SugoiCon is an 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 the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metropolitan area

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metropolitan area

The Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area is a metropolitan area that includes counties in the U.S. states of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, centered around the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. The United States Census defines the metropolitan area as the Cincinnati-Middletown Metropolitan...

. The first three SugoiCons were informal gatherings, and were held in a location nicknamed "Joe's Garage" in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

 as an annual event honoring fan fiction creator Fred Lee Cain. Cain was the creator of a character called "Sugoi", which was loosely based on the series Urusei Yatsura

Urusei Yatsura

is a comedic manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi that premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1978 and ran until its conclusion in 1987. Its 374 individual chapters were collected and published in 34 tankōbon volumes. The series tells the story of Ataru Moroboshi, and the alien...

. The character has served as the convention's mascot since then. The first major event, SugoiCon IV, took place at a since-demolished convention center in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1996, and was attended by about 150 people. The convention returned to "Joe's Garage" for V-VII. The non-profit organization Southwestern Ohio Regional Animation began to host SugoiCon as a public convention in 2000.

SugoiCon's stated goal is to give appreciation to anime artists. The convention's guests have included Takao Koyama

Takao Koyama

Takao Koyama is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist focusing on anime productions. He was active as 小山 高男 until 1987.-Career:...

, the chief writer for shows such as Dragon Ball and Saint Seiya

Saint Seiya

, also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada and serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1986 to 1991, and adapted into an anime TV series by Toei Animation from 1986 to 1989.The story follows...

; Ichiro Itano, animation director of installments of Macross

Macross

is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West...

 and director of Gantz

Gantz

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of Kei Kurono and his friend Masaru Kato who die in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens...

; Masao Maruyama

Masao Maruyama

Masao Maruyama is the name of:*Masao Maruyama , commander in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II*Masao Maruyama , political theorist and historian...

, co-founder of Studio Madhouse

Madhouse (company)

is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...

; and Kazuko Tadano

Kazuko Tadano

is a Japanese character designer and animation director. She is also known as KAZZ. She was born in Hiroshima, Japan.-Works:*Crystal Triangle OAV *Dancougar - Super Beast Machine God...

, character designer for Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...

 and Wedding Peach

Wedding Peach

is a shōjo manga by Nao Yazawa and Sukehiro Tomita that was originally serialized in Shogakukan's Ciao magazine. In North America it is translated and published by VIZ Media in its entirety, comprising six volumes....

. The programming at SugoiCon changes every year. Ongoing activities at the convention include video rooms, workshops, guest panels, karaoke

Karaoke

is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

, dances, concerts, and 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...

.

The founders of SugoiCon never decided on the official spacing of the name, so the usages "SugoiCon", "Sugoicon", and "Sugoi Con" are all valid.

Event history

Dates	Location	Atten.	Guests