May 24 - 26, 2024 Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Don't miss the Minneapolis Anime and Gaming Expo in November!

An epic three-day celebration of anime, video games, and music in Minneapolis.

May 24 - 26, 2024

Old List

Back to the guests page for this year.

Steam Powered Giraffe

The robots of Steam Powered Giraffe are like nothing you've ever seen. The malfunctioning joke-spewing metal men play a collection of original Vaudeville inspired tunes fused with modern flare and executed in a super-sleek, one-of-a-kind performance. More than just a band, Steam Powered Giraffe is an experience that must be seen and heard by the entire family.

The artists behind the robots started street busking as these quirky characters in January 2008 at Balboa Park, California, and instantly drew the attention of Southern California. Since then they've performed at such venues as The San Diego Fair, The San Diego Zoo, The Wild Animal Park, Legoland, Ontario Mills, and numerous Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Steampunk Conventions.

The act combines the visual of robot pantomime with sketches, pop culture references, improvised comedic dialogue, and of course, original music. From their heartwarming nostalgic melodies to their funky cabaret rock, Steam Powered Giraffe's songs are memorable, infectious, and as unique as the robots themselves.

David Vincent

David Vincent is a professional Voice Actor / Television Producer based in Los Angeles, California. He has lent his voice to a variety of Animation / Anime and Video Game titles, as well as numerous National Commercials for Television and Radio. David was nominated "Best Voice Actor in an Anime" by the American Anime Awards for his work in GUN x SWORD. Some of his best known roles include Grimmjow (Bleach), Li Xingke (Code Geass), Van (GUN X SWORD), Seiji (DURARARA!!), Arthur August Angel (BLUE EXORCIST), and Daisuke Nagase (Persona 4) among countless others.

DC Douglas

D.C. Douglas

D.C. Douglas will forever be known as either the sinister voice of Albert Wesker (“Resident Evil”), screaming “Chriiiisssss” as he melts in a lava lake, or as the soulful voice of Legion in the “Mass Effect” series, pulling on the heartstrings of fans around the world. These roles are a far cry from his other roles, such as the persnickety alien Zepht in “Star Trek: Enterprise” or the logical autobot Chase on Discovery Family’s “Transformers: Rescue Bots.” And we can’t forget him as Bud in “Sharknado 2.” In addition to his extensive character voice over work (see below for highlights) you’ve heard him on over 300 radio & TV commercials. You may also have seen him on “NCIS,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Workaholics,” “Charmed,” Criminal Minds,” “Castle,” “Star Trek: Enterprise” and many more TV shows. D.C. has been in many indie films you’ve never heard of, but Albert Wesker fans should check out “Apocalypse Kiss” if they want to see him with blonde hair and a tan.

Caitlin Glass

Caitlin Glass

A voice actress and ADR director, best known for the role of Winry Rockbell in Fullmetal Alchemist, Caitlin has been working in the anime industry since 2004. Recent roles include Zessica in Aquarion: EVOL, Arisa in Guilty Crown, Pepe Lima in Michiko & Hatchiin, Magnolia in Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing, Hinata in Future Diary, Lithia in Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar, and Bel Peol in Shana seasons 2 & 3. Well known characters include: Cammy in the Street Fighter IV games, Evergreen in Fairy Tail, Hannah Annafellows in Black Butler II, Phryne in Fractale, Satelizer el Bridget in Freezing, Hiyono in Spiral, Maya Ibuki in the Neon Genesis Evangelion reboot movies, Miria in Baccano, Miss Anderson in Shin-chan, Momochi in Level E, Nerine in Shuffle!, Otohime in Okamisan, Saras in Is This a Zombie?, Saya in Black Cat, Sumomo in Sergeant Frog, Triela in Gunslinger Girl, Vivi in One Piece (FUNimation), and Yakumo in School Rumble. Caitlin directed the widely popular fan-favorite, Ouran High School Host Club, as well as playing Haruhi Fujioka. Other directing credits include Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Chaos Head, Gunslinger Girl- Il Teatrino, Linebarrels of Iron, Murder Princess, Suzuka and FUNimation’s One Piece. Caitlin can’t wait to meet all of you and make some wonderful new memories! You can follow her at @caitlinsvoice on Twitter.

Leah Clark

Leah Clark

Leah Clark is a Random Force Of Nature working as a voice actress and script adapter for FUNimation Entertainment and voice artist for DuArt Films. She has also worked as a director for FUNimation as well as a stage actress in the Dallas-Ft Worth TX area. Some of her most memorable voice roles include Nodoka in Negima; Suzuka in Suzuka; Rin in Toriko; Fuyuki in Sgt Frog; Blair in Soul Eater; Minatsuki in Deadman Wonderland; Saki in Eden of the East; Nora in Spice and Wolf; Minami in Baka and Test; Jiji in Princess Jellyfish; Noah in Full Metal Alchemist—Conqueror of Shamballa; Coby and Miss Doublefinger in One Piece; Paris in Shin Chan; Eri in School Rumble; Maron in Dragonball GT; Carlita in Pokemon the Movie: Black/White—Victini and Reshiram; and Maru in XXXHolic.

Other notable works include: Aria in Aria, the Scarlet Ammo; Homura/Kagari in Sekirei; Akane in Rumbling Hearts; Ruby in Rosario + Vampire; Tenhou in Oh! Edo Rocket; Akagawa/Red Ranger in Level E; Hikari in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (not) Advance; Miyabi in Freezing; Kagura in Ga Rei Zero; Miya Miya in Bamboo Blade; Doyle in Pokemon; and Mayu Otsuka in Darker Than Black. This year, Leah can be heard as Murmur in Future Diary; Yu in Guilty Crown; Giselle in Last Exile-Fam, the Silver Wing; as well as roles in Steins Gate, Wolf Children and Is This a Zombie?

Some of Leah’s script works include Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt, Suzuka, Peach Girl, Sasami—Magical Girl Club, Baka and Test, Strike Witches, and her all-time favorite, B Gata H Kai/Yamada’s First Time. As a Director, Leah has worked on Sasami—Magical Girl Club, Tower of Druaga, StrAIN, Case Closed (movies) Captured In Her Eyes and Countdown To Heaven, and Shuffle. Leah is also a producer and co-host of The Red Wine Therapist podcast also featuring Jad Saxton. The show is an interactive open, raw, educational, and hilarious discussion of life, love, wine and (ahem) other stuff. www.theredwinetherapist.podomatic.com @redwinetherapst on Twitter. Leah would find it oh so magical and lovely if you would keep up with her on Twitter @leahrooo and Facebook—Leah Clark Actress Fanclub. She looks forward to seeing all of you!

Jad Saxton

Jad Saxton

Jad Saxton is a voice and stage actress, best known for her work with Funimation Entertainment in Wolf Children (Yuki), Michiko & Hachin (Hatchin), Fairy Tail (Carla), Last Exile: Fam The Silver Wing (Fam), Eureka Seven AO (Elena Peoples), Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar (Lashara Earth), Steins; Gate (Faris Nyannyan), Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (April), Is This a Zombie? (Haruna), and Shangri-La (Karin Ishida). Some of her other credits include: A Certain Scientific Railgun (Komoe), A Certain Magical Index (Komoe), Aria The Scarlet Amo (Reki), B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time (Mayu Miyano), Freezing (Arnett McMillan), Okami-san & Her Seven Companions (Mimi Usami), Ghost Hunt (Masako Hara), Baccano! (Eve Genoard), Strike Witches (Perrine-H Clostermann), and Soul Eater (Jacqueline O. Lantern Dupré). When she isn’t voicing toons, she can be seen playing on stage at various theaters throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth region and currently in the National Touring production of Stuart Little. Jad loves the wisdom and wit of Dr. Seuss and A.A. Milene, the melodic fantasy of The Beatles, tattoos (though she only has 3 – one is a Beatles lyric), the majesty of whales, gnomes, pandas, foxes, dinosaurs, and above all – anything Harry Potter related (she even named her cat Granger aka Grangie-the-poof)!

Linkara

Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug

Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug has had the misfortune of being cursed to review comic books on the internet. Somehow this has made him popular on the website That Guy With the Glasses, though many suspect it’s more so people can stare and laugh at the weirdo. On his show, Atop the Fourth Wall, he regularly contends with the surreal, the stupid, and the senseless books that the comic industry has produced over the last eighty years. If that wasn’t sad enough, he also has done a retrospective on Power Rangers (released on the schedule of when a blue moon rises on the 13th hour of the 13th day of the 13th month), actually attempting to grant serious analysis to a series about guys in spandex punching rubber-suited monsters. It’s best not to make direct eye contact with him.

Greg Ayres

Greg Ayres can usually be found rockin’ out somewhere, whether animated or not. From the loud-mouthed Hideki in Nerima Daikon Brothers, to Koyuki, singing with the the band in Beck:Mongolian Chop Squad, he’s always glad to shake things up a bit. He is thrilled to be able to add the roles of Uesugi Kenshin in Sengoku Basara, Seikechi Tayama in Oh Edo Rocket, and Abe in Big Windup to his list of new roles. He can also be head as Son Goku in Saiyuki, Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host Club, Yuki in The Wallflower, Leo in Ghost Stories , Satoshi Hiwatari in DNAngel, Kaworu Nagisa in the Director’s Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Negi Springfield in Negima, Heihachi in Samurai 7, Jr. in Xenosaga:The Animation, Tsujido in Speed Grapher, Roan in Ragnorok The Animation, Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK, Nowy in Glass Fleet, Gau Ban in Shadow Skill, Pope Alessandro XVIII in Trinity Blood, and a bunch of other titles he’ll probably forget to mention. FUNimation recently announced Greg as Nagisa in Free!

When he’s not in a booth with headphones on, you can usually find him sporting headphones of another variety behind “the decks”. A veteran nightclub DJ of many years, Greg has really enjoyed the opportunity of doing something else that he truly loves at conventions. From packed rooms at anime conventions, to the legendary stage of The Knitting Factory (NYC), Greg never misses an opportunity to share his love of music with anyone who will listen.

Chris Rager

Chris Rager

Chris Rager is an American voice actor for Funimation studios. More notable performances are as Mr. Satan and King Yemma on “Dragonball Z”, as well as, Arlong the leader of the fish people on the popular “One Piece”. Chris has been seen in national and regional T.V. commercial ads like Taco Bell, Southwest Airlines and Visa. Although he enjoys the T.V. exposure, Christopher holds voice acting closer to his heart. You may have also heard Chris in Animes such as Blue Gender, Case Closed, Black Cat, Desert Punk, Lupin III, Full Metal Alchemist, Yu Yu Hakusho, Samuri 7 and Sgt. Frog. Chris has also been heard in such video games Spike out: Battle Street, Stuntman Ignition, Bloodrayne, Roadkill and many others. Chris always looks forwards to his next voice over role, hoping he can bring a high level of talent and professionalism to such characters.

Jonathan Klein

Jonathan Klein

Jonathan Klein is an English language producer and director of Videogames and Anime at his company, New Generation Pictures, Inc. He has produced and/or directed the English voices on many popular anime titles, such as Hellsing & Hellsing Ultimate, Paranoia Agent, Ergo-Proxy, R.O.D the TV, Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze and many others. Recently he directed Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians and Xtreme Xecutor for Funimation. He has also produced and/or directed the English voices on such videogames as Final Fantasy IV (DS version), Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers, Star Ocean IV, Valkrie Profile II & VP: Covenant of The Plume, The Guided Fate Paradox, Rune Factory 3, Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and every version of Capcom’s Street Fighter since Street Fighter IV, and a whole lot more. Jonathan is also involved in the production of several other Marvel Comics related videogames which he’ll talk about at the convention.

Eric Stuart

Eric Stuart

Brooklyn born and raised singer/songwriter Eric Stuart is a special blend of talent. He has successfully combined the world of music, voice acting and directing for many years. Besides starring in hit shows including Pokémon (Brock, James) and Yu-Gi-Oh! (Seto Kaiba), Eric has toured with such rock legends as Peter Frampton, Ringo Starr, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jethro Tull, Chicago, Hall & Oates, Dave Mason, Julian Cope, Dave Davies, The Alarm, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, and Jeffrey Gaines.

The Eric Stuart Band released their latest album, Lipstick and Barbed Wire, in June 2013. This is their sixth full-length release on the indie label Widow’s Peak Records and it features Grammy winning guitarist Peter Frampton.

In the summer of 1997, Eric’s classic rock and roll style was noticed by Ringo Starr who invited him to open the Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band tour, featuring Peter Frampton, Jack Bruce (Cream), Gary Brooker (Procol Harum) and Simon Kirke (Bad Company). That exposure served as a springboard for Eric to open for the Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Paul Rodgers tour that same summer. Since then, Eric Stuart has been touring on a regular basis including two U.S. tours with Peter Frampton. In 2000, Frampton produced Eric’s next album, Blue, Dressed In Black, along with John Regan and Harvey Jay Goldberg.

Now living in Nashville, Eric’s songwriting talents have given him the opportunity to begin co-writing with some of Nashville’s finest songwriters. The band’s great live show of all original, guitar-driven rock/pop has made the Eric Stuart Band a must-see in the area. Other projects in Eric's impressive career are Viva Piñata, Ultimate Muscle, Dinosaur King, Kirby, Slayers, Chaotic, Sonic X, TMNT, GoGoRiki, One Piece, F-Zero, Magical DoReMi, Fighting Foodons, Shaman King, Descendants Of Darkness, Labyrinth Of Flames, Valkyrie Profile, Tama And Friends, and voicing many national radio and TV commercials and audiobook narrations.

V is for Villains

V is for Villains

V is for Villains is a nationally touring, high energy electronic rock band originating from Chicago, IL. A group of highly skilled stage performers, the band blends original music with colorful costuming and back stories to create characters with a comic book and sci-fi genre feel. Well known throughout the country for their stylized performances at major venues like The House of Blues, The Hard Rock Cafe and Chicago's Metro just to name a few, V is for Villains is also in high demand at comic book and anime conventions. V is for Villains, is led by front man and lead vocalist Mr. Agitator, and is joined on stage by the likes of Fallon Flynn on guitar and Vex on keyboards and female lead vocals. This is one show you don’t want to miss!

Dr. Awkward

www.drawkward.com
Dr. Awkward is a Nerdcore rapper with several hit songs and performances at Nerdapalooza and after parties at Comic Con, Florida's Nerd Invasion, and Texas' Comicpalooza. In 2009, Dr. Awkward released his first solo project "Next Gen," in which Doc proclaims that he is the future of Nerdcore Hip Hop. The EP was hailed as an instant classic, with hits like "Geekquilibrium" and "Imposter." Dr. Awkward release his latest album, "Unlimited" in April 2010, which features an amazing fusion of Nerdcore, Hip Hop, and R&B.

YTCracker

www.ytcracker.com
YTCracker is a rapper, former cracker, and Internet entrepreneur. YTCracker began producing rap music in 1998 in the genre that has since become known as nerdcore hip hop. YTCracker is a self-proclaimed “jack of all trades”, also making a name for himself as a professional disc jockey, computer programmer, graphics designer and webmaster.

Fuzzy Machete

www.fuzzymachete.com

With cerebral (often snarky) lyrics and a very straightforward "garage rock" aesthetic, Fuzzy Machete is a staple of the nascent "nerdpunk" scene in the Twin Cities. Fuzzy Machete consists of Tara on Guitar, Krissandra on Bass, and Robin on drums. Believing that great music and nerd culture pair like Langres and a fine champagne, these four brew an auditory frisson of AC/DC, The Cure, Bowie, and Rush with Dr. Who, Star Trek, Firefly, and MS3TK. Merciless and gritty like the writings of George R.R. Martin and sweet as Nana, this all girl powerhouse has performed at Twin Cities Pride Festival, The Zombie Pub Crawl, Warped Tour Send off with Sick of Sarah, Girls Rock and Roll Retreat, Convergence, and AniMinneapolis!

StarF

StarF

StarF is an amateur hip hop artist from Maple Grove, Minnesota who primarily functions within the nerdcore community. He occasionally yells at a microphone and calls the results music. Once in awhile he likes to go out in public and shout at groups of people much to their confusion, calling it a performance of this aforementioned music. If you've ever wanted to experience the excitement of some guy who likes to LARP as a rockstar yelling words at you in rapid succession over wonderfully bass-laden instrumentals it would be in your best interest to see StarF perform.

Mattari 2600

Mattari 2600

Mattari is a nerdcore hip-hop artist who makes music for the love of music. Mattari is proud to stand by making free music that will always be free. Mattari started making music after listening to a bunch of old-school and nerdcore hip-hop for years, and realizing a natural talent for decent writing and hip-hop flow. Mattari will perform anywhere or collaborate with anyone for the love of making music.

Samurai Dan

Samurai Dan & Lady Jillian

Samurai Dan and his wife, the beautiful Lady Jillian, are masters of marital... erm... martial mayhem, and full-time martial arts instructors, specializing in 16th century Samurai arts. When not teaching at their dojo, the Kojokan, they travel across the country performing and teaching the ancient ways of the most famous warriors in history. Their shows and demonstrations uniquely blend history, combative skill, and humor, in a way that will both educate and entertain audiences both large and small. The dynamic duo also collaborated to write, direct, host, and star in a 12 episode TV series entitled "The Way of the Samurai," and Daniel is also an author with several martial arts articles published, and he is currently working on his second full-length novel.



Note: Chuck huber moved to Meta Con due to a work obligation.
Todd Haberkorn can not attend due to a professional conflict.

An AnimeCon.org convention.