Need technical assistance? athome@otakuthon.com
Virtual anime convention experience at home!
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
AUGUST 15-16, 2020
11:00 AM EDT
11:00 PM EDT
ONLINE
NO TRAVEL NEEDED
At-home cafe was established in 2004 and is the longest-running food and entertainment maid cafe in Akihabara.
Led by world-famous maid Hitomi, one of the cafe’s original members and now its Chief Branding Officer, at-home cafe welcomes masters and princesses of all ages and nationalities to its 6 “mansions” in the center of Akihabara and to their newest location in Osaka, which opened in 2019.
At-home cafe provides guests with happy, family-friendly entertainment and delicious “kawaii”-themed food and drinks as 400 of the world’s top-level maids cast a spell to make everything magical!
“Moe moe kyun” – the original “maid spell” created by Hitomi – has become famous to fans of maid cafes and Akihabara culture across the world.
Starting in 2015, at-home cafe has collaborated with Sanrio characters Hello Kitty, Gudetama, Cinnamoroll, My Melody, and Pompompurin, where guests at @home cafe’s mansions can enjoy special collaboration dishes and cute, character-matching maid uniforms.
Every year, the “at-home cafe maids of the year” ranking is held, where the year’s top premium maids are selected and awarded additional duties as maid culture ambassadors. @home cafe premium maids have made special appearances at international events in the United States, Chile, Mexico, Russia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, delighting masters and princesses with authentic Japanese maid culture and “moe”.
At-home cafe’s goal is to serve maid culture all over the world, moving further forward each year to more countries!
BACK-ON, is a two-member hybrid rock band formed in Japan in 2002 featuring KENJI03 who sings and plays guitar and TEEDA who raps.
They have been around the world performing for audiences in various conventions and events, from Canada, the USA to Asia, Europe to South America. With catchy rhythms and memorable melodies, this music strongly resonates with audiences far and wide.
BACK-ON are most known for creating anime, and game-opening themes as well as ending themes. Some of their Anime Theme performances include Air Gear (TV OP1), Eyeshield 21 (TV OP4, ED5, ED6), Fairy Tail (TV 2 OP2), Gundam Build Fighters (TV OP1, OP2), Gundam Build Fighters Try (TV 2 OP), Murder Princess (OP), and One Piece (TV OP19)
To date, BACK-ON has collaborated and written songs for a slew of artists, among them, Kis-My-Ft2, EXILE SHOKICHI.
This online concert is in association with J-rock North Promotions Inc. and Avex Entertainment Inc.
IA debuted in 2012 as a virtual artist with a soul. Her voice is digitally generated with voice synth technology. She has toured worldwide in 12 cities only 3 years since her debut thanks to her critical acclaim globally, and her online videos have generated over 300M views. Her big name song contributors include SUGIZO (LUNA SEA / X JAPAN), SHINICHI OSAWA (MONDO GROSSO), KOHH, TeddyLoid.
IA was appointed to be the first virtual character as a committee member for the International Olympiad in Informatics in which 87 countries participated. She has signed as an attendant for JR East Japan and was appointed as image character for Japan’s biggest auto race, Super GT.
Her musical & live show ARIA in 2018 was highly received as a new style in entertainment showbiz blending art, music and technology. The show was performed successfully in Enghien-les-Bains (France), Japan and the US.
Maguro Nikan is a brand new band from Tokyo Japan. In 2019, Rikimaru joined the band and he powered Maguro Nikan’s punk, noisy, hard, and pop sound that Yuyu has rocked the stage since 2018 by his tight and emotional guitar play.
They won the 1st prize at the all Japan band contest “L-1 Grand Prix 2019”, it was the youngest record in the contest history. In November 2019, they recorded 4 new songs and has started to rock for a second season.
In 2012, she made her debut at the age of seven on the public broadcasting channel NHK, performing the song “6 Sai No Ballad” for the TV show Minna No Uta. In 2013, she released her second single “Tan Tan Tan”. Broadcast on the same show and with 1 million hits on YouTube, it was another big success. In 2014, her song “Hanbun Otona”, a duet performed with her mother Azumi Inoue, was also broadcast on NHK’s Minna No Uta, making it her third consecutive song to be shown on the program, an amazing achievement. She started her second career as a rock vocalist of Maguro Nikan in 2018. She is currently a 15-year-old junior high school student.
Yuyu’s favourite artists: Mariah Carey, Greenday, Avril Lavigne (when she was singing Sk8er Boi), KANABOON, SHISHAMO / game anime manga: Sailor moon, Shichisei no subaru / food: Meat (especially “outside skirt steak” it’s a part of beef called “Harami” in Japanese) / future aim: To sing Anison / dream: Rock star / equipment I want: Matchless DC30 amplifier and Rikimaru’s guitar “Music man Steve Lukather model” LOL. Because it fits my small hand.
He started playing the guitar when he was young because his father is also a musician. DAW (music software) was a toy for him, and he naturally mastered the basic operation of sequencers and MIDI. In 2015, he participated in the promotion of Big Lincoln, goodwill ambassador in Illinois USA, and he appeared in PR events and promotion video. In 2017 he appeared on the first stage at Takatsuki Jazz Street as a support guitarist with his father’s band when he was 14 years old. In 2018 he participated at the recording session as the guitarist for the ending song of Konami Professional Baseball Spirits 5. In 2019 he joined Maguro Nikan as a guitarist. He is currently a 15-year-old high school student.
Rikimaru’s favourite artists: John Mayer, One OK Rock / anime game manga: Taiko no Tatsujin / food: Sushi especially Sea urchin, Flounder’s fin, Scorched fish ( Salmon, Tuna, etc.) I like junk food too, for example, beef jerky. / future aim: World tour / dream: Super fantastic live concert at Arctic and Antarctic or in Space / equipment I want: “Bogner” amplifier and cabinet
Formerly involved with the production desk at Studio Ghibli, Hirokatsu Kihara was involved in the hit anime Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. He has also done some voice acting work, most notably as the role of Minister of Defense in DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon. Nowadays he writes ghost stories and MCs at monster conventions.
Hirokatsu Kihara who calls himself “Kaii-shushu-ka or Mystery collector” is not just one of the most popular ghost story writers in Japan. He takes a role as a host in events and talk shows and as a multimedia planner who creates new Japanese culture. “Just because it’s a ghost story doesn’t mean it’s scary,” he says.
His most famous work is Tales of Terror: Haunted Apartment, and has been a crucial contributor to many other hits in this genre. The series has been selling over 1.3 million copies and attracting many fans through TV, movies, games, comics and digital content even after their 25th anniversary. In addition, he keeps writing books such as “Tsukumo Kwaidan”, “Tonari-no-kai”, “Kinkiro” and shares his own new ghost story worlds with many other publishers and creators.
Kihara is always grateful to fans and all the people who help him with his works and who tell him interesting stories. And now he believes it is time for him to introduce Japan’s new part of the culture to both Japan and overseas through his future works.//
Rica Matsumoto is a seiyuu (voice actress), a singer, and a multi-talent actress.
Her activity area covers a wide range including Japan, China, America, Russia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain, and Vietnam.
Rica Matsumoto (松本 梨香 Matsumoto Rika, born November 30, 1968) is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rika Matsumoto. She was one of the founders of the Anison band JAM Project.
After early-stage work, she began both voice acting and singing careers. Her most popular role is Satoshi (Ash Ketchum in English translations), the main character of the anime series Pokémon. She also had a role in the Yu-Gi-Oh series as Ryo Bakura and Yami Bakura. As such, Matsumoto has taken on roles for young boys. Matsumoto also performs the songs for many of the openings for the Japanese Pokémon anime. She also performed the theme song A Live A Life for Tokusatsu tv show story Kamen Rider Ryuki.
Matsumoto has had leading as well as supporting roles in dozens of series. She has also had a radio show in Japan and does some dubbing work for translations of American films and TV series into Japanese.
This online appearance is brought to you by J-rock North Promotions Inc. and LIVE EXSAM Inc.
Hiroshi Matsuyama is the CEO and President of Japanese game developer CyberConnect2 Co., Ltd., whose games are internationally recognized for their unique anime-like action and cinematics.
As one of the biggest fans of manga since a young age, Matsuyama faithfully reads more than 60 manga magazines a month.
His chance to enter the entertainment industry came when he reconnected with a few friends from school, who were looking to create a game development company. Matsuyama joined his friends, and together they created CyberConnect. Matsuyama worked at this startup as a generalist graphic designer and was responsible for more than 80% of the background graphics in the company’s first games, Silent Bomber and Tail Concerto. However, with the mysterious disappearance of the CEO at the time, the company found itself close to disbanding. Matsuyama convinced his dozen colleagues to give him a chance to lead the team towards success. He became the new CEO, and the company rebranded itself as CyberConnect2, which later released the acclaimed series .hack.
With now three studios including one in Montreal, his company has continued growing and his passion for all things anime related has lead to the creation of the Naruto Ultimate Ninja series, JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure and more. He has also published books, spoken at countless schools, media events and conventions around the world.
Today, Matsuyama continues to lead the company to create captivating games that reach all around the world.
Born on October 7, 1996, from Shizuoka, Japan Shu Takada has been participating in the national contests since age 7 and has won the first title as a World Champion at 16. Ever since, he has become a 6-time World Champion. Shu’s astonishing performance of fusing yo-yo moves and dance music has attracted an audience of all ages at various festivals and club events throughout Japan.
This special appearance is in association with J-rock North Promotions Inc. and Avex Entertainment Inc.
Team Shachi is a member of Stardust Planet in Stardust Promotion. They are a loud pop unit from Nagoya consisting of Honoka Akimoto, Sakura Nao, Oguro Yuzuki, and Sakamoto Haruna. Renamed on October 23, 2018 from its predecessor group “Team Shachihoko”. With the “super tough strong energy positive exciting soul from Nagoya”, they made their first live performance with a free live performance at Zepp Nagoya. Their first mini album “TEAM SHACHI” released in February 2019 recorded 5th place on the Oricon Weekly Chart on their first try! It is accelerating its momentum with different activities such as advertisements for Komeda coffee shop, Chunichi NewsPaper, Nagoya Port Aquarium and appearances on drama and stages. In the summer of last year, they made their first appearance at SUMMER SONIC, and also participated in large festivals around the world! They dominate the scene with a loud, pop sound and a band sound featuring six brass instrument players. On October 2, 2019, they released their first single and recorded 3rd place on the Oricon!
Hisayuki Tabata started his career as an animator in Tokyo. A twenty-year veteran of the industry, Mr. Tabata has worked on some big projects over the years. He has contributed to Chrono Crusade (2004), Code Geass (2008), Accel World (2012), and the promotional video for the Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight: Re LIVE mobile game (2018).
He is best known for his character designs in Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, Qualidea Code, and Yuyushiki. Recently, he has been working on the Fate/Stay Night movie project based on the Heaven’s Feel story in addition to his illustration work.
He also provided character design and directed the Canadian promotional video Attakai, Fuyu Canada. (Warm, Winter Canada) When he isn’t working hard, he enjoys travelling and finding good food to eat.
Mr. Tabata is excited to be in Canada, virtually, for Otakuthon at Home 2020 and hopes to share a special “Drawing and Talk Session” with all of you.
Ms. Sora Tokui is a voice actor as well as a Mangaka from the Chiba Prefecture. She is most well known for portraying Nero Yuzurizaki from “Tantei Opera Milky Holmes”, Nico Yazawa from “Love Live”, and Maya Jouga from “Is the Order a Rabbit?” among many other roles. As a Mangaka, her work “Makeruna!! Aku no Gundan!” has 2 volumes serialized, as well as been made into an anime.
In December of 2018, she has released her picture book “Panda no Oshigoto” onto store shelves. Other than that, she has also worked as the Chiba Prefecture Minamiboso City Tourism Ambassador. She actively works as a voice actor and mangaka, and she is also active in a wide range of work.
This online appearance is brought to you by J-rock North Promotions Inc. and AVEX Picture Inc.
An idol group formed in 2015 with members from a digital native generation.
As their name The World Standard implies, the members study world languages including English, Spanish and Chinese.
To date, they have performed in 11 countries to become global level artists.
They have also sung theme songs for anime series, such as “Idol Time PriPara” and “Kiratto Pri☆Chan.” In October 2019, WASUTA had their first free concert with a live band at Yoyogi Park’s outdoor stage in front of more than 3,000 fans.
Their 5th anniversary live was held in March 2020 at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA, their largest venue to date.
This online concert is in association with J-rock North Promotions Inc. and Avex Entertainment Inc.
Hazuki Sakamoto (坂元葉月)
Nanase Hirokawa (廣川奈々聖)
Miri Matsuda (松田美里)
Ririka Kodama (小玉梨々華)
Ruka Mishina (三品瑠香)
Ms. Kiyono Yasuno debuted as a Voice Actress in 2011. She is most well known for portraying Megumi Kato in “Saekano, How to raise a boring girlfriend”, Kaname Buccaneer in “Macross Delta and Elena Amamiya/Cure Soleil in “Star☆Twinkle PreCure” among many other roles. In July of 2017, she debuted as a solo artist with the release of her mini-album “Namida”, which includes the Ending Theme of TV anime series “Isekai Shokudou”, “Chiisana Hitotsubu”.
She has now released 3 mini-albums, and 2 singles including the Opening Theme of TV anime “Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card”, “Rocket Beat”. For 2 straight years, she has successfully done concert tours in 2018 and 2019, and is currently still active as a Voice Actor and a Singer.
This online appearance is brought to you by J-rock North Promotions Inc. and AVEX Picture Inc.
*Guests are ordered by last name / group name.