Hey my fellow anime/manga lovers, I’m Sharon (@almondmoy), your overthinking anime/manga lover content creator bringing you Nakama Mail, your weekly newsletter bringing you upcoming events, industry news, artist highlights and more! All related to anime and manga that you love.

Cherry blossoms may have bloomed and gone, but spring isn’t over yet! Celebrate the season at this Spring Festival at Japan Village in Industry City Brooklyn. There will be live performances (including traditional Japanese dances from local prefectures), an artist market on the 2nd floor, food vendors outside, and games with prizes (including a chance to win a domestic flight ticket or Japan Village vouchers)!

Place: Japan Village | 934 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Time: Sunday, May 10, 2026 1:00 PM EST - 5:00 PM EST

Tickets: Reserve a spot here. Free General Admission.

Join TineeCon, a smaller convention in their 2nd year featuring a new venue, artist alley, food trucks and more! Their mission is to give back to the community and passionate fans of anime, cosplay and the fandoms.

Place: Sheraton Edison | 125 Raritan Center Parkway, Edison, NJ, 08837

Time: Sunday, July 12, 2026 11:00 AM EST - 6:00 PM EST

Tickets: Grab tickets here.

Indoor summer market by Anime Social Nexus for all ages featuring all things nerdy and anime. Including a variety of vendors involved in anime, gaming, Pokémon, collectibles, art, accessories, apparel and more!

If you or someone you know might be interested in vending, they’re still accepting applications until May 15, with responses being sent out between May 16 - June 1. Tables are $150 according to their Instagram post and the link to apply is here.

Place: Bridgewater Commons | 400 Commons Way, Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Time: Saturday, July 25, 2026 11:00 AM EST - 6:00 PM EST

Tickets: Grab tickets here. Admission is FREE.

Organized by the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, this East Coast debut brings you over 600 original artworks from artists that brought you InuYasha, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Ooku: The Inner Chambers, ONE PIECE, Bleach and more. Nothing really drives home that manga has become so mainstream as to have an entire exhibition dedicated to all kinds of original artworks by famous artists.

If you love BL/Yaoi, there’s even going to be works by Gengoroh Tagame, who is regarded as one of the biggest names and most impactful creator in the gay manga genre. Check out the artist spotlight at the end to learn more about him.

Place: Brooklyn Museum | 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY, 11238-6052

Time: October 3, 2026 - January 31, 2027

Tickets: Timed tickets will be required to purchase, but the exhibition was just announced recently, so they’re not available yet. Keep an eye on the exhibition for tickets on their site here (I will also announce in an upcoming newsletter when I see tickets become available). Also check out their website for ways to qualify for a discount/free tickets to the museum such as Culture Pass, Health Care Workers, SNAP/EBT cardholders, etc.

Born on February 3, 1964, Gengoroh Tagame didn’t start using this name until 1986. He worked as an art director in a company from 1986 before transitioning to be a freelance art director, freelance graphic designer and freelance illustrator in 1992. Finally in 1994, he became a full-time gay erotic artist. Most of his career and works depict sadomasochism, sexual violence, and hypermasculinity, but beginning in the 2010’s he began producing more non-pornographic manga that depict LGBTQ+ themes. One manga series showcasing this is his 2014 series, My Brother’s Husband. His art style is described by himself as “puma-kei” (or bear type) which are the masculine, muscular and hirsute (covered with hair) men that he draws.

Learn more and see his works on his website here (but heed the warning that this site is only for adults based on some of the content). Some of his works will also be showcased at the upcoming Art of Manga exhibition at Brooklyn Museum on October 3.

One phrase: green-flag yandere male lead. If that still doesn’t convince you then here’s a synopsis:

Male lead crown prince, Cecil, is such a genius that he finds life boring. Until he meets his fiancée, the female lead noble named Bertie, who claims to be the villainess of this world that she remembers as an otome game in her past life. Bertia does everything that she can to get Cecil to be with the heroine of the world, but since Bertia fails at being a villainess, her actions only spur Cecil to become more interested in her instead. Watch as Cecil does everything in his power to ensure that his own ending route remains with Bertia instead of the heroine.

Extra Details: The anime is still ongoing, but I highly recommend reading the manga because it’s complete with (SPOILERS-ISH AHEAD): a wedding scene and two kids. There’s even an ongoing sequel manga that is set to after the wedding but before the leads have kids. Also, Bertia has a pretty valid reason to why she keeps pushing Cecil to be with the heroine instead of herself, so she might seem annoying at first, but her actions will make sense when you find out the reason.

Available to watch on Crunchyroll and Prime Video (not sponsored haha).

Hope you enjoy!

That’s it from me. Now go clear your watchlist…or add 10 more, I don’t judge.
- Sharon (@almondmoy on all platforms)