An online digital convention serving 2 days of content featuring top creators from Japan's expansive pop-culture landscape!
GUESTS
TOSHIHIRO NAGOSHI
VIDEO GAME PRODUCER
Toshihiro Nagoshi was born on June 17th, 1965. After graduating from Tokyo Zokei University as a film major, he joined SEGA in 1980. The first game he oversaw as a producer, Daytona USA (1994), was a worldwide hit.
He’s also been the creator behind such popular games as the Yakuza series, Super Monkey Ball series, Binary Domain, and Judgment.
He was appointed representative director of Amusement Vision Co., Ltd. when the main SEGA development team was split up in the year 2000. He is currently working at SEGA as the CCO (Chief Creative Officer).
Notable Works:
SHINGO NATSUME
DIRECTOR
Born in 1980, Natsume Shingo is an animator, producer, and director.
After working for a game company, he started working with the animation production studio, J.C. STAFF. He is now working as a freelancer after working for Shin-Ei Animation.
He's created a strong name for himself as an animation director with "Welcome to N.H.K.!"(2006) and "Bokura No" (2007). In 2012, he made his directorial debut with the OVA "Hori-san and Miyamura-kun".
He also directed Space☆Dandy (2014) and "One Punch Man" (2015) where the passionate illustrations and unexpected direction in action scenes extremely enhance the productions reputation.
He is taking strides as an up-and-coming young director with ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. in 2017 and Boogiepop at Dawn in 2019.
Notable Works:
DAI SATO
SCREENWRITER
Dai Sato was born in 1969. He is a screenwriter, musician, and president of Story Riders, a scenario writer’s office.
He began his career as a broadcaster, lyricist and music writer at the age of 19, and made his animation scriptwriting debut in 1997 with the anime “Eternal Family”. He also wrote the screenplays for “Cowboy Bebop” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, and in 2005 he worked on the series composition of “Eureka Seven”.
His knowledge of music led him to establish an indie label called “FROGMAN RECORDS” in the 1990s, which pioneered techno music in Japan. At the same time, he established a style of interpreting musical elements into anime stories. This is evident in his latest release, LISTENERS (2020).
Notable Works:
YOKO KANNO
COMPOSER/ARRANGER
In addition to providing music for leading Japanese artists, production, and producing for commercials, she is also active in game music.
In the fields of film and anime music, she has worked on "COWBOY BEBOP", "Genesis of Aquarion" and "Macross F", which have been extensively supported by foreign fans.
From pop to rock, jazz, funk, techno and classical music.
In July 2009, she performed at "TANABATA Sonic" with her band "Seatbelts" to a total of 150 people, including the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, on stage. It was a spectacle for the attendees.
Eleven years later, on July 7, 2020, Seatbelts will once again present at the Online TANABATA Festival.
Notable Works:
KENJI KAMIYAMA
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER
Animation director, screenwriter, and entertainer. Co-CEO of Crafter, Inc. His major works include the "Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C." series (since 2002), "Eden of the East" (2009) and 009 RE: CYBORG (2012).
He was one of the first to work on full 3DCG expression in animation, and in 2019 he teamed up with another 3DCG anime guru, Nobushi Aramaki, to produce "ULTRAMAN".
He also worked as a double director on the current series, Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045.
Notable Works:
SHINJI ARAMAKI
DIRECTOR/MECHANICAL DESIGNER
Animation director and mechanical designer. His major works include "Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01" (1988), "Megazone 23 Part III" (1989), and "APPLESEED" (2004).
In 2010, he established SOLA DIGITAL ARTS Inc.,A video production company which focuses on full 3DCG productions.
He has also worked on "Starship Troopers Invasion" (2012) and "Captain Harlock" (2013).
Notable Works:
<
>
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Shingo Natsume
Dai Sato
Yoko Kanno
Kenji Kamiyama
Shinji Aramaki
More To Be Announced!
ABOUT
OTAQUEST as a project was born out of anime conventions in America. After iconic producer ☆Taku Takahashi (m-flo / block.fm) was invited to perform at the yearly SYNERGY party at Anime Central by event organizer Eddie Lehecka (Attack The Music, bemanistyle), the two teamed up to create something with the concept of connecting different aspects of the Japanese pop-culture world and its iconic creators more directly with fans in the United States.
The larger part of this mission is fulfilled by our website, which brings regular news across all aspects of Japanese popular-culture, but also has a monthly feature topic in which we interview creative teams & influential people across a variety of industries. But our presence on the internet is only one aspect of how we build this connection, with live events making up the other side of how we approach our mission.
Since our founding in 2017, OTAQUEST has also participated with conventions all over the United States, bringing musicians, artists, and other elements of Japanese pop-culture with them. From booth appearances in exhibit halls, to OTAQUEST LIVE, and Anime Central's SYNERGY event, we have been building up the ways in which we can bridge the gap between creators in Japan & fans in the US. OTAQUEST CONNECT is the next step in our continued use of live programming to compliment our daily news & editorial content.
We're teaming up with members of the anime, gaming, and music industries in Japan to create a weekend packed full of streaming content for fans worldwide to enjoy from the comfort of their own home. Making use of Twitch & Discord to interact as a global community, we can't wait to connect with you all over the weekend of August 15 & 16th, directly from our base of operations in Tokyo, Japan. We hope you'll join us, and be sure to keep an eye out for more updates on the different kinds of programming we'll be hosting that weekend!
Find out first
Be the first to get all of the details delivered directly to your inbox.