Sakura-Con
Takanori Aki is known as one of the most charismatic entrepreneurs in the anime industry. He is the mastermind behind Good Smile Company which is dedicated to producing high quality sculpted figures based on popular anime, comics, video games, and even celebrities. He has also formed a racing team collaborating with Crypton’s popular Vocaloid character, Hatsune Miku, creating Good Smile Racing and Racing Miku that includes personal fan sponsorships where the fans are the sponsors. Recently, he has also been collaborating with overseas artists and trying to spread Japanese culture throughout the world. Most notably, Good Smile Company’s collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment to release the newly announced Nendoroid Tracer from the game, Overwatch. Another collaboration being with PILI International (Taiwan) to bring “Thunderbolt Fantasy” to life, a combination of artistic puppetry and animation.