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Hisashi Kagawa is best known for being the character designer of SaiKano: She, The Ultimate Weapon, One Piece: Defeat The Pirate Ganzak!, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Toriko TV,  and Dream 9 Toriko x One Piece x Dragon Ball Z Super Collabo Special.

Some of his other works as an animation director includes Pokémon (1997), Angelic Layer (2001), Fresh Pretty Cure (2009), Soul Eater (2008) and Toriko (2011)….

Sayuri is a 2.5D singer/songwriter, who sings while strumming her acoustic guitar.  Her activities on SNS and the Web are based in 2D imagery, and she incorporates these into her 3D live performances, hence why she is said to live in the 2.5D world.  

Sayuri made her major debut on August 26, 2015 with “Mikazuki”, the closing theme of Fuji TV’s Noitamina anime series “Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace”.  The rough-hewn beauty of the song linked strongly to the world of the anime and she won tremendous support with a hit right from the start. Her 4th single “Furaregai Girl”, written and produced by RADWIMPS’ Yojiro Noda, also garnered great attention.

Billy is an actor from Hershey Pennsylvania who now lives in the Los Angeles area. He came out to CA 4 years ago to play Aladdin in the Aladdin Musical Spectacular in Disney’s California Adventure for the final year of the show’s 13 year run. Since that time Billy has been fortunate enough to lend his voice to anime, video games, cartoons, live action dubs, and commercials. You can hear Billy as Josuke in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, Naofumi in The Rising of the Shield Hero, Metal Lee in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Osomatsu in Mr. Osomatsu, White Blood Cell in Cells At Work, Hakuno in Fate/EXTRA, Fubuki in BeyBlade Burst Turbo, as well as a multitude of other roles that he cannot wait to share with you at some point in the near future! Keep up with Billy on Twitter and Instagram @billykametz   

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.

Sakura Con is proud to host the first U.S. appearance for BLUE ENCOUNT!!

Hailing from Kumamoto and now based in Tokyo, BLUE ENCOUNT is a four-piece, emotional rock band that has been creating buzz with their intense, in-your-face, hot-blooded performances.

They made their major debut in September 2014 with EP TIMELESS ROOKIE.  Their first single “Motto Hikari wo,” released January 2015, played heavily on 35 radio stations nationwide, an extraordinary achievement for an up-and-coming band.  In May the same year, they released their single “DAY x DAY,” which became the opening theme of the popular anime series Gintama (Season 3).  This was followed by their first full-length album titled, ≒ (Nearly Equal).  

Xander Mobus is a voice over actor from LA. You might know his work from anime and video games including Persona 5 as The Protagonist, Super Smash Bros as Ren Amamiya, Street Fighter V, Soul Calibur VI, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100, Hunter x Hunter, Detective Pikachu, Erased, Boruto, Boruto’s Dad (aka Naruto), Rising of the Shield Hero, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Warriors, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Beyblade Burst Turbo, B: The Beginning, Blue Exorcist and many more!

Due to an extremely high volume of submissions, SakuraCon’s Cosplay Contest will be closing submissions early.  At this time, all places in the main competition have been filled, and wait-lists have been started for every category.  For those interested in getting a spot on the waitlist, submissions will remain open until Next Saturday, January 18th at 11:59PM Pacific Time.  At that time, submissions will be closed

Rules and Submission Form can be found HERE

Panel Submissions are now open and will be accepted through February 1st, 2020.

For more information, check out the Panel Page for the submission form and updated FAQ!

Want to show off your cosplay crafting and/or performance chops? 

Sign-ups are now open for Sakura-Con’s Cosplay Contest!  

All submissions are on a first come, first serve basis, and will be open until March 1st, but don’t wait too long — spots fill quickly, and if we fill up, you could end up on the wait list. Please read the Cosplay Contest Rules and fill out the form at the bottom of the page to sign up!  Please email cosplay@sakuracon.org with any questions.

Warm up your vocal cords and prepare to sing your heart out! Signups for Sakura-Con’s Karaoke Idol will open on February 1; they’re first come first serve and will fill up quickly.

Go here for the rules and information.