Survive Said The Prophet

Apr 24

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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 09

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

Apr 01

FanimeCon 2024 Professional Registration is open!

April 01, 2024

Our Professional Registration is now open! Requirements can be found in our FAQ and you can apply here.

Mar 18

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

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.

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