Gurus of geekery are gearing up for the South’s largest anime convention on Friday, March 25th with an impressive line up, and guests and events awaiting us.
Keep in mind, I’m actually writing this article well in advance of the convention, to give everyone a preview. So as of right now, my info is limited, but it’s definitely enough to get excited about.
Anime giants like Vic Mignogna (Ouran High School Host Club, Full Metal Alchemist) have already been booked, as if there were any doubt Mignogna would appear. An MTAC regular, the offical website has not announced what dates and times he will be doing signings as of this writing.
Also recently announced to be returning to Nashville is Martin “LittleKiruboh” Billany, creator of the popular YouTube series Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged. Just off the scene at Memphis’ last anime convention, Anime Blues Con, Billany is one of the friendliest voice actors you can meet, and is always up for signing and great conversation. When I saw him at ABC, he was chatting with people at his table, and at an event where people generally just sign and say “next,” it’s refreshing to know such a great personality will be in attendance.
Also be on the look out for singer, voice actor and one of the most recognizable voices from my childhood, Eric Stuart, who you may know as Brock and James from Pokemon, or Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh.
If you’re a fan of the Fire Emblem series, voice actor Kaiji Tang (Owain) will be at MTAC for fans of the multitude of games he’s acted in, in addition to roles such as Schmidt in Sword Art Online and Tsumugu Kinagase in Kill La Kill.
As mentioned above, as far as I can see there hasn’t been an hourly schedule of events posted on mtac.net as of writing date. We do know that, as with every year, a cosplay contest as well as lip sync contest will be held over the weekend, with large turnouts, as always, expected this year. For fancier geeks, the Lolita Tea Party may be what you’re looking for, or the Otaku Ball, MTAC’s “prom” for the weekend. While there’s no official confirmation yet, the ball is usually held on the Saturday of the convention, so look out for those dates!
As for the venue, this is the first time ever MTAC will take place at separate hotels. The convention will be both at The Embassy Suites Nashville as well as The Sheraton Music City, which are a 2 minute car-ride apart. MTAC will also have a shuttle between the two hotels that will bounce back and forth all weekend. This will hopefully alleviate some over-crowding and make the experience less sweaty for everyone involved.
You can look for me in my Bender from Futurama cosplay (in case you want to talk Sonic the Hedgehog with me) all three days of the convention. For MTAC coverage all weekend, be sure to keep up-to-date with Games, Galaxies, and Other Geekery as I provide coverage all three days of the con. Also be sure to read my article “Cosplay is Not Consent,” a guide for how to behave and what to expect at your first anime convention.
