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BLUE ENCOUNT is a 4-piece band hailing from Kumamoto, in southern Japan. They pride themselves on always giving it all they’ve got, delivering thrilling performances that draw in the audience and resonate with a spirit of unity, creating a beautiful kinship.
They made their major label debut with the EP “TIMELESS ROOKIE” in September 2014, and since then, they’ve released four full albums: “≒”, “THE END”, “VECTOR”, and “Q.E.D”. They also have several exciting anime theme songs to their credit.
In the spring of 2023, bassist Tsujimura began a one-and-a-half-year music study program in New York, honing his craft abroad. Marking their 20th anniversary in 2024-2025, the band kicked off an Asia tour and is currently touring with all four members. BLUE ENCOUNT is an ever-evolving band, and we can’t wait to see what adventures lie ahead for them!

Chris Hackney is an energetic and versatile American voice actor currently based in Los Angeles, CA. Originally from Florida, Chris first pursued music in college before discovering the world of acting, which opened up a whole new creative outlet for him. After years of training and a bold cross-country move, Chris found his true passion in voiceover and hasn’t looked back since.

You can hear Chris’s dynamic performances in a wide variety of mediums, from commercials to anime, video games, and animation. He’s best known for his iconic roles such as the noble Rauru in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the fierce Dimitri in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the smooth Kamisato Ayato in Genshin Impact, and the intense Urogi in Demon Slayer. Fans also love his chilling portrayal of Illumi in Hunter x Hunter and his badass turn as V.IV. Rusty in Armored Core 6. With each role, Chris brings characters to life with a mix of heart, energy, and fun.

Whether he’s voicing regal heroes or sinister villains, Chris is always looking for the next exciting opportunity to showcase his passion and talent. He continues to be a rising star in the voice acting world, and his fans can’t wait to see what he does next!

Your time has come! 

Sakura-Con panel applications are now OPEN!  
From game shows to contests to cultural events to cosplay, we want to hear from you!

Apply today! https://sakuracon.org/programming/panels/

Mallorie Rodak is an American voice actress who has appeared in hundreds of TV series, movies, animation, and video games. She was nominated for Breakthrough Voice Actress of the Year in 2014 by Behind the Voice Actors.

Mallorie’s best known anime voices include Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End), Yukino (Fairy Tail), Raphael/Great Sage (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime), Rossweisse (High School DXD), High Elf Archer (Goblin Slayer), Elinalise (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation), Yumi (Senran Kagura), Yuki Mori (Star Blazers), Nia Honjo (Date A Live), Solution Epsilon (Overlord), Olka Gretcher (SPYxFAMILY), Nebra Silva (Black Clover), Tenya’s Mother (My Hero Academia), Gion Momousagi (One Piece), Olka Gretcher (SPYxFAMILY), Woman in Black (Fire Force), Sophia (Ancient Magus Bride), Miyu Takano (Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou), Turquoise (Dr. Stone), Prince of Wales (Azur Lane), Finè (Izetta), Orsola (A Certain Magical Index II), Kyoh Goshoin (Netoge), Enishida (One Piece), and Sayuki (Hensuki).

Kristen McGuire is a professional voice actor, artist, ADR director and script adapter with  over 350 credits across anime and video games.  She is most well known for her work as the playable character Kachina in the Natlan  region of Genshin Impact, Milim Nava in the anime That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime,  Akane Kurokawa in Oshi No Ko, Young Vash in TRIGUN STAMPEDE. Isabel Magnolia in  Attack on Titan, Ruri in Dr. Stone, Tatami Nakagame in My Hero Academia, Yu in Fire Force,  Senko in The Helpful Fox Senko-san, Hinano Kurahashi in Assassination Classroom, Mukuro in Date A Live, Vueko in Made in Abyss, Alice Lendrott in Duke of Death and His Maid and  many more! She has also provided voices for several video games, including Pirilika in Disgaea 7,  Biscuit and Rouge in Nikke: Goddess of Victory, Thor in Aether Gazer, Flora in Tiny Tina’s  Wonderlands, Aeval in Genshin Impact, Fee in Fire Emblem Heroes, and others. Kristen is also an award-winning anime artist. She draws all of her own autograph prints and offers anime-style caricatures of attendees at conventions. 

Most recognized as the voice of Krillin on the wildly popular, animated TV show Dragonball Z and as an illustrator for, arguably, the most famous, independently published comic book series Elfquest, Sonny Strait has over 20 years of experience in the arts.

As a voice actor, Sonny is considered to be one of the most recognized voice actors in the business. Besides Dragonball Z’s Krillin he has worked on many popular animated characters including Maes Hughes from Full Metal Alchemist, Usopp from One Piece, Koro Sensei from Assassination Classroom. Present Mic in My Hero Academia and Cartoon Network’s original laid back, robot host Toonami Tom. He has also worked as a writer and director on several TV series including Dragonball Z, Case Closed and Lupin the Third.

David Matranga is an American voice actor who works primarily for English dubbed anime for Funimation and Sentai Filmworks. Matranga is best known as the voice of Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia, Hideki Hinata from Angel Beats, Genjo Sanzo from Saiyuki, Orphen from Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Bertholdt Hoover from the popular Attack on Titan series, Tomoya Okazaki from the Clannad series,Takumi Usui from Maid Sama, Ghost from the Halo Legends movie, Briareos from the Appleseed series, Yu Himura from the EF series, and God Serena from Fairy Tail.

Lisa Reimold is a voice actress known best for her work in anime, including Aira in DANDADAN and Falin in Delicious in Dungeon.

She also works on video games such as Fire Emblem: Engage as Framme and voices Ivy Pepper in the upcoming animated series for Lackadaisy!

Hiroshi Nagahama was born in 1970 in Saiki, Ooita, Japan and is an animator and director.  He started his career at Madhouse Studio, where he worked on The Cockpit and Azuki-chan,  After leaving Madhouse Studio, he became a freelancer, working on the conceptual design for Revolutionary Girl Utena.  After that, he worked as the storyboard writer and animation director for Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo! Masaru-san and he was a chief director of Jubei-chan 2: Siberia Yagyuu no Gyakushuu.  As a director, he worked on Mushishi, Detroit Metal City, and The Flowers of Evil.  In 2017, he did his first original anime The Reflection, a collaboration with Stan Lee.  He received the 11th Animation Kobe Individual Award in 2006.  In 2024, Uzumaki was released by Adult Swim.

From gaming to voice acting, Faye Mata is an advocate of chasing dreams. She’s best known for playing the roles of Aqua (Konosuba), Astolfo/Rider of Black (Fate/Apocrypha), Yukako Yamagishi (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure), Petra Macneary (Fire Emblem), Kagami (Miraculous Ladybug), and Lulu (League of Legends). She is also known as Sailor Aluminum Siren (Sailor Moon), Ling Xiaoyu (Netflix’s TEKKEN), Princess Malty (Rising of the Shield Hero), Miyu/Fukaziroh (Sword Art Online: GGO), Rin Hoshizora (Love Live!), and Neon Nostrade (Hunter x Hunter). Some game roles are NiCO (Dead or Alive 6), Lene (Fire Emblem Heroes), Daria and Lishenna (Shadowverse), and scattered throughout the world in Genshin Impact! Faye also competed semi-professionally in video game tournaments around the world such as EVO, CEO, and Pokémon Worlds under the gamertag “Princess Aura,” the same name she used as a competitor on national reality TV show WCG Ultimate Gamer (SyFy). She used to be a content creator for an eSports organization. Faye brings a lot of fun and energy to cons and currently enjoys challenging people to 1v1 battles in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

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