As we reported back in April, Crunchyroll Expo will be virtual again for 2021. Even if the event won’t be in-person (which has been the case for many events since last year), the online version is shaping up to be an exciting time for anime fans.
The programming you’d expect to see at an anime convention will be there, from Artist Alley to fan-run programming, and even a cosplay contest.
Oh. And guests. There’s gonna be guests too.
One of the major benefits of the event being online is that the guest lineup spreads all throughout the world. Japanese guests who may not have been accessible in person here in the U.S. will be at the online event. Guest programming that may have been difficult to see because of room capacity limits will be able to be viewed online. Best of all? Attendee registration for the event is free!
Here’s who you can expect to see at the expo. Keep in mind, this is as of today, you can expect the lineup to expand over the next few months.
Zeno Robinson is an actor residing in Los Angeles, California. An avid anime, animation, and video game fan, he began his career under CESD Talent as Alan Albright in Cartoon Network’s, Ben 10: Alien Force. Now, his voice can be heard in Disney’s Big City Greens, Cartoon Network’s Craig of the Creek, and in anime like My Hero Academia (Hawks), Fire Force (Ogun Montgomery), Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (Garfiel Tinsel), and more!
An actress for over 20 years, Cherami has appeared on Friday Night Lights, Shameless, Chase, Bones, and NCIS: LA. She’s also worked on Fast Food Nation, the Emmy-winning Temple Grandin, and played Young LeAnn Rimes in Holiday in Your Heart. Recently, she starred in the faith-based film Beyond the Farthest Star. Cherami has also been a part of over 50 video games and 150 animated projects including Doc McStuffins, King’s Quest, and Borderlands 2, not to mention anime series like Sword Art Online, Sailor Moon, and Fairy Tail.
Bryce Papenbrook has been a professional voice-over artist since age eight, performing in countless video games, cartoons, and TV shows. Some of his biggest roles include Inosuke Hashibira from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kirito from Sword Art Online, and Eren from Attack on Titan.
Oki-san is a veteran of the restaurant industry who first encountered vegetable carving in Toronto, thanks to Chef Tomohiro Isogai. After a short apprenticeship, he returned to Japan and began studying the art form in depth. While flowers and animals are often what’s carved, Oki-san’s inspiration is different—as in Star Wars and anime characters. Besides being a four-time guest at the Star Wars Celebration, he has also competed in the 2013 Euro Carving Championship in Moscow, taking fourth place in the fruit category. He’s excited to be back at V-CRX and can’t wait to meet anime and Crunchyroll fans from all over the world!
This Japanese rock band’s song “Boku no Koe” has the distinction of not only being an anime opening theme (Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line), it was also popularized when Olympic Gold Medal ice skater, Yuzuru Hanyu, aggressively lip-synced it as his pre-skate ritual. Their music has also been featured in many other projects, including commercials and the official rule song for the Pokémon card game.
Originally started in 2003 under the name Dirty Old Men, Magic of Life’s songs have been featured in Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road and JOKER GAME. The band has also organized the music festival Don’t Stop Music Fes. Tochigi, a celebration of Japanese rock in the Tochigi prefecture. Another accomplishment includes the theme song for Tochigi City’s mascot Tochisuke.
Perhaps best associated with the anime Haikyu!!, this Grand Prix-winning rock band from Osaka has had three of their songs (“FLY HIGH!!”, “Hikariare(ヒカリアレ)”, and “PHOENIX”) featured as opening themes. They’ve also had the honor of their music being the ending and opening themes of Gintama and Dr. STONE respectively. Most recently, they wrote the opening theme for Super HxEros under the pseudonym HXEROS SYNDROMES ft. Retto Enjou.
Seven Billion Dots is a Japanese rock band formed in 2018 by vocalist Masafumi and twin brothers Ken (guitar) and Lyo (drums). Not only do they boast an opening and closing theme song (“Stay with Me” for GRANBLUE FANTASY: The Animation, and “Maybe I” for BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS respectively) their song “Harukaze (春風)” also became the first indie rock theme song for the Japanese high school baseball championship, Minna No Koshien.
Mario is a content creator specializing in nerd culture, and the founder of NYC-based production outlet Digital Era Entertainment, which will be showcasing new things at V-CRX 2021! He’s appeared on Anime News Network in their 2007-2008 webisodes and has spent over a decade as a professional emcee for everything from cosplay contests to wrestling-themed presentations like Kaiju Big Battel from 2017-2018. Outside of DEE streams/projects, he can be seen moderating weekly fan events for GalaxyCon Live or heard as a narrator for Screen Rant on YouTube, or the audiobook Greencloak by Lyndsey Luther.
A cosplayer originally from a small town in Oklahoma, Vampy now resides in California. She was discovered by Japanese company Kotobukiya and featured in OTACOOL 2 by Danny Choo. She loves Gunpla, gaming, and creating new cosplays. She most recently worked with Banpresto World Figure Colosseum as the official host/marketing rep for One Piece and Dragon Ball Z figures. You can find her streaming her passions online or participating in the gaming and Gundam communities.
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Be sure to check out the guest page for an update on everyone’s schedules throughout the weekend.
Also, you can register for the event right here.
The official website is here, which includes links on where to sign up for fan panels, enter the cosplay contest, and more! The event will be from August 5 to the 7th.
(Image: Crunchyroll)
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