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Hitsujibungaku

Hitsujibungaku is a Japanese alternative rock band featuring Moeka Shiotsuka (vocals, guitar), Yurika Kasai (bass), and Hiroa Fukuda (drums). The band was formed in 2017, made its major debut in 2020 on F.C.L.S. (Sony Music Labels) and is described as having a delicate yet powerful sound.

In 2023, their song “more than words” was selected as the ending theme for the TV anime JUJUTSU KAISEN: Shibuya Incident. The song has since surpassed 100 million streams in Japan and reached No.1 on Apple Music and iTunes in Japan. On December 6th, 2023, they released their 3rd major album “12 hugs (like butterflies)”, which includes the single, “More than Words.” “Burning,” released in August 2024, became the ending theme for the second season of the TV anime, Oshi no Ko.

In April 2023, their largest solo concert to date, “Hitsujibungaku LIVE 2024 III”, held at Yokohama Arena, sold out in just 3 minutes after tickets went on sale. They also completed their first-ever Asian tour, “Hitsujibungaku ASIA TOUR 2024”, which visited 11 cities across the continent. In May 2023, they were selected as one of the “10 Rising Neo-J-Pop Artists to Watch in 2024” on the official Grammy Awards website.

Official Site:https://www.hitsujibungaku.info/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/hitsujibungaku/?hl=ja
Official YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm0qsuAG6RN2FYKZ_r1nPyg
Official TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@hitsujibungaku_official

Ian Sinclair

Ian Sinclair is an actor, director, and voice actor that has been working in the anime and video game industry for nearly two decades. Some of his more popular roles include: Whis in DragonBall Super, Bokuto in Haikyuu!!, Dandy in Space Dandy, Mezo Shoji in My Hero Academia, Brook in One Piece, Berkut in Fire Emblem Heroes, Kureno Soma in Fruits Basket, Magna Swing in Black Clover, Tsukasa in Dr. StoneViktor Licht in Fire ForceAzami Nakiri in Food Wars!Souei in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Bardroy in Black Butler, The Narrator in Kaguya Sama: Love is War, Sherlock Holmes in Case File nº221: Kabukicho, Saichi “The Immortal” Sugimoto in Golden Kamuy, The Reaper in Assassination Classroom, Pipimi in Bob Epic Team, General and Captain Traunt in Borderlands 3, Film Buff in Borderlands 3, Rashid in Street Fighter V, Cygnus in Orcs Must Die 3, Koiwai in Recovery of an MMO Junkie, Nile Dok in Attack on Titan, Romano in Hetalia, Toriko in Toriko, Sosuke Yamazaki in Free! Eternal Summer, Celestino in Yuri!!! on Ice, Reo in Sarazanmai, Hijikata Toshizo in Drifters, Worick Arcangelo in Gangsta, Zapp Renfro in Blood Blockade Battlefront, Samurai Calibur in SSSS.Gridman, Chuck in Panty and Stocking, Doug in Double Decker: Doug and Krill, Zaveid in Tales Of Zestiria, Ox in Juni Taisen: Zodiac War, Professor Nakayama in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Favaro in Rage of Bahamut, Free in Fairy Gone, Ryner Lute in Legend of the Legendary Heroes, 12th in Future Diary, Yu Kanda in D Gray Man, Tatara in The Boy and the Beast, Gija in Yona of the DawnMontana in BattleBorn, Baron Flynt in Borderlands, Dallas Genoard in Baccano!, Juzo Sakakura in Danganronpa 3, Emilio Langheim in Endride, Prince Salva in Dimension W, Hajime in Nanbaka, Hamura in Terror in Resonance, Mitsuhide in Snow White with the Red Hair, Lawless in Servamp, Williams in Genocidal Organ, Nagare Akiba in Ushio & Tora, Akane in Soul Eater Not!, Yaiba in Show by Rock, Shiho Kimizuki in Seraph of the End, Otohiko in Kamisama Kiss, R in Jormungand, Tanaka in the Shana series, Tatsumi in Shiki, Alcides in Appleseed XIII, Marc Cole in Spice and Wolf 2, Ginei Morioka in Rosario + Vampire, Shu Koibuchi in Princess Jellyfish, Takeru Oyama in Maken-Ki!, Bora and Kawazu in Fairy Tail, Sha Gyojo in Saiyuki Reload Blast, Grossular in ACCA, Liam in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Tyr in Smite, Toval Randonneur in Trails of Cold Steel 2, Momotaro in God Wars: Future Past,and many more.

You can follow Ian on Twitter @iantweeting, and on Tiktok, Twitch and Instagram @iansinclairvo.

J. Michael Tatum

Evoto

Nurtured on anime classics from a tender age, he spent more years than he cares to remember in what might charitably be called free-fall before landing, mostly by accident, smack dab on the industry of his dreams.

Cast as Rikichi in 2005’s Samurai 7, Tatum’s luck has held long enough for him to hoist his flag on a slew of dream roles, most notably Kyoya Otori in Ouran High School Host Club, suave, demonic Sebastian Michaelis in Black Butler, Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss, Kraft Lawrence from Spice & Wolf, and Okarin Rintarou from Steins;Gate. Tatum can also be heard in My Hero Academia as Teyna Iida, Louis in Fire Emblem: Engage, Moran in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and more recently asCid Highwind in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.

Other characters the man still can’t believe he’s had the crazy luck to play include: Eneru in One Piece, Ryosuke Takahashi in Initial D, Zarbon in Dragon Ball Z Kai, Scar in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Acnologia in Fairy Tale, and Erwin Smith in Attack on Titan. His video game credits include Sir Hammerlock from the Borderlands franchise, Julius Kresnik from Tales of Xillia 2, Mr. Foster from Killing Floor 2, Kelvin and Pendles from Battleborn, a slew of characters from SMITE, and many, many more. And the list continues to grow!

Ever the workaholic, Tatum is currently burning the midnight oil on a number of exciting projects due for release later this year. And before you ask, the “J” is silent. 

2025 Cosplay Contest Judges

Stitchfully Bewitched

Stitchfully Bewitched

Brewing one mean seam at a time, Stitchfully Bewitched is an award-winning cosplayer and a professional seamstress. She has over a decade of experience in both costume and apparel design. She has a deep affection for costume designing and enjoys… [Read more]

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Abradorable

Abradorable

Abradorable, or Abra for short, is an award winning cosplayer from Florida that started her competition journey in 2010. She is best known for her over-the-top prop work using materials ranging from foam to fiberglass. She mastered her craft in cosplay… [Read more]

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Tealiosk

Tealiosk

Meet Tealiosk, your friendly neighborhood seamstress and cosplay superstar! With decades of sewing experience under her belt, she’s a fabric wizard who can whip up jaw-dropping costumes faster than you can say “Just Dance!” She’s a proud advocate for inclu… [Read more]

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Jordan Dash Cruz

Jordan Dash Cruz is actor and director residing in DFW Texas. Originally hailing from the Sunshine State of Florida, Jordan likes long walks on the beach, most 90s sitcoms and pineapple on pizza. When he’s not busy playing video games, hanging out with his wife or admiring Ralph Macchio’s beautiful Crane kick in “The Karate Kid”, he likes to act. So much so, he’s been doing it professionally for 6 years!

You can hear him across a multitude of anime titles and video games such as: Temenos in OCTOPATH TRAVELER 2, Stark in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Aoshi Tokimitsu in BLUELOCK, Leon Fou Bartfort in Trapped in a Dating Sim, Rashad Goodman in BeyBlade Burst: Quad Drive, Taketo in Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, Senta in Hell’s Paradise, Shaun and John in SHADOWS HOUSE, Dominic in SpyXFamily, Leo Tsukinaga in Ensemble Stars!, Akito Miyake in Classroom of the Elite II, Suleiman and Tsujigiro in One Piece, Ruben/Rossa in Black Clover, Toma in Sing A Bit of Harmony, Moguo in Talentless Nana, Ryo Hoshino in The Millionaire Detective Balance:Unlimited, Titan in Dr. Stone, Tamura in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Nimble in Overlord III, Howdy Morning in Epithet Erased, Tierno in Pokemon Masters EX, College Murph in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Felix in Eternal Return, Kurenai in SMASH LEGENDS, Golden Alligator, Nabil, Nogata and Khasani in Genshin Impact, Vizier Thoth, Pixel Hammer Thor, Raxolotl Ratatoskr and Raven King Chernobog in SMITE and more!

When it comes to directing, Jordan’s had the opportunity to help assist in directing some of your anime favorites like: BLUELOCK, Trapped in a Dating Sim, Psycho Pass: Providence, MF Ghost, A Galaxy Next Door, Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, BOFURI Season 2, and The Great Jahy.

He’s an avid gamer, and enjoys games such as Final Fantasy, and the “Tales of” series! He’s also REALLY hoping Jet Set Radio Future gets an HD Remaster one day. Feel free to follow all of his Voice Act-y adventures on Twitter or Instagram (@DashCruzVA) where he posts about his cats, his wife, work and fun! Finally, as we say in the entertainment industry: “Make sure to: Sit back, Relax, and Enjoy the show!”

Extremely Hard Take-Home Anime Quiz 2025 is Available

This is a multiple-choice, open-book, take-home quiz that begins on the Sakura-con site three weeks before the convention.

This is a multiple-choice, open-book, take-home quiz that begins on the Sakura-Con site three weeks before the convention.  You are encouraged to use any resource at your disposal.  Some of the questions will test your understanding and ability to analyze anime, not just your memory.  Instead, you will need to do research into the real world of such topics as art, geography, history, literature, music and science.  The answers to the questions will provide additional context and meaning to the anime that you already enjoy.

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Lucien Dodge

Lucien is a voice actor specializing in characters for animation, video games, commercials, and other media.  His animation credits include Robin in Batman: Mechs vs. Mutants, Akaza in Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, Mahito in Jujutsu Kaisen, Zoicite and Motoki in the Viz Media dub of Sailor Moon, Waver Velvet in Fate/Zero and Lord El Melloi II’s Case Files, Amuro Ray in Gundam: The Origin, Okami in Aggretsuko, Takumu Mayuzumi in Accel World, Ja’far in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic and Magi: Adventure of Sinbad, Keisuke Baji in Tokyo Revengers, Tatara Totsuka in K, and Blue in Pokémon Origins.

Video game credits include Felix in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Dust in Dust: An Elysian Tail, Kibo and Hifumi Yamada in the Danganronpa series, Clover Cookie in Cookie Run: Kingdom, Elliot Craig in Trails of Cold Steel, Hojo in Monster Hunter: Rise, Aries in Fallout 76, Amador Jack in Deathloop, Spartan Voiceprint 2SAW in Halo Infinite, and additional voices Spider Man: Miles Morales, World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Elder Scrolls: Blades, and a multitude of characters for Shadowverse.

You can find out more about Lucien and his work by visiting his web-site at luciendodge.com.

Artist Alley

Artist Alley is a venue for amateur and professional artists/artisans to sell their anime, manga and Japanese inspired works to the general convention members. This includes comic book artists, illustrators, makers of small cosplay accessories, and much more.

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