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Manga Library Staff

Manga Library is looking for people who love manga and have great customer service skills. While we’d love to have people who can read Japanese, it’s not necessary to help us out! You’ll be helping set up the library on Thursday, helping attendees check in their bags at the library and reshelving manga after it’s been read during the convention, and taking the library down on Sunday.

Manga Library Staff Requirements:

  • Work at least 16 hours over the course of the convention, including Thursday set-up
  • Be on time to all assigned shifts.
  • Be responsible and helpful
  • Able to stand and walk for your shift 
  • Able to lift up to 35 pounds 

Not required, but helpful: 

  • Customer service experience
  • Knowledge of manga series and manga genres
  • Some knowledge/proficiency with written Japanese 

If you are interested, please email manga.library@sakuracon.org

KENJI MUTO

Director of TRIGUN STAMPEDE. Beginning with a background in live-action film, Kenji joined the animation industry more than a decade ago.

Kenji learned animation directing while working with Director Satoshi Nishimura, director of the 1998 Trigun animation series. In 2017, Kenji began working with studio Orange on Land of The Lustrous as an episode director. Now he is making his mark with his dynamic camera work and action sequences, and his directorial debut with TRIGUN STAMPEDE (2023). 

Guest Announcement: ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D

Vocalist/Guitar: SHiNNOSUKE
Base: RYOTA
Drum: U
Guitarist : Yu-SaySupport
Drum: ICCAN

The four-piece band based in Shibuya exploded onto the music scene in June 2010 with their very first single, “Complication.” The single quickly reached number one in downloadable tracks, ranked 11th on the Oricon Weekly ranking, and was featured as the opening theme for the animated series “Durarara!!” ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D went on to have songs featured in the anime series Bleach with “song for…” and “IN MY WORLD,” the second opening theme for Blue Exorcist.

ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D attracts Rock and J-Pop fans through their unique sound which includes Rock, Punk, and Emo. They have performed for their fans over 100 times in a single year and every time, the audience was hungry for more.

In 2011 the band collaborated with the creators of Durarara!! to release their first album “DRRROOKiEZ!! ・ ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D respect for DRRR!!” featuring “DROP,” the opening theme for the PSP game Durarara!! 3-way Standoff.

The band is gathering attention from Anime industries as well. In 2012 the band collaborated with Animate, the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan, on their NicoNico Live channel,“ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D TV.

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Kiyotaka Waki

Chief Producer at studio Orange. Waki is TRIGUN STAMPEDE’s lead production producer. In 2007, Waki joined the animation studio Madhouse.

After working with producer Yuichiro Saito at Madhouse, in 2011 he joined Mamoru Hosoda’s Studio Chizu as one of its founding members. At Studio Chizu, Waki was involved with projects including ‘Wolf Children’ (2012), and ‘Boy and The Beast’ (2015). Then in 2016, Waki joined the animation studio Orange and worked on ‘Land of the Lustrous’ (2017) as Producer and since then as Chief Producer on ‘BEASTERS’ (2019) and ‘Godzilla S.P’ (2020). Waki is also producing ‘TRIGUN STAMPEDE’ (2023) for studio Orange.

Guest Announcement: STEVE BLUM

With literally hundreds of V/O credits to his name, Veteran Voice Monkey Steve Blum is best known as the voice of “Spike Spiegel” from Cowboy Bebop, “Wolverine” from several incarnations of X-Men (animated movies, games, the Wolverine and the X-Men TV Series, The Super Hero Squad Show, X-Men Anime and more), “Orochimaru,” “Zabuza,” and others from Naruto, “Green Goblin” from the Spectacular Spiderman series, “Heatblast,” “Vilgax” and “Ghostfreak” from Ben 10, “Grayson Hunt” (Bulletstorm) “Grunt” (Mass Effect 2 and 3),”Zoltan Kulle” from Diablo 3, “Abathur” from Starcraft 2:Heart of the Swarm, “Tank Dempsey” (Call of Duty), “Killer Croc” from Arkham Asylum, “Oghren” (DragonAge),“Vincent Valentine” (Final Fantasy VII), “Leeron” (Guren Lagann), “Jamie” from Megas XLR, “Storm Troopers” and many others in most of the Star Wars games, The voice of 7-11, dozens of Digimon and a gigantic list of other characters from Anime, Video Games, TV and Film.

In 2012, Steve was inducted into the Guinness Book of World records as Most Prolific Voice Actor in Video Games – appearing in almost 300 games (now approaching 400!) 

Most recently, he appeared on the Emmy award-winning Transformers: Prime, playing the iconic, deadly and sometimes delusional Decepticon “Starscream.” Also as “Devil Dinosaur” on HULK: Agents of SMASH, “Sub-Zero,” “Reptile and “Bo’Rai Cho” in Mortal Combat X, several characters on Wabbit, Ultimate Spider Man, Ben 10: Omniverse, The Regular Show, Doc McStuffins, Uncle Grandpa, Wander over Yonder, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tenkai Knights, and as the terrifying anti-bender “Amon” on the hit series Avatar: The Legend of Korra!

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KOUHEI EGUCHI

Kouhei Eguchi is a Producer at Eight Bit Co., Ltd. He is a utility player who is familiar with all aspects of animation production and can take the lead or play a supporting role.

He worked as an Animation Producer on “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond” and is currently working on “BLUE LOCK” and “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3”.

Guest Announcement: MARY ELIZABETH MCGLYNN

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is a voice over actress, writer, singer and director. As an actress, she portrayed Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost In The Shell Innocence, Solid State Society and Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex for which she won the American Anime Award for Best Actress.

You can also hear her as the Female Crusader in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Kurutsu in Ghost in the Shell Arise, Mrs. Maheswaran in Steven Universe, Sei in Alpha Protocol and Nora in Final Fantasy XIII. Some of her other popular roles are Cornelia in Code Geass, Kurenai from Naruto, Julia from Cowboy Bebop, Zanpakuto from Bleach, Helba and Bordeau from .hack, Jagura from Wolf’s Rain, Nuriko in Fushigi Yuugi and Caroline from Vampire Hunter D. She recurs on Geek & Sundry’s Critical Role as Zahra Hydris, a tiefling warlock.

Mary is directing Penn Zero: Part Time Hero for Disney XD, starring Thomas Middleditch, Adam Devine, Alfred Molina and Larry Wilmore. She also directed Naruto Shippuden. She has directed the six Naruto movies, Naruto and Naruto Shippuden (the series), for which she received the 2008 SPJA award for best director.

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Leah Clark

Leah Clark is an American voice actor and Funimation Staff Script writer.

Her more recent voice acting roles include Himiko Toga (My Hero Academia), Kobayashi (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Season II), Sylvie (How Not to Summon a Demon Lord), and Megumi (Fruits Basket).

Other memorable roles include Negima (Nodoka); Fairy Tail/Fairy Tail Zero (Mavis); Soul Eater (Blair); One Piece (Coby/Miss Doublefinger); Eden Of This East (Saki); Baka and Test (Minami); Deadman Wonderland (Minatsuki/Hummingbird); Dragonball GT (Maron); Assassination Classroom (Kanzaki); Suzuka (Suzuka); Rosario + Vampire (Ruby); Murmur (Future Diary); Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie – Conqueror of Shamballa (Noah). 

As a staff ADR script writer at FUNimation; Her most recent projects include SK8 the Infinity; Toilet Bound Hanako; Plunderer;  How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift; Ensemble Stars; RobiHatchi; How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord; Space Battleship Tiramisu; Chio’s School Road; A Certain Magical Index III, and Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka. Other favorite scripts are Panty and Stocking, Suzuka, Peach Girl, Baka and Test, Sasami: Magical Girl Club, B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time; and Strike Witches. 

Leah studied music theatre at Circle in the Square in New York City.  She is madly in love with her family which include a gorgeous husband, two remarkable brilliant children, and three of the world’s most adorable and manipulative dogs. 

Follow Leah on Twitter and Instagram @leahclarkVA; leahclarkva.comyoutube.com/laureandclark

Guest Announcement: JOHNNY YONG BOSCH

Johnny Yong Bosch got his start fighting giant bugs as Adam Park, the Black Ranger, Green Zeo and Green Turbo Ranger on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It is a role that he would play for three and a half seasons on television, two motion pictures and two special guest appearances in future Power Rangers seasons.

After Power Rangers, Johnny became very involved in the world of voice over. His first major voice acting role was Vash the Stampede in Trigun. He later went on to voice Kaneda in Akira, Renton in Eureka Seven, Kiba in Wolf’s Rain, Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach, Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass, Izaya in Durarara and Yukio in Blue Exorcist, Sasori in Naruto, Artemis in Sailor Moon, Hajime in Danganronpa 2, Makoto Tachibana in Free!, Nate in Yokai Watch, Orga in Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans, Haruo in Hi Score Girl, Zora in Black Clover, Jonathan in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Sabo in One Piece Stampede, Giyu in Demon Slayer, Lio in Promare, Broly in Dragon Ball FighterZ, Nine in My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising and many more.

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