milton

Apr 24
100

Survive Said The Prophet

April 24, 2024

Survive Said The Prophet (abbreviated as SSTP) formed in Tokyo, Japan in 2011. They are an international rock band with members who possess solid skills, musicianship, and unique personalities, led by the overwhelming singing ability and charisma of Yosh, a bilingual vocalist who speaks fluent English. Their outstanding musicality is based on their diverse background, which is not limited to rock but also includes pop, electro, hip hop, and R&B. A band that stands out from the crowd, SSTP continues to evolve every day. They made their major debut with Sony Music in 2018, and have released six albums and one best-of album.

In addition to years of domestic tours, they’ve performed at major rock festivals throughout Japan, such as KNOTFES, SUMMER SONIC, METROCK, WARPED TOUR, ROCKIN JAPAN, SATANIC CARNIVAL, etc. They’ve also shared stages with INCUBUS, PARAMORE, HOOBASTANK, The Used, Story Of The Year, AS IT IS, and many more. In 2021, vocalist Yosh joined the FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Orchestra World Tour in LA where he was the featured vocalist for the theme song “Hollow.” 

SSTP is also well-known for their many anime tie-in songs. These include “NE:ONE” (from the movie CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion III -Glorification), “found & lost” (Banana Fish, season 1 opening theme), “RED” (Banana Fish, season 2 opening theme), “MUKANJYO” (Vinland Saga, season 1 opening theme), “Papersky” (TOKYO TWENTY FOURTH WARD, opening theme), “Find You” (TOKYO TWENTY FOURTH WARD, soundtrack song), and most recently, “Paradox” (Vinland Saga, season 2 opening theme). 

FanimeCon is excited to have Survive Said The Prophet join us for MusicFest as well as a Q&A panel and autograph sessions!

Find SSTP online!

HP – https://survivesaidtheprophet.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SSTPofficial
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/survivesaidtheprophet
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/SSTPOFFICIAL
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/survivesaidtheprophet

Apr 19
1

The Oasis

April 19, 2024

For FanimeCon’s 30th anniversary, Silver Island is now becoming The Oasis!

Silver Island was initially created to mark FanimeCon’s 25th “silver” anniversary in 2019. Since then, it has grown beyond just a commemoration of that year, and now The Oasis will be home to both daytime and nighttime programming for all ages.

We are excited to continue working towards a great show this year. Stay tuned for more updates.

If you are interested in helping out as staff please apply on our application page!
https://fani.mobi/apply

Apr 09
8

Hirokatsu Kihara

April 09, 2024

Hirokatsu Kihara is a highly accomplished industry veteran with a career spanning several decades. He began his journey as a production coordinator for the anime movie Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and quickly caught the attention of director Hayao Miyazaki. Mr. Miyazaki then headhunted Mr. Kihara to join the team at Studio Ghibli. 

During his time at Studio Ghibli, Mr. Kihara worked closely with Mr. Miyazaki and played an integral role in the production of several critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. The famous Catbus character from Totoro is even modeled after him! 

After leaving Studio Ghibli, Mr. Kihara opened a new chapter in his career as a scary story author. He has written many scary stories that have been adapted into TV series and movies. His most significant project in recent years is a collaboration book with horror manga artist Junji Itoh, titled Mimi’s Tales of Terror. The book has been translated into seven different languages and has gained a cult following.

FanimeCon is proud to welcome Hirokatsu Kihara back as Guest of Honor for his second appearance! This year marks the 35th anniversary of Kiki’s Delivery Service and will be a focus of his panel discussions. Don’t miss your chance to hear behind the scenes episodes about the Ghibli classic, and maybe he even has a few surprises up his sleeve…?

In addition, Mr. Kihara will have autograph sessions and a special Godzilla panel for attendees!

Social Media:
Twitter: @KiharaHirokatsu

Mar 18
5

Gilles Poitras

March 18, 2024

Gilles was born in Quebec, Canada in 1951 and raised in a farm town in Northern California. As a child in rural California, he was exposed to a great deal of Japanese toys and games without even being aware of their origins, thanks to his many Japanese American school friends. In high school he became a fan of world cinema, and in 1977, he saw part of an episode of Space Battleship Yamamoto on a store display in San Francisco’s Japantown. From that day on, Gilles began going to every anime feature shown at the UC theater in Berkeley. Later on he discovered Cal Animage Alpha, UC Berkeley’s anime club. For years he attended regularly and even began to write his first articles on anime for the club’s newsletter the Konshuu, which then turned into an anime newsletter on Usenet. Eventually he wrote The Anime Companion, the first of his three books on anime. As a result of this writing he ended up speaking at many public libraries, doing presentations at anime conventions, curating an anime exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, introducing movies at the Smithsonian, and even teaching a class on anime for Pixar Staff.
All of this exposure to anime, and manga, quickly led to a growing interest in Japan. Gilles even began tracking down information on locations seen in shows.When he first went to Tokyo with friends it was to explore the city not as a regular tourist but as an anime tourist. Further trips and research resulted in a large set of notes that became foundational for his latest book Tokyo Stroll, a guide for wandering about over 20 neighborhoods in that city.

Gilles has been a long-time guest of FanimeCon, beloved by many attendees for his intimate knowledge of anime, manga, and traveling to Japan. FanimeCon is happy to have him join us once again for more stellar panels and events!

Website: https://www.koyagi.com

Social Media:
Twitter/X: @GillesLPoitras
Mastodon: @Gilles@sfba.social
Bluesky: @gillespoitras.bsky.social

Mar 11
3

FanimeCon Board of Directors’ Statement on Resignations and Harassment Claims

March 11, 2024

The Board of Directors of FanimeCon would like to apologize for the delay in our response regarding the current resignations and harassment claims that have been made public recently.

Dealing with and returning from the pandemic has not been easy as we’ve had to focus on continuing to keep our attendees and staff safe while also providing a space to connect. When these issues came to our attention, we wanted to gather more information and give the matter proper consideration. We see now our caution comes across as indifference, which is the opposite of what we are trying to convey. This is not an excuse and we could and should be better. Our motto has always been “By Fans, For Fans” and we along with our staff attendees are here to ensure that there’s a safe space for everyone.

On harassment – 

We do not take the issue of harassment lightly and it is clear that we have a lot of work to regain the trust of our former staffers and attendees – one that we are working with outside sources to make sure that we are doing the right thing, not just for our previous individuals that have experienced harassment but to have a working process to report, document, and act on all future harassment. We will provide updates as best we can, when appropriate. With a con our size, we will try to include as many stakeholders as possible, so the process may not be as visible or as quick as preferred but be assured that steps are actively being taken.

On the resignations – 

We also understand and acknowledge that there are issues with toxicity among our staff – one that has made staff members feel unsafe and unwelcome. While we have received this feedback with a heavy heart, we appreciate being aware of it so that we can take steps to create a better environment for all. We know it is never easy to speak up when feeling it will not be welcomed, so we do respect the bravery of those who did.

We are working with our Chair team to investigate, gather information, and take action to help improve things. We appreciate feedback and take it seriously from all sources.  We are looking into solutions such as having a form where reports can be given with complete anonymity, leadership training, better open feedback sessions, and a clearer Code of Conduct. All feedback will be tracked and used to improve the process, internally and externally.

The world is much more different from the first FanimeCon, where anime clubs came together at a college campus. Our goal is and has always been to be a welcoming and safe space where everyone and everyone can feel comfortable regardless of who they are. We ask for your patience as we work with partners to set up a process that can allow individuals to effectively report harassment as well as giving feedback in a safe manner. Our plan is to work with external resources to implement some of these solutions prior to the start of FanimeCon 2024.

Mar 07
16

Yuu Hayashi

March 07, 2024

Born on April 2nd in Kanagawa, Japan, Yuu Hayashi got his start as a child actor with the Gekidan Himawari theater group. He is currently affiliated with Ken Production where he voices anime and game characters, and also provides voices for Japanese language dubs. 

Mr. Hayashi’s most notable roles include Ryunosuke Tanaka in Haikyuu!!, Manjiro “Mikey” Sano in Tokyo Revengers, Michizo Tachihara in Bungo Stray Dogs, and Takuma Ino in Jujutsu Kaisen. He also has roles in MobPsycho 100, Banana Fish, Vinland Saga Season 2, Kuroko’s Basketball, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Go Rush!!. 

Aside from a successful voice acting career, Mr. Hayashi is also the vocalist for music unit SCREEN mode under the Lantis label. SCREEN mode has provided theme songs for Bungo Stray Dogs 2, Kuroko’s Basketball, Food Wars! The Second Plate, Gingitsune, and more.

FanimeCon 2024 is proud to host Yuu Hayashi’s first ever event appearance outside Asia!

Social Media
X – https://twitter.com/voice_singing
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/yuu_hayashi42/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@tube2201

Jan 20
10

FanimeCon Hotel Block Opening Soon!

January 20, 2024

Get ready, hotel registration for FanimeCon 2024 is about to begin!

On January 23rd, e-mails will be sent to individuals who qualify for Priority Housing, based on when they registered.

Priority Housing opens on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024, at 7 am PST.

General Housing opens on Friday, February 2nd at 4:00 pm PST. The link will be posted on our website as well as the main social media accounts.

Please be prepared! Have your housing credentials and any other important information ready when your booking window starts. Hotels are expected to sell out quickly. Contact CMR if you’re having trouble booking a room. They offer a hotel waiting list if the hotels are full

May 23
1

Schedules and Guides!

May 23, 2023

🎺 FanimeCon 2023 program guide, pocket guide, and schedules are now available! You can find them on our Info page! 🎺

Jan 22
1

FanimeCon Hotel Block Opening Soon!

January 22, 2023

Get ready, hotel registration for FanimeCon 2023 is about to begin!

Starting on January 26th, e-mails will be sent out to individuals on the Priority Hotel Registration Block, based on when they registered. Those who have rolled over their registration from a previous year will also be included.

The Priority Hotel Registration Block starts on Wednesday, February 1st, 2023 – the exact date and time will be specified in the email from CMR.

The normal Hotel Registration Block starts on Friday, February 3rd, 2023 at 4 PM. The link will be posted on our website as well as the main social media accounts.

Please have everything that you would need ready beforehand because hotel space will run out fast. You may contact CMR if you want to be added to the waitlist for any hotel.