Guest Announcement: Michelle Ruff

One more spin on the roulette wheel and it’s coming up guest announcement. NekoCon welcomes Michelle Ruff!

Michelle, originally a mid-western girl from The Motor City Madhouse now hails from Sunny Los Angeles. You can hear Michelle as some of your favorite anime and Video Game Characters Including Sinon from
Sword Art Online 2, Young Satoru in Erased, Sakuya Tachibana from God Eater,Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach, Yoko Littner from Gurren Laggan, Fujiko Mine from Lupin the Third, Kirari from Kakegurui,
Ririka Nishizono from Occultic Nine, Yuki Nagato from The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Anri Sonohara from Durarara, Luna from Sailor Moon Classic and Sailor Moon Crystal, Princess Euphemia from Code
Geass, Yukari Takeba from the Persona 3 & 4 Series, And Sadayo Kawakami from Persona 5, Eliza from Skullgirls, Jill Valentine in Resident Evil Revelations, C-Viper from Street Fighter, Robin from Fire
Emblem, Tokki in Lawbreakers, Rita Mordio from Tales of Vesperia, Chi from Chobitz, Cream the Rabbit From Sonic the Hedgehog and many others.

Michelle also lends her voice to TV shows and feature films including popular animated features like, Hotel Transylvania 3, Cars 3, The Star, The Angry Birds, Kung Fu Panda 3, Home, Madagascar, The Wind Rises & Your Name. If you listen close you can hear her voice in popular films like, Rampage, Jurassic Park: Ancient Futures, Batman v Superman, Fast and Furious 7 and TV shows like Arrow, Supernatural and Daredevil.

Video Game Tournament Schedule

Below is our console tournament schedule. Please keep an eye out for additional video game information coming soon.

Friday

11:00am               Injustice Gods Among Us 2

12:00pm               Tekken Tag 2

1:00pm                 Marvel vs Capcom Infinite

3:00pm                 Mortal Kombat XL

4:00pm                 Puyo Puyo Tetris

5:00pm                 Tekken 7

7:00pm                 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

8:00pm                 King of Fighters XIV

9:00pm                 BlazBlue Cross Tag

11:00pm               Street Fighter V Arcade (Sticks/Controllers)

Saturday

11:00am               Naruto Shippuden Ninja Storm 4

12:00pm               Pokken Tournament

1:00pm                 My Hero One’s Justice

2:00pm                 Dead or Alive 5 Last Round

3:00pm                 DragonBall FighterZ

4:00pm                 BlazBlue Central Fiction

5:00pm                 Super Smash Brothers

9:00pm                 Soul Calibur 6

11:00pm               NekoCon 12th Annual Iron Man

Sunday

11:00am               Guilty Gear XRD 2nd Rev

1:00pm                 Skullgirls 2nd Encore

Guest Announcement: Greg Ayres

Lucky number 7 has come up for NekoCon!  We are thrilled to welcome back NekoCon veteran Greg Ayres!

Greg Ayres has been blasting his way through 2017!  He was thrilled to make his second appearance in Dragon Ball Super earlier this year as Frost, and equally excited to help blast bugs as Geo in Sony Picture’s Starship Troopers : Traitor of Mars. 2017 also gave him the opportunity to reprise one of his favorite roles as Son Goku in Saiyuki Reload Blast, and will also be appearing in Haikyu as Yu Nishinoya, as well as voicing Zenji Marui in Food Wars. With over 290 credits to his name, he has managed to play a variety of characters that are almost as colorful as his hair.  Some recent roles include Nagisa Haruki in Free, and Free Eternal Summer, MonoKuma in Danganronpa, Clear in Dramatical Murder, and Doug in Gangsta. Thrilled to be a part of the Toonami re-launch in the roles of Ganta Igarashi in Deadman Wonderland, and Heihachi Hayashida in Samurai 7, and even more thrill to follow that up the in the following summer’s thriller Another as Kouichi Sakakibara. He can also be hear as Satoru Asahina in From the New World, Kenji Nakanishi in Say I Love You, Sion in No. 6, Heisuke Toudou in Hakuoki, Tommyrod in Toriko, Tomoki Sakurai, in Heaven’s Lost Property, and Volken, in the Book of Bantorra.  Some of his all-time favorite roles include Son Goku in Saiyuki, Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host Club, Youhei Sunohara in Clannad, Yuki in The Wallflower, Leo in Ghost Stories, Satoshi Hiwatari in DNAngel, Kaworu Nagisa in the Director’s Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Negi Springfield in Negima.

When he’s not in a booth with headphones on, you can usually find him sporting headphones behind “the decks”at many a music event. A veteran nightclub DJ of many years, he has jumped at the opportunity to play music and organize late night dances at many of the conventions he attends. He currently helps organize dance and music tracks at several US conventions. Greg is also a member of Project BECK, who perform music from the anime Beck Mongolian Chop Squad, and has had a blast reliving the music from the show with his friends.  Thrilled to be able to share his love of music with anyone willing to listen – from packed rooms at anime conventions, to the legendary stage of The Knitting Factory (NYC), he’s always ready to make a little  noise.

New Hotel Block Open – Courtyard by Marriott

With the closing of the Quality Inn we have been working in the background to make sure that all of our displaced attendees had a option close by to obtain lodging for the NekoCon weekend. We are happy to announce that the Courtyard by Marriott is opening up our staff block of rooms to all NekoCon guests! If you were displaced by the Quality Inn’s closing or are still looking for a room please contact the Courtyard by Marriott at 757-838-3300 and tell them you would like to make a reservation under the NekoCon room block they will get you taken care of! Please note that you will need to contact them at 757-838-3300 and not through their website to take advantage of this special offer! See you all in a few weeks!

Guest Announcement: Caitlin Glass

NekoCon is raising the stakes announcing another guest!
We are pleased to welcome 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. In 2008, Caitlin directed the widely popular fan-favorite, Ouran High School Host Club, as well as voicing Haruhi Fujioka. Caitlin also lends her voice to Vados in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Rose in Tales of Zestiria, Elma in Xenoblade Chronicles X, Thorn in Battleborn, and Cammy White & Decapre in the Street Fighter IV &V series of video games.

 

Other well-known roles include Maki in Love Live! School Idol Project, Lilia in Yuri!!! on Ice, Mina Ashido in My Hero Academia, Vivi in One Piece, Evergreen in Fairy Tail, Petra in Attack on Titan, Diancie in Pokémon, Hannah in Black Butler II, Miria in Baccano, Kimi in Tokyo Ghoul, Satellizer in Freezing, Retoree in Show By Rock, Kirigiri in Danganronpa: The Animation, Miho Amakata in Free!, and Kim in Soul Eater.

 

You’ll also hear her as Hitomi in Funimation’s new dub Escaflowne and Kyoko in Skip Beat!, coming soon from Pied Piper, Inc.

In recent years Caitlin has added roles in Absolute Duo, Akiba’s Trip, Alderamin on the Sky, All Out!, Assassination Classroom, BlazBlu Alter Memory, Chain Chronicle, D-Frag, Gangsta, Lord Marksman and Vanadis, Maria the Virgin Witch, Masamune’s Revenge, Mikagura School Suite, Noragami Aragoto, No-Rin,  Orange, ReLIFE, The Rolling Girls, Space Dandy, Tokyo Ravens, Ultimate Otaku Teacher, WIXOSS, & Yurikuma Arashi to her already prolific list of anime voices.

Caitlin’s other directing credits include, Love Live! Sunshine!!, Suzuka, Fuuka, One Piece, Riddle Story of Devil, Show by Rock, Noragami Aragoto, Garo The Animation, Garo Crimson Moon, Prince of Stride: Alternative, Shonen Maid, Lord Marksman and Vanadis, and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, all as an ADR Director for Funimation Entertainment. She has also lent her adaptive writing skills to Bang Zoom! Entertainment for such titles as Love Live! School Idol Project, Durarara x2, Yuki Yuna is a Hero, A Lull in the Sea and The Asterisk War.

For a complete list of her work, check out www.animenewsnetwork.com

Follow Caitlin! @caitlinsvoice on Twitter, glasscaitlin on Instagram, and Caitlin Glass Voice Actor on Facebook.

NekoCon Entrance Policy Update

NekoCon has rented out the entire convention center. For security purposes we will be doing badge checks at the entrances and therefore you will need a badge to enter the building. To pick up your badge you MUST enter the building at the southeast (where Hall C is located) next to the parking lot. Once you have a badge you may enter from either end of the building (the Hall C entrance or the entrances closest to the Embassy); all front facing doors will be exit only except for those with accessibility needs. Please plan accordingly. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy please email us at info@nekocon.com.

NekoCon Karaoke After Dark

NekoCon Karaoke After Dark

 
UH OH! Did you miss the signups for NekoCon Karaoke?
 
Do you want to sing for NekoCon Karaoke but do not like the competitive environment?
 
Is your song not considered “Family Friendly”?
 
Then come on out to Karaoke After Dark!
 
When the dust settles on Friday night, and a new King or Queen of NekoCon Karaoke is crowned, the auditory entertainment does not end!
 
NekoCon Karaoke After Dark continues to be an assault on the senses tour de force of auditory entertainment, and we are DOUBLING DOWN this year with more time, and more entrants!
 
Attendees can sing whatever they want in a non-competitive, open mic environment.
 
Karaoke After Dark is 18+, so you don’t have to worry if your song is “family friendly”
 
To keep the show running smoothly, we WILL be having Pre-Con Signups, however, this list will not close, and we will still have signups at the con.
 
(Disclaimer: We ran out of time last year, and we strongly encourage you to sign up for this event early this year. )

SIGN UP FOR KARAOKE AFTER DARK HERE

Nekocon Karaoke Catsino Royale!

Hours have been spent rehearsing. Many nights have gone by filled with dreams of the coveted microphone trophy.
 
Welcome to NekoCon Karaoke Catsino Royale!
 
Check-in for performers will be on Friday, earlier in the day. Once your submission is approved, you will receive an e-mail giving you following instructions on when/where to check-in.
Failure to check-in at the con is grounds for disqualification. We do understand that Friday is a hectic day of getting off (work, school), checking into the hotel, and getting your badge. If you know ahead of time that you will be late, please e-mail karaoke@nekocon.com to give us a heads-up, we are happy to work with you in making sure your spot is saved.
Karaoke survived the apocalypse, so we are going back to basics with….
 

NekoCon Karaoke Catsino Royale!

 
-We will be trying something new this year. We prefer that the song is from an anime, or a video game, but if you think you can wow the crowd with the latest Jpop or K-pop song, go for it!
– Yes, Vocaloid is allowed, it was never banned. Stop Asking.
–To keep sign-ups simple, entries to compete will be held solely online. Once we receive the first 30 complete entries, sign-ups will be closed. No sign-ups will be accepted at the convention!
–There will be a mandatory meeting for all karaoke contestants before the event. This will be announced by email once your entry is accepted.
-We ask that you send us a MP3 copy of your song in your entry form. We will check it for quality and content.
— To maximize the number of performances, we are limiting song time to five minutes. If your song runs over time, we will fade the music out and your song is over.
–Everyone involved with the karaoke contest puts a lot of time and effort into making the event a memorable one and a great time. Boos, heckles, catcalls or disrespect of any karaoke judges, MC or contestant will result in ejection from the event, regardless of whether or not you are a participant or audience member. This is the apocalypse, but we still ask everyone to behave.
–Please do not spam the email account asking if we have received your entry; you will receive a prompt email once your song has been evaluated and approved. (Chances are, if you sent it before we post that signups are closed , we have received it.
 
Once again, please include the MP3 of the song, and bring a backup of the song just in case.

SIGN UP HERE FOR KARAOKE

Featured Panelist Announcement: Expedition Cosplay

NekoCon is looking forward to having Expedition Cosplay as a featured panelist!

 

 

Expedition Cosplay (formerly known as Cosplayinc) is a group of cosplayers based in Knoxville, Tennessee that travel the globe living in their fallout vault-tec van and cosplay for a living! Along with having interactive cosplay with their show car(s), they also give panels from armor building and cosplay props to motivational speeches. If you want to follow their adventures and support them they have a YouTube channel! props and other collectibles from the Fallout series are also for sale at their booth so bring all the coins (or bottlecaps)!

NekoCon Cosplay Reminder

NekoCon Cosplay Masquerade registration is open, and slots are filling up fast! Now’s the time to register, whether you have the next epic performance in mind, or just wanna get up there and show off your talents! Sign up online now to secure your spot in this year’s Cosplay Masquerade!

Cosplay Masquerade Registration

Afraid of the stage, but still want to be judged for Craftsmanship?  Sign up at the Cosplay table in front of rooms 201-202 for the Hall Craftsmanship Contest at con