Fanime is one of my home conventions over in San Jose. I've been attending for about a decade at this point and I always look forward to it. It's one of the biggest conventions in America and marks the kick off to the summer convention season. This year, Fanime takes place between 5/26/23 and 5/29/23, on its traditional Memorial Day weekend.
Here's what we have on deck for guests:
Gilles Poitras
Gilles is a long-time proponent of Fanime and is a bonafide scholar when it comes to Japan and Japanese culture. He's worked with the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the Smithsonian in Washington DC, libraries, and more. He counts over three decades of experience when it comes to Japan, and will be on hand to impart some of that knowledge to attendees.
VampyBitMe
Linda Le makes another return to Fanime! Better known as VampyBitMe, Linda has worked with Capcom, Bandai, DC, and more. Currently, she is a Social and Community Manager for Bandai's GUNDAM EVOLUTION video game. Her story is a true fan-to-industry tale that is proof that anyone can make their passion pay off.
Kyle McCarley
Kyle McCarley is voice actor with many popular credits to his name. He's been a part of the anime franchises Mob Psycho 100, Jojo, Komi Can't Communicate, Durarara, the Fate series, Boruto, and many more. For video games, you may have heard him in NieR: Automata, Shadowverse, God Eater, Fire Emblem, BlazBlue, and Final Fantasy.
Aicosu
The duo of Darling and Sylar have been together since 2009. Fifteen years has equaled hundreds of costumes and many Masters-level rankings in competitions around the globe.
Cherami Leigh
Cherami Leigh was sadly unable to attend the previous year's Fanime due to last minute complications, but this time, she'll be here! You've seen and heard her voice on TV and in anime like Bones, NCIS: Los Angeles, Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online, and Sailor Moon. She also holds many video game credits like Persona 5 and Cyberpunk 2077.
Jordana Robinson
Jordana Robinson is the proprietor of Mossbadger, first founded in 2012. Mossbadger was based on the concept of Japanese fashion's Lolita subset. They produce finished garments, accessories, as well as on-demand fabric for those of you who want to sew your own items. Jordana's work has been featured across the globe in America, Europe, and Japan.
Yasha
Yasha, also known as Yashafluff, is a veteran cosplayer of many years. Self-described as a "3D potato trying to be a 2D anime waifu with the power of makeup and photoshop" and I'd say she's very successful at it. She's worked stints with Yostar and Mihoyo as an official cosplayer for their respective franchises (Azur Lane, Genshin Impact) at events.
She also has the dubious honor of having her leg signed by Yoko Taro at the Nier orchestral concert in Chicago.
And she loves steak. A lot.
Jirard Khalil
Gaming personality Jirard Khalil is better known as The Completionist, who, as the name might suggest, is a master at completing games. When we say complete, we mean complete. Every single percentage of a clear, every secret, every tiny element you can think of. He's played games for the benefit of many charities including St Jude's, Doctors Without Borders, and many others. He was also part of the G4TV relaunch in 2021 as one of the hosts of X-Play.
Keisuke Ueda
Keisuke Ueda is a man best known for his work in 2.5D stage plays. 2.5D bridges the gap between the 2D source materials (anime, manga, and the like) and our 3D reality. Keisuke holds many popular roles under his belt for franchises such as Persona 3, K, Hetalia, Bungo Stray Dogs, World Trigger, and Tokyo Revengers. He has also featured on TV shows (Yowamushi Pedal) and anime (The Royal Tutor, Pet).
After being a digital guest in 2022, this time, he appears in person. He will be the lead element for this year's Music Fest.
Hirokatsu Kihara
To anime fans, Hirokatsu Kihara is best known for his work as part of Studio Ghibli. He has worked on legendary titles like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service. After departing Studio Ghibli, Hirokatsu became quite a successful horror author, including a co-creator title with Junji Itoh. In fact, he's reached the point where he kind of downplays his time at Ghibli in lieu of his more recent career. He's a master of his craft be it words or illustration.
So there you have it. That's this year's Fanime in a nutshell. Notable returns include the Swap Meet and Music Fest, along with everything else you love about a con. Fanime runs May 26 through May 29 at the McEnery Convention Center in downtown San Jose, CA.
