During Japan Expo 2014, we had a chance to interview incumbent Street Fighter character designer, illustrator and art director Daigo Ikeno who has been working for the video game company Capcom since 1993. Known for his unique take on Ryu, Ken and the rest of the Street Fighter family, find out what he had to say about his design process and his thoughts on his appearance at Japan Expo 2014 in San Mateo, California.

For fans of Japanese visual novel-style games, the name Key evokes a lot of fond memories, magical storylines and endearing characters that often culminate into an cathartic bliss that I personally like to describe as "tear nirvana." Known as the company behind the scripts for tearjerker anime such as Kanon, Air and most recently Little Busters!, VisualArt's, Key's parent company, has finally begun to localize these timeless visual novels into English as part of a collaboration with the localization company Sekai Project.

With the recent release of the kinetic novel Planetarian already under their belt, the next big project for the two companies will be the upcoming Kickstarter campaign for Clannad; the title that is often arguably seen as the company's magnum opus. Take a trip with us as we interview Genki Tenkumo, one of the scenario writers for Clannad, and Yoshikuni Toyoizumi, one of VisualArt's PR representatives, at Japan Expo USA 2014 to discuss the company's plans and their hopes for the English market.

Also known as "Urobutcher," Gen Urobuchi has penned some of the most notorious anime scripts for series such as Fate/Zero and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Famous for taking his audience on a journey full of unexpected twists and turns, Gen has worked on stories across multiple mediums including the live-action Kamen Rider Gamen along with some of Nitroplus' quintessential visual novels Saya no Uta and Phantom of Inferno. His upcoming anime film Expelled from Paradise is slated to open in Japan later this year on November 15. Together with Nihongogo, join us as we learn about the man behind some of the anime world's most nefarious villains, [contract anyone?], as he shares his thoughts on his craft and how he goes from pen to script.

As part of the Lantis Festival 2014 Tokyo Live, it was announced by Jam project member, Kageyama Hironobu that there will be an Overseas tour tour starting in Las Vegas from January 16-17th, followed by a stop in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and one additional city.

For fans of video game JRPG series Persona, Shoji Meguro's evocative compositions have always played a key role in accentuating the immersive environments found in the Shin Megami Tensei, Catherine and Trauama Center video game series. Most recently, his popularity has skyrocketed thanks to in part to his Persona 3 and Persona 4 soundtracks featuring the vocals of Shihoko Hirata, Lotus Juice and Yumi Kawamura.

Earlier this year, J-pop starlet LiSA released her 5th single, "Rising Hope" which became the opening theme song to the hit anime series The Irregular at Magic High School and climbed all the way to number four spot on the Oricon Music Charts in Japan. Today, her 6th single "BRiGHT FLiGHT/ L. Miranic" was officially released on the North American iTunes store- a near month before its scheduled release in Japan!

Upcoming J-POP duo YANAKIKU recently had a chance to come to San Francisco during the J-POP Summit Festival 2014 as a musical Guest of Honor. Known for their hits, "Pakupaku Kingyo" and "FUJIYAMA△DISCO," the high-energy duet has won the hearts of their fans worldwide through their amazing performance and extravagant kimono cosplay attire. Find out what the pair had to say as we sit down with them for a sit down interview and learn about their unique blend of cosplay fashion and music. 

Fans of old school manga and anime, take heed! Japan Expo USA has decided to kick it old school this year by inviting legendary mangaka Izumi Matsumoto as a Guest of Honor to Japan Expo Second Impact in San Mateo. Famous for helping to pioneer the harem genre back in the 1980s with his work in Kimagure Orange Road, his celebrated resume includes titles such as Milk Report, Comic Gunbuster, Sesame Street and Black Moon. Matsumoto will be meeting fans at the festival for both a conference and signings.

For more information on Japan Expo USA 2nd Impact, visit: http://www.japan-expo.org/

As a longtime and experienced voice actor, famous for powerful 'alpha' roles such as Tidus from Final Fantasy X and Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, Masakazu Morita graced his adoring fans at Anime Expo 2014 as one of the Guests of Honor for K: Missing Kings' premiere. Winner of the 2007 Seiyu Award as "Best Rookie Actor," his extensive resume has led him to lending his voices in a variety of productions including visual novels, anime, video games and even live-action dubbing for series such as Disney's High School Musical as Troy Bolton. Read all about his career, as well as which of the characters he feels the most connected with, as we accompany him on a brief reflective journey through his thoughts and processes. "BANKAI!"

Fresh off the release of her newest album SxWxAxG, former AKB48 pop-star, and current fashion-icon, will be showcasing her talents for the first time in America at the J-POP SUMMIT 2014 in San Francisco. She will be performing on Saturday July 19th at 7:50pm in Union Square and at 11:00 am at the Pagoda Stage in Japantown. For many overseas AKB48 fans this is a dream come true, so be sure to enter the J-POP Summit Festival contest to win an invitation to a special meet & greet session at 5:00 pm on the 19th!