San Japan
Encyclopedia
San Japan is a Japanese anime convention
and culture convention held annually in San Antonio, Texas
. The event, which debuted in 2008, is San Antonio's first major anime convention and has developed into the largest fan-oriented convention in the city. Guests have included Vic Mignogna
, Christopher Ayres
, Tiffany Grant
, Laura Bailey
, Travis Willingham
, Josh Grelle
, Shinichi Watanabe
and Samantha Inoue-Harte
.
Musical guest appearances have included the North American debut concert of Smile.dk
, along with performances by LeetStreet Boys, Mega Ran, The Protomen
, KESHIKI and OverClocked ReMix
.
, in San Antonio, Texas on November 10, 2007. After a successful one-day convention, San Japan focused on its debut 3-day convention which was called San Japan 1.5. It received rave reviews & accolades in its debut.
Next, San Japan sponsored a second one-day convention called Mizuumi-Con, which was created after the success of Zero Day Anime as it happened on March 21, 2009. The second 3-day convention was called San Japan 2.x and the convention happened on August 14–16, 2009. San Japan :3 moved to a new location in 2010 at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel which is attached to the Rivercenter Mall. It is located at the heart of the San Antonio River Walk
. It concluded its fourth year in August 2011 at the San Antonio Rivercenter Hotel called San Japan 4TW (a pun on the popular internet acronym slang FTW). Starting in August 2012, San Japan will be moving to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center along with the Grand Hyatt San Antonio
Hotel as its new permanent location. The 2012 convention will be called San Japan: Mach 5.
As of Feb. 2010, the Mizuumi Anime Club has taken over Mizuumi-Con and allowed it to be run entirely by themselves at Our Lady of the Lake University
without the assistance of San Japan. Mizuumi-Con is now the second largest anime-focused fan convention in San Antonio with over 2000 people in 2011.
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...
and culture convention held annually in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. The event, which debuted in 2008, is San Antonio's first major anime convention and has developed into the largest fan-oriented convention in the city. Guests have included 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...
, Christopher Ayres
Christopher Ayres
For the journalist, see Chris Ayres.Christopher Owen Ayres is an American voice actor ADR Director and Script Writer, who works for anime series at FUNimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, New Generation Pictures and OkraTron 5000. He has provided voices for a number of English...
, 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...
, Laura Bailey
Laura Bailey (voice actress)
Laura Dawn Bailey is an American actress, voice actress, Singer, Line Producer and ADR Director. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films, television series, as well as video games...
, 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....
, Josh Grelle
Josh Grelle
Joshua Grelle is an American voice actor and ADR Script writer for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital and OkraTron 5000...
, Shinichi Watanabe
Shinichi Watanabe
is a Japanese anime director and seiyu. He is best known for his over-the-top adaptation of Rikdo Koshi's Excel Saga, in which he appears as the character Nabeshin....
and Samantha Inoue-Harte
Samantha Inoue-Harte
Samantha Inoue Harte , nicknamed Sami Harte or Sammy Harte, is a founder of an animation studio called Saiko Studios. She is also a voice actress for ADV Films, FUNimation Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and an animation instructor....
.
Musical guest appearances have included the North American debut concert of Smile.dk
Smile.dk
Smile.dk is a Swedish bubblegum dance group with Veronica Almqvist and Cecilia Reiskog as the current members. The band is well-known around the world partly due to their many songs in Dance Dance Revolution, including "Butterfly", "Golden Sky", "Boys", "Mr...
, along with performances by LeetStreet Boys, Mega Ran, The Protomen
The Protomen
The Protomen is an American rock band best known for composing original concept albums loosely based on the popular video game series Mega Man...
, KESHIKI and OverClocked ReMix
OverClocked ReMix
OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means...
.
History
The San Japan group was formed in Fall 2005 devoted to bringing Japanese animation & cultural awareness to San Antonio. It was originally intended to debut as a 3-day convention in July 2007 but the event had to be postponed for one additional year due to issues with the original host location. To make up for the postponement, a one-day event called San Japan : Zero Day Anime was held at Our Lady of the Lake UniversityOur Lady of the Lake University
Our Lady of the Lake University is an independent Catholic, co-ed university located in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence, a religious order originating in Lorraine, France, during the 18th century...
, in San Antonio, Texas on November 10, 2007. After a successful one-day convention, San Japan focused on its debut 3-day convention which was called San Japan 1.5. It received rave reviews & accolades in its debut.
Next, San Japan sponsored a second one-day convention called Mizuumi-Con, which was created after the success of Zero Day Anime as it happened on March 21, 2009. The second 3-day convention was called San Japan 2.x and the convention happened on August 14–16, 2009. San Japan :3 moved to a new location in 2010 at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel which is attached to the Rivercenter Mall. It is located at the heart of the San Antonio River Walk
San Antonio River Walk
The San Antonio River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath downtown San Antonio, Texas...
. It concluded its fourth year in August 2011 at the San Antonio Rivercenter Hotel called San Japan 4TW (a pun on the popular internet acronym slang FTW). Starting in August 2012, San Japan will be moving to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center along with the Grand Hyatt San Antonio
Grand Hyatt San Antonio
The Grand Hyatt San Antonio is a 34 story, 1,000 room hotel in downtown San Antonio built in 2008. It is the tallest building constructed in the city during the 2000's and the 2nd tallest hotel in the city....
Hotel as its new permanent location. The 2012 convention will be called San Japan: Mach 5.
As of Feb. 2010, the Mizuumi Anime Club has taken over Mizuumi-Con and allowed it to be run entirely by themselves at Our Lady of the Lake University
Our Lady of the Lake University
Our Lady of the Lake University is an independent Catholic, co-ed university located in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence, a religious order originating in Lorraine, France, during the 18th century...
without the assistance of San Japan. Mizuumi-Con is now the second largest anime-focused fan convention in San Antonio with over 2000 people in 2011.
Event history
| Date | Venue & Location | Attend. | Convention Guests |
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