s main character “Straw Hat” Luffy stood in the middle of the Jacob Javits Center. Behind the towering model an LED screen played a preview of the anime’s latest movie: One Piece Film: Red. The One Piece booth kept to the theme in the shape of Straw Hat’s ship “The Thousand Sunny.”

A giant model of One Piece’s main character “Straw Hat” Luffy stands in the middle of the Jacob Javits Center during the New York Comic Con 2022. (Photo by Ryan Pullido, Eagle News Service)

Bleach also made an appearance at the Con as the anime series reached its 20th anniversary this year. Viz Media promoted the revival of the series with free gifts such as posters and pins, as well as a picture booth where fans could take pictures with their favorite characters from the show. Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War serves as the final arc of the long-standing anime. The manga ended in 2016 and fans can now watch the final hurrah and conclusion in the anime. 

Approximately 200,000 people attended New York Comic Con this year compared to 150,000 in 2021 because of pandemic restrictions.

Many cosplayers and fans alike looked forward to the four-day event to see or dress as their favorite characters. For cosplayers, New York Comic Con was a chance to showcase the hard work they put into their costumes, capturing the little nuances and getting the right fabric and hair to match their characters.  

Whether it was their first time experiencing Comic Con or a veteran attendee, New York Comic Con brought about a sense of excitement and awe for all comic culture fans. 

(Photo by Ryan Pullido, Eagle News Service)

(Eagle News Service)