If you didn’t already know, Sailor Moon is back, friends! It was present all over AnimeNEXT and that even extended to the Artist Alley. But don’t worry, there was no overabundance of any one thing at the alley this year. Even titles like Attack on Titan and Kill la Kill didn’t seem to be in the overwhelming majority.

On a personal note, I was pleased to see a decent amount of Fire Emblem (mostly Awakening) love as well as more than a few Animal Crossing-related pieces in the alley.

But back to Sailor Moon! Megan Brennan had many small comics for sale including original work and she was one of the contributors to Hana Doki Kira which was a Kickstarted comics project. Her depiction of Luna’s trials with Usagi had me laughing right there in the aisle, I simply couldn’t pass it up.

As always I picked up some great buttons from the series as well. Two, I couldn’t choose, of Sailor Moon by Kristilyn who likes even bigger eyes than anime already has! Then there was the graphic nature of the very new group Tainted Sweets who I purchased a Sailor Mars button from.

I’m always on the lookout for a unique take on characters or the wares themselves. At this year’s AnimeNEXT I found everything from retractable badge clips, like the one I got from skim featuring Sailor Moon’s pendant; to 3-dimensional foam buttons by Gwydion. I was pleased and shocked to see how much detail she could put into these tiny handcrafted buttons without charging too much.

I enjoyed the eclectic selection of characters that Torisora was showing off at her booth including various iterations of Batgirl alongside characters from Free (I got a sticker of Makoto) and Attack on Titan (I got a sticker of Jean).

I was attracted to Raiisu’s soft yet vibrant colors. I picked up a Penguindrum keychain from her which highlighted Kanba.

I enjoyed seeing a few booths featuring pixel art in many forms including 3-dimensional plastic, embroidery, and in more traditional flat art. I picked up a button of Animal Crossing’s Reese and Cyrus by Geek Mythology Crafts.

Despite my best efforts I seem to have lost the business card of the person who made the Animal Crossing bookmark.

Cosumosu had some buttons featuring chibi, red-cheeked versions of many boys from Fire Emblem Awakening. I spoke with the ladies manning the booth a bit and they told me they might make more characters by Otakon time. We even talked a bit about playing the older games, too. I’m putting in my request now for Stahl, Ricken, Cordelia, Lyn, and Innes.

Next door was Faiell who had a playful style with a penchant for great expressions on the characters. I picked up some Haikyu!! buttons from her large selection. Looking at her tumblr, I wish I was able to pick up more pieces from her.

And finally, because no one should walk away without at least a little more Kill la Kill in their heart after this con, I picked up at big-headed Satsuki button from Kira.

I’d love to see the Artist Alley get, if not a dedicated space, a larger space. I heard this year there was a lottery in order to get a table which proves the convention is becoming a popular place for artists.

I always find myself wishing I could spend more money at each booth that I am impressed with but alas I must pick and choose. The fact that making these choices is so hard to do goes to show what wonderful work is being shown at AnimeNEXT’s Artist Alley.

I hope to see many of these artists at Otakon later this summer!

~ kate

Other AnimeNEXT 2014 Coverage:

AnimeNEXT 2014: Tweets
AnimeNEXT 2014: General Impressions
AnimeNEXT 2014: Studio Trigger
AnimeNEXT 2014: Concerts
AnimeNEXT 2014: Panels
The Speakeasy #054: Garden State Julep, AnimeNEXT 2014