The Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC) is the first anime convention

Anime convention

An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...

 in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. Based in Nashville, TN, MTAC is also known as Music City's Anime Convention.

Programming

MTAC has many popular recurring events, including a cosplay

Cosplay

, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

 contest, a risque cosplay contest, a ramen

Ramen

is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...

 eating contest, an AMV

Anime music video

An anime music video is a music video consisting of clips from one or more animations set to an audio track ; the term usually refers to fan-made unofficial videos. An AMV can also be a set of video game footage put together with music which is known as a GMV...

 contest, and a rave

Rave

Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...

. Other popular panels and events include concerts, martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 lessons and demonstrations, ParaPara

Parapara

Parapara may refer to:* Parapara, Guárico, a Venezuelan town*Para Para, a Japanese dance*Pisonia brunoniana, the New Zealand Parapara tree...

 lessons and performances, art workshops and yaoi

Yaoi

In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...

 and yuri

Yuri

Yuri is a common first name in several languages, with alternately masculine and feminine denotations depending on the specific culture. In Russia, for example, Юрий is a common male given name meaning 'George', while in Japan it is a traditional female name meaning 'lily', and in Korea, it is also...

 panels.

History

Founded in 1999, MTAC set forth to deliver rich anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 and Japanese

Culture of Japan

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...

 related content to fans in Tennessee and the southeast US on an annual basis. A small event was held with great success and an attempt was made a second event the following year. However, difficulties forced the convention into a temporary stasis that was relieved in 2001 when "MTAC 2.5" was held. 2002 saw MTAC continue its course with "MTAC Pi" (drawing from the mathematical statement of Pi being equal to 3.14159265).

2004 saw a rebirth of the convention after a year long hiatus in 2003. With record setting attendance, the 2004 event dubbed "MTAC 4.01beta" was a celebration not only of anime fandom, but of MTAC's establishment in the anime community and development of its own identity. In 2005 the convention returned dubbing itself "MTAC GO" (references being drawn from the Japanese term for the number 5 as well as the board game originating in China also known as Go

Go (board game)

Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...

). This event again saw record highs in attendance as well as business success.

Event history

Convention	Dates	Location	Atten.	Guests
MTAC	December 10–11, 1999	Days Inn Nashville Airport Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...	300
MTAC 2-1/2	November 2–4, 2001	Clarion Hotel Nashville, Tennessee	400	Tiffany Grant Tiffany Grant Tiffany Lynn Grant is an American voice actress and script writer who is known for her English-dubbing work with the former ADV Films on such anime films and television series as Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which she voiced the character Asuka Langley Soryu... , Sonny Strait Sonny Strait Don "Sonny" Strait is an American voice actor who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment. He has provided voices for a number of characters in English language versions of Japanese anime films.... , Bill Timoney Bill Timoney Bill Timoney is an American actor. His best-known role on television is the character of Alfred Vanderpool on All My Children. Bill is also well-known as a voice actor and ADR director, primarily working on English-language dubs of Japanese anime especially TAJ Productions dubs... , and Kira Vincent-Davis Kira Vincent-Davis Kira Vincent-Davis is an American voice actress who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, and OkraTron 5000... .
MTAC Pi	August 9–11, 2002	Days Inn Nashville Airport Nashville, Tennessee	400	Steve Bennett, Rozie Curtis, Takayuki Karahashi, Sherry Lynn, and Jan Scott-Frazier.
MTAC 4.01 Beta	April 2–4, 2004	Nashville Marriot-Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee	1,000	Greg Ayres Greg Ayres Gregory Scott Ayres is an American voice actor who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films... , Robert DeJesus, Monica Rial Monica Rial Monica Jean Rial is an American voice actress, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000... , and Doug Smith.
MTAC Go	April 1–3, 2005	Millennium Maxwell House Hotel Nashville, Tennessee	1,700	Brent Allison, Greg Ayres, Laura Bailey Laura Bailey Laura Bailey is an English model represented by Liz Matthews PR. She has modelled campaigns for Guess Jeans, L'Oreal, Jaguar, Jaeger, Marks and Spencer, Bella Freud and Temperley London. Laura also works as a writer and has written for Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Glamour, The Independent,... , Colleen Clinkenbeard Colleen Clinkenbeard Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard is an American voice actress, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, and OkraTron 5000. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and series, most notably, Monkey D... , Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Lisa Furukawa Lisa Furukawa Lisa Furukawa is a Japanese American pianist, singer, and songwriter.Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa began studying the piano at the age of three. She has BA’s in Music and Asian Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is an educator and translator as well as a... , Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna Vic Mignogna Victor Joseph "Vic" Mignogna is an American Anime Award winning voice actor and musician who has done voice work for many anime series, movies, and video games... , Monica Rial, and Steve Yun.
MTAC 6th Period	April 21–23, 2006	Embassy Suites Nashville South Franklin, Tennessee Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...	2,500	Greg Ayres, Steve Blum, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Lisa Furukawa, Caitlin Glass Caitlin Glass Caitlin Tiffany Glass is an American voice actress and ADR director. While still a college student, Glass was hired by Funimation Entertainment while on a tour of the studio. Her first roles were bit parts on Case Closed until she landed the role of Hiyono Yuizaki in Spiral... , Scott Kurtz, Vic Mignogna, Para2Mahou, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, and Travis Willingham Travis Willingham Travis Hampton Willingham is an American actor and voice actor who works with anime films, television series, as well as video games.... .
MTAC Prime	April 13–15, 2007	Cool Springs Conference Center Franklin, Tennessee	3,000	Lisa Furukawa, Tiffany Grant Tiffany Grant Tiffany Lynn Grant is an American voice actress and script writer who is known for her English-dubbing work with the former ADV Films on such anime films and television series as Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which she voiced the character Asuka Langley Soryu... , Matt Greenfield Matt Greenfield Matt Greenfield is the American co-founder of the now-defunct ADV Films. Originally an avid fan who ran an anime club in Houston, Texas with John Ledford , he and Ledford founded ADV Films in 1992. ADV Films began as an importer of anime, marketing primarily to the existing network of anime fans... , Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Neil Kaplan Neil Kaplan Neil Kaplan is an American voice actor, entertainer and comedian.-Biography:Kaplan grew up in San Jose, California. He got his start as a comedian doing impressions of presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. He also impersonated a little known journalist at the time, Dan Rather. He... , Kevin McKeever, Yad-Ming Mui, Ananth Panagariya, Peelander-Z Peelander-Z Peelander-Z is a Japanese punk band based in New York City. They bill themselves as a "Japanese Action Comic Punk band hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander"... , The Protomen, Doug Smith, and Steve Yun.
MTAC Infinity	April 25–27, 2008	Sheraton Music City Nashville, Tennessee	3,750	Greg Ayres, James L. Barry, Johnny Yong Bosch Johnny Yong Bosch Johnny Yong Bosch is an American actor, voice actor, martial artist, and musician.He may be best known for portraying Adam Park in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and being the English voice of Ichigo Kurosaki in the hit anime series Bleach, Vash the Stampede in Trigun and Lelouch Lamperouge in Code... , Chickenbox!, DJ TX300, Eyeshine, Kaiju Big Battel Kaiju Big Battel Kaiju Big Battel is a performance by the Boston, Massachusetts based performance entertainment troupe Studio Kaiju created by Rand Borden and David Borden. The performances are parodies of both professional wrestling and the tokusatsu kaiju movies of Japan... , The Man Power, Mega Ran, Nashville Lotus Taiko Team, Peelander-Z, The Slants The Slants The Slants are the first Asian American dance rock band in the world. The band was founded by Simon Young in 2006 in Portland, Oregon. Often compared with 80’s synth-pop bands such as Depeche Mode, New Order, and Joy Division, as well as modern acts such as The Killers and The Bravery, the band... , and Doug Smith.
MTAC Ninja	April 3–5, 2009	Sheraton Music City Nashville, Tennessee	4,200	James L. Barry, Lisa Furukawa, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Steve Horton, Jeff Nimoy Jeff Nimoy -Biography:Jeff Nimoy wrote, directed, and served as story editor for the English translation of the anime Digimon: Digital Monsters . He also served as an Executive Producer and writer on numerous other Fox Kids shows... , the Notorious MSG Notorious MSG Notorious MSG is a performing trio of Asian American rappers founded during 2002 in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City. Their songs feature boasting innuendos regarding women, and lyrics about gangster lifestyles and Chinese food... , Ananth Panagariya, Sam Romero, Colleen Ann O'Shaughnessey, The Slants The Slants The Slants are the first Asian American dance rock band in the world. The band was founded by Simon Young in 2006 in Portland, Oregon. Often compared with 80’s synth-pop bands such as Depeche Mode, New Order, and Joy Division, as well as modern acts such as The Killers and The Bravery, the band... , DJ Wrecktal Destruction, ST~Prime (formerly the Band of Seven) and Jeong Mo Yang.
MTAC Odyssey	April 30-May 2, 2010	Sheraton Music City Nashville, Tennessee	4,000 (affected by record flooding in Nashville)	Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Neil Kaplan, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Doug Smith, Jan Scott-Frazier, Sonny Strait, Lisa Furukawa, Vic Mignogna, Steve Yun, Spike Spencer, Angry Viking Press, Kaiju Big Battel, with Musical Guests Quaff, Team Illuminati, DJ Wrecktal Destruction, and The Man Power
MTAC Goes To 11	April 22–24, 2011	Sheraton Music City Nashville, Tennessee	5,640	Action Adventure World, Robert Axelrod, Blue Grade, The Eric Stuart Band, Lisa Furukawa, DJ Wrecktal Destruction, Garth Graham, Yuri Lowenthal, The Man Power, Vic Mignogna, Reni Mimura, My Parents Favorite Music, Tara Platt, The Protomen, Shammers & Lefthand, The Slants, Eric Stuart, The Suzan, ST~Prime
MTAC Omega	April 6-8, 2012	Nashville Convention Center and Renaissance Hotel Nashville, Tennessee		Symphonic Anime Orchestra