Anime Central brings an amazing array of Guests and Entertainers each year to delight our fans. Anime Central is currently collecting requests for the ACen 2018 convention! Want to see someone at ACen this year? Fill out this form linked here (one for each request) so we can get a idea of who you want to see. We may not be able to invite every request each year, but that doesn’t mean we cant make arrangements down the road! Thank you for your input!
Are you a voice performer, musical group, director or industry guest that would like the opportunity to be featured? Let us know your information below and we will reach out to you if we can feature you in our line-up!
Anime Central is rolling out our 2017 Guest and Performer List for our amazing 20th Anniversary event! Stay tuned for more news!
2017 Guests of Honor
Mamoru Yokota
Hippo
Lisle Wilkerson
Gacharic Spin
IMERUAT
Emily Neves
Alexis Tipton
May'n
Crispin Freeman
Putumayo
Toru Furuya
Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe
GOUK
Helen McCarthy
A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY
Tony Oliver
Micah Solusod
John Swasey
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Mamoru Yokota
Mr. Yokota was the producer for Air Movie, Kanon TV show and the animation director for Death Note. He was the character designer for Magical Kanan, Angelium, Rune Soldier Louie and Naruto Shippuden. He also worked on the production of Macross Frontier and was the key animator for its opening animation. Gaming fans will recognize his work in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II as the animation director and director of the opening sequence. -
Hippo
Arcade, card, online, smartphone games are the many sectors of gaming that hippo has been an illustrator for. He has a reputation for his planning, monster designs, and real world settings. As an illustrator he is mainly focused on card and smartphone games. Japanese Card Games, Dual Monsters, Battle Spirits, Arcade Fighting Card Games, Sengoku Wars, Sangokushi Battle (SEGA) Smartphone Application Game, Chain Chronicle, Rage of Bahamut, to name a few titles hippo has had a hand in. He is in charge of the artwork for many titles. -
Lisle Wilkerson
Lisle Wilkerson grew up in Tokyo, Japan. She speaks fluent Japanese, and does voice work in both English & Japanese. She is the powerhouse behind some of the gaming industry's most popular female fighting characters, such as Nina Williams and Christie Monteiro, Sarah Bryant from Virtual Fighter, as well as Joy and Xiuying in Shenmue II. She not only does video game voices, she has also done the voice of Badtz Maru (from Hello Kitty) and commercials for many internationally renown companies as Nissan, Panasonic, Sony, United etc Lisle did dubbing for two live action ULTRAMAN films, which were just recently in theaters here in the US. And she will be doing more work this year with the Ultraman franchise. Lisle acted alongside Bill Murray in the Academy Award winning Sofia Coppola film "Lost In Translation", and had a lead role in the award winning indie film "Kamataki”. She currently lives in Los Angeles, where she continues to do voice work, and also works as an interpreter. Lisle has interpreted for everyone from Keanu Reeves to best-selling author Marie Kondo to anime director Makoto Shinkai and Love Live Sunshine. She is also a local media correspondent for Japan, covering high-profile events like The Grammys, Academy Awards, Emmys and Golden Globes. And she does a monthly entertainment news show for Japanese television Lisle is also the assistant producer of the upcoming film, "Black Hat”. Most of Lisle’s panels are focused on Japanese culture, as well as about the VA world and working in Japan. (and yes, OF COURSE that includes many Engrish stories!!) Lisle is also excited about the 2020 Olympics being hosted in her home city, Tokyo, and has recently started doing quite a bit of work related to that. And when Lisle isn't busy working or running around the country doing cons, you might find her in her pink boxing gloves trying to save the world Nina Williams-style. -
Gacharic Spin
F Chopper KOGA (bass) TOMO-ZO (guitars) Hana (vocals & drums) Oreoreona (vocals & keyboards) Mai (dancer) Nenne (dancer) The most powerful and entertaining all-girls band, consisting of 4 musicians and 2 dancers, celebrating their 8th anniversary in 2017. Anyone seeing Gacharic Spin’s show would be amazed by the visually-strong energy-filled live performances and excellent musicianship, accompanied by non-stop high-speed dancing. While performing over 100 shows annually, the guitarist, the bassist and the drummer have all released tutorial DVDs confirming their skills as true musicians with excerpts from bassist F Chopper Koga’s instructional video reaching over 3 million views on YouTube. Having been eager to stretch their horizons outside of Japan since the very beginning, the group has toured in the US, France, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, as well as playing important festivals in Japan such as Summer Sonic 2014 and Countdown Japan 14/15. Their performance at the 2014 Japan Expo in Paris was extremely well received which was followed by a successful appearance at the J-Pop Summit in San Francisco in 2015. It was on the strength of their engaging live performance that won Gacharic Spin their record contract with Victor Entertainment in 2014. Having recorded a wealth of material before then, the first album released by the new label was a “best of” album featuring all their hits. After two new singles including “Don’t Let Me Down”, a song featured over the end credits of the popular animation series Dragon Ball Kai, the group released their long-awaited new album Music Battler in September, 2015 followed by a sold out tour of Japan as well as dates in South Korea and Taiwan. In June of 2016, having landed a major synch deal with a Japanese energy drink, “Shaki Shaki Shite” was released as the newest single. The product’s TV commercial featured not only this track but also all members of Gacharic Spin giving them a big opportunity to be recognized as an accessible pop group. September 2016 saw the release of the group’s latest efforts in the form of a 13-track full album Kakuhen which reached an impressive #13 spot on the official Oricon chart. Commemorating the 7th anniversary of their musical career, Gacharic Spin then embarked on an extended tour of Japan closing with the final show at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in November. The high-energy performance was duly captured on video and was released in February, 2017, debuting at #2 on the weekly DVD sales chart of Oricon. Gacharic Spin will be recording new material in 2017 as well as the four musicians of the group participating in a side project Doll$Boxx with singer Fuki. gacharicspin.com www.youtube.com/user/gacharicspinch -
IMERUAT
IMERUAT is a prominent music group formed by composer Masashi Hamauzu and vocalist Mina. Known around the world for his compositions for popular video games, among them Final Fantasy series, Hamauzu has earned a reputation among contemporary Japanese musicians as a master of his craft. He is joined by Mina, whose training is reflected in her exceptional vocal style and research into her Ainu ancestry. Her knowledge of traditional instruments is informed by a deep respect for the culture of Japan’s indigenous peoples. After years of preparation, the duo’s collaboration has culminated in the creation of the music series IMERUAT. (In the Ainu language, the name carries the meaning “Flash of light.”) Already the unique combination of Hamauzu’s progressive compositional style and Mina’s vocals have impressed audiences during concerts taking place in Poland, France, United States, Switzerland Hong Kong and Japan, garnering recognition among international audiences. 2012.4.25 Album “Black Ocean” Released 2014..2.12 Album “Propelled Life” Released 2017.4.21 Album “Far Saa Far” Release http://www.imeruat.com -
Emily Neves
EMILY NEVES is a voice actor, ADR director, and script writer for Sentai Filmworks and FUNimation. She has played over 120 characters, including Kanade “Angel” Tachibana in Angel Beats, Kotomi Ichinose in Clannad, Uryuu Minine “9th,” in Future Diary, Ayase in Guilty Crown, Kumin in Chunibyo, Yuuko in Disk Maiden of Amnesia, at least one cat in every anime she has directed, and many, many more. She directed Watamote; Maid Sama; Love, Chunibyo, and other Delusions; Rosen Maiden: Zurückspulen; and Dog and Scissors. She has written scripts for Yona of the Dawn, Snow White with the Red Hair, Planetarian, Eureka Seven, Hyouka, and, most recently, Masamune-kun’s Revenge. Emily is also a renowned stage actor, having performed in more than thirty productions since beginning her career as a professional actor ten years ago. She has been acting since she was eleven. Emily is also a burgeoning playwright, and had her first short play, Pretty Little White Girls, produced as a part of Mildred’s Umbrella’s short play festival, The Museum of Dysfunction. -
Alexis Tipton
Alexis Tipton has been working in the dubbing industry since 2008 and has loved every minute of it. She can be heard in over 150 titles so far with more announcements on the way! Some of her dub credits include Merle (FUNimation Re-Dub of Escaflowne), Kid Trunks (Dragonball Super), Haru Ichinose (Riddle Story of Devil), Chu Chu (Show by Rock!), Hana Midorikawa (Prison School), Tamazo (Puzzle and Dragons X), Honey (Space Dandy), Kazane Aoba (Keijo!!!!!!!!), Maria (Maria The Virgin Witch), Kureha Tsubaki (Yurikuma Arashi), Rena Kariu (ReLIFE), Kofuku (Noragami), Saya Kisaragi (Blood C/The Last Dark), Inori Yuzuriha/Mana Ouma (Guilty Crown), Rika Shiguma (Haganai), Kurumi Tokisaki (Date A Live), Julia Crichton (FMA: The Sacred Star of Milos), Moka Akashiya (Rosario+Vampire), Musubi (Sekirei), Mizuki Himeji (Baka and Test), Fukurou (One Piece), Yomi Isayama (Ga-Rei: Zero), Sun Seto (My Bride is a Mermaid), and many more (full list of credits can be found on Anime News Network). On top of anime dub work, her voice can also be heard in a handful of video games including NeiR: Automata as Pascal, Tales of Zestiria as Alisha, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven as Beatrix and Sarine, DBZ Xenoverse as Gotenks-Trunks, Borderlands 2, and more. She can also be heard in various foreign live action film dubs, most notably as Kaoru Kamiya in the live action Rurouni Kenshin trilogy. Alexis also served as assistant director on Love Live Sunshine and recently made her solo directorial debut with Masamune-kun’s Revenge. She has also provided vocals for various character songs and a few of FUNimation’s trailers. Alexis is also a stage and film actress. She lives and works in Dallas, Texas but also works in Los Angeles, California. Follow Alexis on Twitter @AlexisTiptonVA. -
May'n
May’n is a talented singer, singing pop, rock, dance, and R&B. She was the singing voice of Sheryl Nome in TV animation series, Macross Frontier in 2008. Both her songs released that year debuted in the Top 3 on the Oricon Weekly charts. In January 2010, tickets sold out instantly for her first solo concert at Nihon Budokan. She went on her first Asia tour in March, and a summer tour hitting 17 locations in July. In February 2011, she released a documentary movie, May’n THE MOVIE – Phonic Nation – which was released nationally. Since then, she has continued to deliver her songs in the form of concerts, and in 2013, she went on her national tour, hitting all 47 prefectures in Japan. May’n not only has performed in Japan but has over 60 times overseas in countries such as France, Germany, South Korea, Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, etc. She has attended numerous festivals overseas, and was even the main act in, performing last in nine locations in seven countries. May’n is planning her 5th tour hitting worldwide in 2017. Anime Theme Songs: “Diamond Crevasse” and “Lion” from Macross Frontier “Chase the World” from Accel World “Belief / Stay Alive” from Taboo Tatoo “Hikari Aru Basho E” from Izetta The Witch -
Crispin Freeman
Crispin Freeman is a voice actor, director and script adaptor who's been portraying characters in animation and video games since 1997. He's worked on a myriad of anime shows including Hellsing, Naruto, Ghost in the Shell, The Big O, Final Fantasy: Advent Children, Wolf's Rain, Witch Hunter Robin, Chobits, Blood+, Last Exile, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Slayers, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Durarara & Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Ponyo". In the world of video games he's played Superman, Iron Man, Dr. Manhattan, Legolas, as well as Will Turner from Pirates of the Caribbean. He plays the Male Wizard in Diablo III, Helios the Sun God in God of War III and both Breakdown and Grimlock in Transformers: War for Cybertron. He's been in such high profile Japanese games as Xenosaga, Final Fantasy, White Knight Chronicles and Metal Gear Solid. In American animation, he's voiced characters in the Spectacular Spider-man series where he played Electro as well as the show Wolverine and the X-men where he played Multiple Man. He's currently playing Speedy and Red Arrow in the DC animated series Young Justice. -
Putumayo
Known for their uniquely illustrated Lolita and punk-themed outfits, that no other brand can offer, Putumayo, has also expanded and evolved their brand to include “School Style” and “Gothic Style” themed fashion lines which add to the uniqueness of Harajuku trends. Joining us for 2017 Chief Designer Shunsuke Hasegawa! Also joining us with Putumayo is Kera model and singer Sakurako Hoshina who is currently modeling for Putumayo and have also model for other labels such as Baby The Stars Shine Bright, Atelier Boz, Q-Pot, and Algonquins. -
Toru Furuya
Toru Furuya is a veteran voice actor from Japan affiliated with Aoni Production, celebrating his 50th anniversary in the industry this year. With early success as Hyūma Hoshi in Star of the Giants and Hiroshi Shiba in Steel Jeeg, Mr. Furuya has become well-known for many major roles throughout his long career, including Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam, Pegasus Seiya in Saint Seiya, Kyōsuke Kasuga in Kimagure Orange Road, Toru Amuro/Bourbon in Case Closed, Yamcha in the Dragonball series, and Tuxedo Mask in the original Sailor Moon television series and movies. Mr. Furuya has also been featured as Taupy Toplan in Sands of Destruction, Shuren in Bleach, Bonnie Fraser in The Big O, UFOman in Ultimate Girls, the narrator in Akagi, as the voice of the Sacred Jewel in InuYasha, and as the voice of Akared in the Super Sentai series. More recently he has voiced Casshern in Casshern Sins, Dr. Kōsaku Tokita in Paprika, Alonzo Percy in Expelled from Paradise, and Sabo in One Piece. -
Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe
Shinichi Watanabe (aka “Nabeshin”) is known to anime fans as a larger-than-life, iconic figure with an outrageous sense of humor. He directed the comedy anime series Excel Saga, Nerima Daikon Brothers, and Puni Puni Poemy, which feature frenetic pacing and appearances by his animated alter ego, a mysterious, recurring character with an afro and distinctive outfit who is tangential to the story. Nabeshin has also served as series director for The Wallflower and Tenchi Muyo! GXP, and he can be found in these series as well, in cameo or supporting roles. Nabeshin has been quoted as saying that he places great importance in making viewers laugh. Stating that he values laughter as much as tears, his preference is to motivate viewers to have fun and enjoy a show. He reasons that his success stems from provoking the same, strong emotional investment?in a humorous way?as a traditional, sentimental story does. Nabeshin has also written lyrics for the opening songs of Excel Saga and Tenchi Muyo! GXP, and has served as storyboarder and episode director for a variety of other anime series. In 2016, Nabesin supervised “TO BE HERO” made by an animation production company in China.As a result, it gained great popularity outside Japan and China, and “Nabesin – taste” is healthy. -
GOUK
Takeshi Kunitomo was born in Fukuoka in 1970 and graduated from The Tokyo Bunka Fashion School in 1991. After graduating he performed as a fashion model in Tokyo and Paris. He joined S-inc. in 1993 and started “T.KUNITOMO” brand. Early T.KUNITOMO announced a collection that was remade American and French clothes. Then in the wake of a meeting with Indian and Southeast Asian materials and traditional handicrafts and announced the unique collection that was conscious of the roots of Japan. In 2003 he started his new brand “gouk” with the concept of Japan and the ethnic brand “kugo”. In 2011 he spin off fashion division from S-inc. and became the president of KINCS. He works actively on developing young designers and total fashion management. gouk made a presentation in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo in October, 2015 and March, 2016. Recently gouk made a collaboration with Hello Kitty, a very famous character and Bakumatsu Rock, a very popular Japanese animation. And gouk created new costume of Ryoma Quartet. They will release their debut album from Pony Canyon on July 27, 2016. -
Helen McCarthy
Helen McCarthy has been going to conventions for over 42 years. For most of that time she successfully hid her secret identity as a unicorn through the anonymity of cosplay. When that failed, she vanished into a forest of books from which she still emerges for conventions, somewhat haphazardly disguised as a normal human being. Part of her still lives in the Middle Ages and another part is in revolt against a future with no jet cars. This year she’s finally finished two novels. Now she just has to edit and sell them. She’s writing an update of her book on Hayao Miyazaki. She also wrote over a thousand poems in 2016 and hopes to create at least that many in 2017, possibly including a few good ones. Helen first encountered Japanese popular culture in Europe in 1981. There was no book on anime in English, so she set out to write one. She’s had twelve non-fiction books published in seven languages – English, French, Italian, Brazilian AND standard Portuguese, Korean, Chinese and Japanese. These include a biography of Osamu Tezuka acclaimed in Japan, two drawing manuals, a cross stitch book, and co-authorship of The Anime Encyclopedia. Encouraged to be creative and radical by her mother, grandmother, aunts, and the nuns who educated her, Helen is an independent scholar and proud founding member of the Fandom And Neomedia Studies organisation (FANS.) She was honoured to be the keynote speaker at their first conference. Her lectures and workshops about anime, manga, haiku, costuming, needlework and creative business have taken her around the world and are scheduled to take her to Japan for a symposium on cosplay this year. So if you spot someone small, loud and British around the convention, stop her and say hello. You will survive the experience, and you will have met a unicorn. That’s weird, but also rather cool. PS: bring haiku PPS: bring haiku, chocolate and kittens. PPPS: bring haiku ABOUT chocolate and kittens. And really big shiny edged weapons. But only if they’re properly secured according to convention rules. PPPPS: only dreaming about the weapons. Nobody should ever give me edged weapons. -
A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY
A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY performs at Anime Central in the Chicago area. We’re back at ACen with new repertoire and a new experience. Under the direction of conductor Eric Roth, and featuring the amazing skills of piano soloist Benyamin Nuss, the New World Players perform favorites and surprises by all of the FINAL FANTASY composers including Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, and Hitoshi Sakimoto from throughout the thirty year history of FINAL FANTASY. Eric Roth Eric Roth is known for an original and expressive musical personality, recognized internationally as an orchestrator/arranger, conductor, composer, and producer. Eric is a primary orchestrator and arranger for Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY, the internationally acclaimed live orchestra concert production and recording artist, and A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY, the chamber ensemble concert production. His orchestrations and arrangements have been performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, and others. In 2016 the Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo orchestra production launched with the Pittsburg Symphony. Eric is the primary arranger and orchestrator for this project. In 2011 he was the orchestrator and Associate Producer for Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony and also for 2013’s follow-up recording. In 2014 Eric was co-producer and the main orchestrator/arranger for A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY – Live in London release. Eric is also the co-music director of A New World, directing the production as conductor in numerous North American and Australian cities. He was the conductor for the “Surprise, Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,” at the United Center, Chicago 2011 for a list of performers that includes Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Usher, Kristin Chenoweth, Jamie Foxx and Josh Groban. Eric’s worked regularly as conductor and orchestrator for live performances by chart-topping singer/songwriter John Ondrasik/Five For Fighting and as conductor for performances by the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the KMH Symphony Orchestra (Stockholm, Oslo), and for orchestras/ensembles with artists such as Seal, Jewel and Stevie Nicks. Recent original music includes music for the documentary film Baseball's Been Very, Very Good to Me: The Minnie Minoso Story, music for Curious George’s Dictionary application for mobile devices and other applications by Scrollmotion, ER’s own recording of minimal percussion music Battery, Lyceum for Percussion Ensemble and solo recitation, Marquette, Michigan, The Clark Street Bridge Project for 80-plus percussionists—for the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and Secret Cheese—for the Tate Modern, London. etc. Eric’s taught at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (New York), Boston University (Distance Ed.) and other institutions. ABD for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition at The Graduate Center (City University of New York), Eric holds a MA from Mills College and a BA from the University of Michigan. His composition teachers include Tania Leon and Alvin Curran. -
Tony Oliver
TONY OLIVER, who was named to IMDB’s top 20 all time Anime Voice Actors list, began his career as an actor on stage and camera performing in several feature films and dozens of plays. He found success as a voice over artist, lending his voice to one of the first foreign made animated features to receive wide US release (“The Sea Prince and the Fire Child”). His first foray into television was as the voice of Rick Hunter in the groundbreaking anime series “Robotech”. Following that he turned his attention to writing but continued his voice acting career. In 1988 he joined Saban Entertainment as a story editor where he wrote and produced an award winning adaptation of “The Jungle Book” and story edited the long running Nickelodeon anime series “The Noozles”. In 1992, Tony was tapped to help create a new kind of children’s television show. The result was the mega hit, “The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”. Tony not only served as the development producer and head writer but also wrote the pilot, Co-Produced the series, directed the voice actors, played the voice of Saba, and produced the Power Rangers live appearance at Universal Studios, which drew an estimated 50,000 people on a single day. Later in the year he co-developed and wrote the script for the international sensation “Mighty Morphin Power Ranger – Live Tour” Since leaving Saban Entertainment in 1999, Tony has continued to develop, produce, voice and direct numerous projects for TV, Video Games, and New Media including “.hack//GU” a multi-player online video game; “Daigunder”, for ABC Family/Disney; “Gurren Lagann” a breakthrough anime series airing on the Sci Fi Channel, “Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers” which premiered on screens nationwide, and “Martha & Friends”, from Martha Stewart and 4Kids Entertainment as well as voice directing numerous video games like “League of Legends.” Tony’s many voice acting credits include, “Hoodwinked Too”, “ The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz”, Lupin in “Lupin the 3rd”, Hibiki in “Vandread”, Gojyo in “Sayuki Reload”, Harry in “Gun Grave”, Ranmaru in “Tokko”, Shinbo in “Cho-bits”, Ulquiorra in “Bleach”, Minato the 4th Hokage in “Naruto”, as well as voices in video games such as “Delta Force: Black Hawk Down”, “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring”, “Dynasty Warriors”, “World of Warcraft”, “Everquest”, “Neverwinter Knights”, “Xenosaga”, “Magna Carta II”, “Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight”, ”Basara 3” “BlazBlue” and “Bravely Default”. More recently he co-adapted and directed the English releases of “Fate/Zero” and “Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks” in which he also voices the character of Lancer, “Love Live” (both the series and the movie), “Charlotte” and “God Eater”, and can be heard the animated musical series “Iesodo” in the title role. Later this year look for him in new episodes of Lupin III as he returns to the title role. He is currently directing the English version of “Hunter X Hunter”, airing on Toonami. Facebook: http://facebook.com/tonyolivervoiceactor -
Micah Solusod
Despite his general inability to fly, Micah Solusod is a real voice actor and illustrator. The rapscallion made his anime debut as Malek Werner in Blassreiter and is best known for his role as Soul Evans in Soul Eater. He has shown up in a number of other Funimation titles as Toma Kamijo in A Certain Magical Index, Yuichiro Hyakuya in Seraph of the End, Yukine in Noragami, Midnight in Fairy Tail, teen Coby in One Piece, Wisely in D.Gray-Man Hallow, Tagoma in Dragonball Z: Resurrection ‘F’, Mizuki in Kamisama Kiss, older Ame in Wolf Children, Gakushu Asano in Assassination Classroom, Black/King of Despair in Blood Blockade Battlefront, Su-Won in Yona of the Dawn, Bea in Space Dandy, Seido Takizawa in Tokyo Ghoul, and most recently, Nikolai Krasotkin in the Project Itoh film, The Empire of Corpses! It's likely he's done more but who's counting? Currently, he can be heard in Funimation's SimulDubs as Kakeru Naruse in Orange, Yuri Plisetsky in Yuri!!! On ICE, Arata Kaizaki in ReLIFE, and Shun Kaidou in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. When he's not busy posting unhelpful voice acting tips on Twitter, Micah works as the lead artist for Painapple Studio. Stalk him on the internet: Facebook: facebook.com/msolusod Twitter: @maioceaneyes deviantART: maioceaneyes.deviantart.com -
John Swasey
John started down the road of anime in 1997, when he landed his first role in Golden Boy from ADV Films. Since then, John has gone on to voice hundreds shows and characters with FUNimation, ADV Films, Switchblade Films, Sentai Films, Okratron 5000, Gearbox, Seraphim Digital and Illumitoons just to name a few. John’s wife once quipped that there are certain actors who might be the “Brad Pitts” of anime but John is the “Kevin Bacon” of anime. Being more of the character actor type has given John the freedom to voice bazillions of characters such as Undertaker in Black Butler, Salvador in Borderlands II (VG), Gendo in Evangelion, Sgt. Hauser in Halo (VG), Lord Death in Soul Eater, Hoenheim in Fullmetal Alchemist, Sir Crocodile in One Piece, Dodoria in DBZ Kai, Kogoro in Sgt. Frog, Huang in Darker than Black, Hades in Fairy Tale, Zachary in Attack on Titan, Aramaki in Ghost in the Shell, and Jinnouchi in Summer Wars, as well as roles in the live action films 2009 Lost Memories, Conduct Zero, Yesterday, Jungle Juice, and the Gamera trilogy. Most recently you can catch John in the broadcast series of GANGSTA as Chad, and Akame Ga Kill as Bols as seen on Toonami. John is also very excited to be playing one of the title roles in Funimation’s theatrical release (March 2016) of Mamoru Hosoda’s film, The Boy and the Beast. John plays the Beast, Kametesu. In 2004, John jumped to the other side of the “mic” to direct. Some of the shows he has directed include Welcome to the N.H.K., AirGear, Wandaba Style, St. Seiya, Shadow Skill, E’s Otherwise, Michel, Jinki Extend and Shinobi (live action co-directed with longtime pal, Kyle Jones). John loves working in the world of anime as a director and voice actor! Currently John is working with pals Kyle Jones and Jay Hickman on an original animation full length movie called The Perfect Khan. In addition to anime, John has voiced thousands of radio and tv commercials – even acted in a few films. One of the coolest acting jobs was being the Beer Delivery Guy in Dazed and Confused.
2017 Performers
HEAVYGRINDER
DJ Amaya
DJ Jinrei
DJ Kagemine
DJ Khek
Japanese Culture Center
Samurai Dan and Jillian
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HEAVYGRINDER
Heavygrinder is a duo based out of Los Angeles, CA. Producing Metal-Electronica & EDM. HeavyGrinder has toured nonstop for the last 15 years. HEAVYGRINDER started as one of the pioneering female DJs. Now a duo; Bobbie & Nek0, they have transformed themselves time and again throughout the constant evolution of electronic music, pushing the boundaries with their unique blend of Metal and Electronica — with the help of their stunning visual style and their eclectic voices and ground-breaking productions. Besides being one of the first DJs ever to grace the stage of some of the most revered Metal and Rock venues in the United States, HEAVYGRINDER has also performed at prestigious EDM festivals — such as Coachella and EDC — along with headlining performances worldwide, bringing incredible energy to places like Ibiza, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and more. HEAVYGRINDER's releases are a regular presence on Beatport charts, with the collaboration with Yoji Biomehanica “Alone" reaching the #1 spot on the Hard Dance chart. Single “Lovesick Hypocrite" reached #16 on the Electro House chart, and “Children of the Night" topped at #5 on the Dubstep Top 100, just to name a few. With 1.5 million Facebook fans — and growing —, HEAVYGRINDER has established themselves as one of the most unique, engaging and multi-talented artists in the music industry. -
DJ Amaya
Notorious American JPop/KPop Remixer, Composer, Skilled Instrumentalist, and Producer, DJ Amaya began making waves when he started introducing audiences to Japanese dance music at anime conventions across the USA, which led to him playing shows in Japan, Singapore, and Sweden as well. Along the way he released 4 full length albums of original music, collaborated with Japanese artists, and has been commissioned to produce tracks and remixes for artists around the globe. 2014 Amaya formed MINIKOMA☆ with popular JPop/KPop cover artist “Yabisi", together the duo create original songs in Japanese that span many genre's, and released their first full length album in Japan “EYES" in April 2016, and performed live to a packed crowd at AnimeExpo 2016 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. July 2016 DJ Amaya contributed a remix for Re:animation's Remix Compilation “Re:boots Legendary Anime Song Remixes" which features prominent bootleg remixers from the anisong community worldwide. Public Musume's album “初恋とはなんぞや" features the track “おちんぎんちょうだい" with music produced by DJ Amaya. Furthermore, late July 2016 also will see the release of “Brilliant Connect" by ex-Rhymeberry member 信岡ひかる(Nobuoka Hikaru) which was composed/arranged By DJ Amaya in collaboration with 里本あすか (Pastel Pants). -
DJ Jinrei
Producer / DJ originally from Bristol, England. Currently resides in Las Vegas, USA. Kpop / Jpop RMX producer and convention & club coordinator. Also a Photographer, Graphic Designer and co-founder of Super ANX Events. Jinrei is also the creator/founder of the ANX Kpop Battles (Jpop Battles as well). -
DJ Kagemine
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, we introduce you to DJ Kagamine. Kagamine has messed around with both house and hardcore, proving to have an understanding of both. He also knows and experiments with everything in between the two genres providing the best for everyone . Kagamine is also a cosplay DJ, wearing his vocaloid cosplay on stage. -
DJ Khek
DJ Khek is a 10+ year veteran of DJ'ing for the ACen Soap Bubble and will be here again for another round ! -
Japanese Culture Center
The Japanese Culture Center was established in 1977 in Chicago by Aikido Shihan (Teacher of Teachers) and Zen Master Fumio Toyoda to make some of the martial arts, crafts, and philosophical riches of Japan available to the public. Today the JCC continues this tradition, offering classes in over a dozen martial and cultural arts.The Center is not a museum where lifeless objects are displayed; it is a school where living skills are passed on person to person from generation to generation. You become an active participant in arts that have been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years. We invite you to visit and experience the richness and complexity of knowledge cultivated around the world. Upon entering the Center you will see a wooden panel on which are carved the characters “Ten Shin Kan,” or “Place of the Universal Mind/Body/Spirit”. In the spirit of the traditional training halls of the Orient, the JCC is a true “dojo”, or “house of the way”. -
Samurai Dan and Jillian
Dan Coglan, a.k.a. “Samurai Dan” and his wife, Jillian are the acknowledged masters of marital… er, MARTIAL mayhem. This dynamic duo travels the civilized portions of the U.S., bringing their unique show to curious and horrified audiences alike. In addition to their high-energy, mostly safe stage shows (where razor sharp blades and barbs fly) the couple teaches historical and hysterical panels on the way of the warrior. Offering a wide range of lectures and interactive workshops, Dan and his lethal love Jillian are guaranteed to provide con attendees fun and fulfillment. Due to a supreme lack of filter, Dan also performs standup comedy, and lives to embarrass his wife onstage, in censored and uncensored settings. A storyteller at heart, Dan is finishing his third horror novel, and offers insights into the creative process with panels for the aspiring writer as well. Check them out at www.Facebook.com/SamuraiDanAndJillian
2017 Special Entertainers
DJ DOMO
TeddyLoid
Taku Takahashi
DJ WILDPARTY
Kors K
Lapix
murAta Yuzi
C-Show
Eric Maruscak
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DJ DOMO
One day, Domo happens to pick up a record player in a forest and brings it back home, where his roommate Mr. Usaji has a wide collection of vinyls. Domo starts playing Mr. Usaji’s vinyls and slowly aspires to be a DJ. To make his dream come true, Domo visits a nightclub owner, but seeing Domo’s poor skill, the owner turns him down. Dr.DJmachine happens to see the disappointed Domo and ends up making a bipedal walking type robot that is “DJ Domo”, a great master of DJ, who becomes a great teacher of Domo. DJ Domo’s body is made of full metal. His pair of goggles has 28 LED light bulbs that beam out corresponding to the rhythm of the beats. A sampler is built inside his body, and he busts out all kinds of samples installed from a diverse range of ethnic instruments from around the globe. -
TeddyLoid
TeddyLoid started his career as MIYAVI’s DJ and Sound Producer by joining his world tour when he was only 18 years old. He also produced OST for the GAINAX anime “Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt” with ☆Taku Takahashi(m-flo). He has also had experience in units with Shibasaki Ko and DECO*27, he established galaxias!, he has also sound produced for Momoiro Clover Z “Neo STARGATE” and had a guest appearance in 2013 Seibu Dome Taikai. Furthermore, he has provided BGM to the anime “Mekakucity Actors”. TeddyLoid has also produced vocaloid IA tracks and remixes, handled Hibiki Yoshizaki’s “ME!ME!ME!” in “Anime(tor) Mihonichi”, Square Enix’s “Mugen∞Knights”, and WRECKING CREW ORCHESTRA’s, directed by Amon Miyamoto, new long production “SUPERLOSERZ SAVE THE EARTH”. TeddyLoid debuted as a solo artist by releasing his EP from King Records’ EVIL LINE RECORDS in August 2014, “UNDER THE BLACK MOON” and the first album “BLACK MOON RISING” in September. In 2015 summer, he started “Momoiro Clover Z×TeddyLoid Remix Project” and released the first official remix album, “Re:MOMOIRO CLOVER Z” . In Momoiro Clover Z’s big summer event “Momoshinsai 2015”, he performed the opening act as DJ. In December, he released the first collaboration product with total 12 songs and 14 sets of guests, and also released “SILENT PLANET” as the original 2nd album. TeddyLoid has been breaking news for collaborating big artists such as Tetsuya Komuro, Yasutaka Nakata, Ko Shibasaki, and KOHH, etc. From April, he is in charge of the music for the 2016 TVCM “Kirai, demo, suki” for Mode Gakuen group school, HAL. Make sure to check out more about TeddyLoid at www.teddyloid.com -
Taku Takahashi
Taku Takahashi launched his career in 1998 as the DJ of music group “m-flo”. The group rose to fame soon after, and have now sold over 2 million copies of their 30 singles and 10 albums in 10 years. For his solo works, Taku Takahashi is known for producing, as well as remixing music for prominent artists across several genres from around the world. Winning beatport’s “Beatport Music Awards 2011 Top Tracks” with “Incoming… TAKU Remix”, he has proven himself as one of Japan’s top internationally recognized artists. Taku also supervised the soundtrack to the hit Japanese animation program “Panty&Stocking with Garterbelt”, making waves in the music and animation industry. In 2011, in his biggest venture yet, Taku Takahashi established Japan’s first and only Dance Music Radio Station “block.fm”. Now with over 40 individual programs featuring exclusive mix shows from world-famous international and Japanese DJs, block.fm is gaining strong attention as its fan base continues to multiply. Praised for his many works in the industry, Taku Takahashi was recognized as the Number 1 DJ for 2012 and 2013 by Japan’s most well-known domestic dance music publication iLOUD for their “DJ 50/50” yearly top DJ list. In 2012, as m-flo, he released the album “SQUARE ONE”. In June, 2013, Taku was invited to perform at the inaugural “Ultra Festival Korea”, followed by a performance at Tokyo’s own “Road To Ultra” the same December, bringing the latest dance music to audiences around Asia. -
DJ WILDPARTY
DJ WILDPARTY started his music career when he was only 18 years old. He had his breakthrough when he appeared on DOMMUNE’s program ‘MP3 KILLED CD STARS’. Spanning electro, hip hop, idol pop, anison, game music, breakcore, and vocal pop, he is a master technician of making seamless mixes which gained him even more attention. DJ WILDPARTY achieved his first major release in 2012 from EMI on “MOGRA MIX VOL.1 mixed by DJ WILDPARTY”. He has also appeared at Anime Expo 2012 in Los Angeles to a large welcoming. Since then he has taken roles in OL Killer and has appeared at FUJI ROCK Festival, Bokaro Festival in Akihabara. He has also appeared in Shanghai and Hong Kong making him a world-spanning artist. DJ WILDPARTY has gained recognition by artists such as, Porter Robinson, DIGITALISM, SIDNEY SAMSON, Ishino Table Tennis, RASMUS FABER, DJ JIN (RHYMESTER), ☆ TAKU TAKAHASHI, flipside, Mami Kawada, ALTIMA, Lyrical school, private Ebisu middle school, and has performed on the main stage of Japan’s largest club, ageHa. He has also performed at Japan’s largest EDM festival ELECTROX and is currently one of Japan’s ‘busiest young DJ’s’ DJ WILDPARTY was also responsible for the official DJ Mix of the record-shattering k-pop group BIG BANG and largely popular idol pop group Denpagumi Inc. DJ WILDPARTY continues to gain fans and is expected to gain great attention as the new generation of young DJ’s to span across Japan. -
Kors K
Kors K is a Music Producer, artist, and DJ. Although he primarily focuses on hard dance music, he has no limit to what he can create. Fans are attracted to his unique and innovative sound creation. He has rose to fame through his participation in the hit music game ‘beatmania’. Since then, he has contributed to multiple anime-related songs, J-Pop remixes, and has released through both domestic Japanese labels as well as multiple International labels, totaling over 500 tracks released since he started creating music. He also uses the aliases ‘teranoid’, ‘Eagle’, ‘StripE’, etc. for various different genres of music. He is currently active with DJ’ing in clubs throughout Japan, but also in North America, Asian countries, Germany, and other locales. Kors K heads up a record label called “S2TB Recording” in which he has released numerous CD’s. In June 2014, he has released his major debut album “Let’s Do It Now!!”. He is sure to continue to shine through out the music scene. -
Lapix
Known as the ‘High-Tech Ninja’, lapix is a Japanese musician, producer, and DJ. He started his music career at the ripe age of 7 when he first encountered an electronic organ. This wasn’t your traditional piano style organ, it was a two-step keyboard and foot pedal style electronic organ. It wasn’t until his teen years that he began to experiment and transition to electronic music with a synthesizer. In addition to solo production, he excels in natural ensemble, has expert rhythm sense, and displays this in various forms through his performances. He has drawn influence from both popular music as well as classical styles of music. Even from his younger years, he has gained plenty of knowledge in music, even with his favorite genres, HiTECH Full on and Hardcore. He also creates a wide variety of J-Pop covers! His songs “Amazing Mirage”, “Inner Spirit’, and various other songs of the High-Tech genre are featured in Konami’s music games “beatmania IIDX” and “SOUND VOLTEX”. Until lapix bursted onto the scene in Japan, the HiTECH genre was not too well known in Japan, he has gained a tremendous amount of popularity from exposing the country to this genre. This gained him great traction as a leading artist in the Japanese High Tech scene. In 2017 lapix appeared at “EDP × beatnation summit 2017 – beatnation summit 10th Anniversary -“ He is looking to expand and grow even greater going forward in 2017! Hightech! -
murAta Yuzi
This Tokyo native is a video producer with many connections to the underground music scene in Japan. He’s collaborated with HARDCORE TANO*C, SKETCH-UP! Recordings, and Boom Boom Satellites just to name a few. His work is most commonly and prominently on display for album releases during M3 and Comiket events. He also has done promotional videos for club events including Hardcore Synergy, the 2013 TANO*C Tour, and other HARDCORE TANO*C album release parties. -
C-Show
C-Show started making music in 2009. He mainly works as a club music track-maker and DJ. C-Show is known widely for his sharp and aggressive sound spanning across multiple tracks. In addition to releasing solo music by himself, he is expected to have a bright future due to his offerings in KONAMI’s music games “beatmania IIDX” and “SOUND VOLTEX” as well as providing music for major artists in the Japanese music industry. -
Eric Maruscak
Eric Maruscak is an artist who has been appearing at conventions across the United States, making giant chalk murals as performance art since 2006. He has appeared at The 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016 Anime Central convention’s creating such works as the a Madoka Magika mural, as well as appearing at a number of New York Comic Cons, the San Diego Comic Con, the New York Anime Festival, the Baltimore Otakon, the Penny Arcade Expo, Star Wars Celebration V and VI, and a number of Wizard World Shows. Some of his work has been for companies ranging from Lucasfilm, FUNimation, Aniplex, and Nintendo, to ESPN, Warner Brothers, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and even work for the 10th Anniversary of Yu-Gi-Oh! Eric’s murals often take over 30 hours to complete during the course of a show, so be sure to stop back multiple times to check on his progress. Eric also records a time lapse video of the entire process which is posted online not long after the show. So now, not only can you show your friends who couldn’t make it the cool artwork, you might even see yourself in the video for a 10th of a second!
Autograph Policy
- Anime Central does not guarantee that you will get an autograph and/or sketch from a particular guest.
- Guests reserve the right to decline any autograph related service, such as sketches, pictures, etc. For example, bootleg items, inappropriate pictures, body parts, etc. Limit two (2) items to be autographed.
- Do not attempt to have bootlegged items autographed. Some guests may have official merchandise available for purchase. If you have any questions about an item you want autographed, please ask the Autograph Area staff.
- You may request sketches or photographs with guests, but only with permission, and time permitting. Some guests may have more restrictive policies. For example, charging for sketches or photos or no sketches or photos at all.
- Avoid lengthy conversations with guests during autograph sessions. Please keep the lines moving. Be considerate of other attendees and their wish to get autographs too.
- Be respectful of the guests. Those exhibiting rude behavior will be asked to leave the line and not admitted back in.
- Autograph lines may be terminated at any point to keep events on schedule. Lines form quickly and may be lengthy, so plan ahead for long lines.
- Times and locations for autograph sessions may change without prior notice. Changes in schedules are posted at Customer Service in the Hyatt and the Convention Center.
- These policies are subject to change at any time during the convention, as determined by Autograph Area staff.
Autograph Advice
- Check your Program Schedule for the Autograph Session times and locations. Updated schedules are posted around the hotel and at Customer Service. Then, prepare to wait in line. Plan ahead for lines at autograph sessions, as lines form quickly and can be very long. We do not, and cannot, guarantee that you will get an autograph from a particular guest.
- Do not attempt to get a bootleg item signed. Our guests know which items are legitimate and which are not. If you have any questions about a product you want signed, please ask the Autograph Area staff.