Photo by John Rosado / SOC Images.
On Saturday, April 25, the Meadowlands Exhibition Center came to life. Cosplayers were decked out in ballroom-style gowns and large gargoyle wings, snapping photos while groups of friends huddled on the ground playing card game Magic: The Gathering.
The annual Castle Point Anime Convention, a student-run anime convention, was taking place inside the Secaucus convention center with various events and activities for guests to participate in, such as a gaming section where guests played iconic games like Dance Dance Revolution, Super Smash Bros. and Mortal Kombat 1, to name a few. Right across from the gaming section were the artists’ and dealers’ area, where local vendors could promote and sell their anime-inspired art and merchandise.
Joey Labelle, an avid fan of the convention, streamer, YouTuber and voice actor, was set up in the dealers’ area, where he was streaming live on Twitch.
“I’ve been coming to Castle Point for over three years now, and it’s easily one of the best artist alley curations on the East Coast,” Labelle told Slice of Culture, who also goes by TheJohnChairs.
Outside in the yard area of the exhibition center, fans took a break from the crowded convention environment and enjoyed catered Asian foods such as pork belly and bubble tea.
Strolling near the Go, Go, Go Curry and Chef J’s Latin Dragon food stands was Nobel Vale, an attendee who was covered in various assorted Pokémon enamel pins and expressed his excitement for the convention.
“It’s a great place to immerse yourself in the fandom,” said Vale, who came to the convention to check out the panels and artists.
Panel guests included Ricco Fajardo and Zeno Robinson from anime My Hero Academia as well as Kira Buckland, the voice of Jolyne Cujoh.
Valerie Marroquin and her partner, Louis Ramos, cosplayed together and came to the event dressed as Golden Frieza (Valerie) and Goku (Louis) from the hit shonen action anime and manga series Dragon Ball Super. Marroquin and Ramos told Slice of Culture that they came to the event in Secaucus as it was one of the cheaper conventions available in the NJ/NY area.
On Sunday, fans got to end Castlepoint on a high note as dedicated fans who waited in line got the opportunity to enjoy a concert starring J-Pop artist and rapper Lotus Juice, who is a Tokyo and New Jersey native. Lotus’s latest work was on the video game Persona 3 Reload, and his song “It’s Going Down” went viral on TikTok in 2024, as well as topped Billboard Global Japan Song charts.
Labelle, who also happened to catch Lotus Juice performing his set, summarized the set, saying “It was an absolute banger.”
You can follow Castlepoint Anime Convention on Instagram to stay updated on future events, as well as join the Castlepoint Discord.
