Guest Announcement

Yutaka Yamada was born in 1989. He entered the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and studied under music composers, Toshiyuki Watanabe and Yutaka Matsuo. There he learned music theory of deep and wide varieties. In 2011, he debuted as a film music composer in the Fuji television drama Marumo no Okite (Marumoʼs Rule). Later on, Yutaka Yamada started work on other visual works such as commercials and movies. His original soundtrack to the TV animation Tokyo Ghoul has been played…

Anime Central is honored to announce that the team behind Vinland Saga will be attending our 2020 event! This will include the following 5 members of the Vinland Saga creative team. Vinland Saga Guest Announcements Shuhei Yabuta (Director) Takahiko Abiru (Character Designer) Hiroshi Seko (Script Writer) Hiroya Hasegawa (Animation Producer) Yutaka Yamada (Music Composer)

Shuhei Yabuta was born in 1980 in Yokohama, and spent his childhood in Greenwich, Connecticut. In 2004, Yabuta began his career in 3DCG and filming for video games, anime and slot machine. He started working mainly on anime with IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix (2005), and continued on to pursue his career as the 3D CG director for Iron Man (the anime series) in 2010. Yabuta began to learn storyboarding and directing from the TV series Sunday Without God (2013), and…

Hiroshi Seko is a veteran Japanese screenplay writer born and raised in Nagoya. In 2005, he joined Gainax. He was first in charge of the scripts for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2007) and continued on to Gurren Lagann Parallel Works 2 (2009). He later became a freelance writer after working on Attack on Titan (2013), and continues to contribute his writing for TV series such as Inuyashiki, Seraph of the End, BANANAFISH, Dorohedoro, and his latest hit series Vinland…

Character Designer and Animation Director, Takahiko Abiru studied Japanese-style paintings at Musashino Art University. After graduation, he joined Doga Kobo as an Animator in 2004. From 2006, he started working for Madhouse and performed in-between animation for Paprika. His first first work as an Animator was Death Note (2007), and after that worked on many anime titles, centering on Madhouse titles. His first work as Animation Director was on Kaiji: Against All RUles (2010). Later, Abiru worked on HUNTER×HUNTER for…

Hiroya Hasegawa was born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido in 1980. Upon majoring in Advertising Design at his local college, he engaged in animation production from 2007 and later joined Production I.G in 2009. After working at the production desk for titles such as PSYCHO-PASS first season and Ghost in The Shell ARISE, he joined WIT STUDIO in 2015. His major works at the studio are anime series The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vinland Saga, and others more. Related Links Vinland Saga Guest…

Tia Ballard is a Texas gal born in the briar patch of Paris, Texas. She began her career in the industry while still in college, and has worked professionally as an actor, writer, and director. She graduated with a double Bachelors in Speech & Communication and Theatre Arts from Texas A&M, and also has both an Associates and a teaching degree. Currently she is directing the dub of the anime adaptions of A3! and starring as Nene in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun.…

Monica Rial has been working in the anime industry for over 20 years and is currently listed as the most prolific anime voice actor in the US. She has lent her voice to hundreds of anime including: Assassination Classroom (Kayano), Black Butler (Mey Rin), Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card (Sakura), Certain Magical Index (Index), Deadman Wonderland (Shiro), Fairy Tail (Mirajane), Food Wars (Jun), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (May Chang), Golden Kamuy (Asirpa), ID: Invaded (Hondomachi), Maid-sama (Misaki), My Hero Academia (Tsuyu),…

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…