Sakura-Con 2010 announces new guests!

Seattle, WA 02-04-2010 - ANCEA (Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association) is proud to present the thirteenth annual Sakura-Con April 2-4 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Downtown Seattle Washington. Sakura-Con is the Northwest’s first and largest convention devoted to Japanese animation (anime), comics (manga), gaming and Asian culture (established 1998). It is the destination event for an expected attendance of over 18,000 fans, industry leaders, celebrities, and artists.  Sakura-Con is one of the largest events of it’s kind in the United States-ranking in the top 5 for attendance.

ANCEA is proud to present Tsuyoshi Nonaka, Yasuhiro Imagawa, and Yutaka Minowa. Look forward to more exciting guest announcements in the coming weeks. Visit www.sakuracon.org for full details.

Tsuyoshi Nonaka is a Mechanical designer known for his work on D.I.C.E. (TV) and Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen.  This will be Nonaka-San’s first Sakura-Con.

Yasuhiro Imagawa has directed several unconventional updates of classic Japanese robot stories, such as Giant Robo, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, and most recently, Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen.  He also wrote scrips for Pet Shop of Horrors, Violinist of Hamelin, Berserk and Harelya II Boy.  This is Imagawa-San’s first Sakura-Con.

Yutaka Minowa is a character designer and animation director who works almost exclusively with Madhouse, one of the premiere Japanese animation companies. His work is most notably recognized in the Yoshiaki Kawijiri movies he has designed characters for, among them Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust.  He’s also worked as character designer and/or animation director for many popular titles including Outlaw Star, the Animatrix, and many, many more. This is Minowa-san’s second Sakura-Con.

 Priority entrance to concerts and main events is offered to all members also reserving a Sakura-Con affiliated Hotel room during the 2010 convention. See www.sakuracon.org .

Sakura-Con 2010 announces multiple new guests!

ANCEA (Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association) is proud to present the thirteenth annual Sakura-Con April 2-4 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Downtown Seattle Washington. Sakura-Con is the Northwest’s first and largest convention devoted to Japanese animation (anime), comics (manga), gaming and Asian culture (established 1998). It is the destination event for an expected attendance of over 18,000 fans, industry leaders, celebrities, and artists.  Sakura-Con is one of the largest events of it’s kind in the United States-ranking in the top 5 for attendance.

ANCEA is proud to present Troy Baker and Vic Mignona as the newest to the line up of special guests for Sakura-Con, which also includes Chis Patton, Richard Epcar, Luci Christian, Brina Palencia, Kent Williams and Todd Haberkorn. Visit www.sakuracon.org <http://www.sakuracon.org>  for full details.

Troy Baker is a multi-talented voice actor and performer. Troy has voiced such memorable characters as  Abel Nightroad in Trinity Blood, Frank Archer in Fullmetal Alchemist (TV), Nagi Springfield in Negima! Magic 101 (TV), and Alphonso in Gunslinger Girl (TV) and many more. Troy has multiple video game roles to his credit, including: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ (VG), Kanji in “Persona 4″ (VG), Sol Badguy in “Guilty Gear 2: Overture” (VG), Yuri Lowell in “Tales of Vesperia” (VG) and more.  This is Troy’s first appearance at Sakura-Con.

Vic Mignogna is a voice actor and performer of such renown he hardly needs introduction. Vic has been in more than a hundred and fifty shows and video games, known for such roles as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Tamaki Suou in Ouran High School Host Club, Fai in Tsubasa Chronicle, Dark in DN Angel, Kurz in Full Metal Panic, Broly in Dragonball Z, Ikkaku in Bleach and many more. Vic is also a professional music composer / singer / producer who has written and produced hundreds of songs for TV, radio and CD. This will be Vic’s third Sakura-Con.

The Hsu-nami and Soul Candy join High and Mighty Color and Dazzle Vision for our musical guest line up for Sakura-Con 2010.

“The Hsu-nami” a World/Progressive/Instrumental Rock band are the first ever “Er-hu prog rock group” in the world. Their music features fusion of metal, psychedelic, prog rock to funk, incorporating the use of an amplified ”Erhu”, a Traditional two-string bowed instrument that is often used in Chinese classical music and folk ensembles, takes the place of lead vocals. Hsu-nami’s music was also featured in the 2008 Bejing Summer Olympics. This is Hsu-Nami’s first Sakura-Con.

Soul Candy is a Seattle-based band consisting for 4 talented musicians that bonded through their love of music and anime. After performing at various local cultural events and building a strong fan base Soul Candy released their much anticipated debut EP, ‘Soul Candy’ in 2009. As the four member band from Seattle call their music “otaku rock,” the EP will appeal to many fans of Japanese animation.  This is Soul Candy’s first main stage appearance at Sakura-Con. Priority entrance to concerts and main events is offered to all members also reserving a Sakura-Con affiliated Hotel room during the 2010 convention. See www.sakuracon.org <http://www.sakuracon.org> .