News

The application for the Cosplay Contest are now OPEN! Entries are first-come first-served.

Please make sure your entry adheres to the contest’s rules before applying.

Entries will close at 11:59pm PT on September 27. We can’t wait to see everyone’s amazing costumes!

Alisa Freedman is a professor of Japanese literature, cultural studies, and gender at the University of Oregon. Her books include Japan on American TV; Tokyo in Transit: Japanese Culture on the Rails and Road; Women in Japanese Studies: Memoirs from a Trailblazing Generation (edited collection of 32 memoirs); Introducing Japanese Popular Culture (edited textbook featuring 42 trends); annotated translation of Kawabata Yasunari’s The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa; and Modern Girls on the Go: Gender, Mobility, and Labor in Japan (coedited volume).

She has published numerous articles for academic and general interest publications, literary translations, and guides to publishing and professionalization skills. She is the Faculty Fellow of a University of Oregon residence hall and has received a national award for her mentorship work. Alisa enjoys presenting at public events like cultural festivals, anime cons, reading groups, and TEDx.

Our next membership meeting for the 2026 convention year will take place on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at 2pm, and we will be holding it online.

As usual for our online meetings, the meeting will be streamed in real time on Kumoricon’s Twitch channel. Additional participation is available on our public Discord server.

If you have news to report during the “Good of the Order” portion of the meeting, you can email goto@kumoricon.org OR open.mic@kumoricon.org OR good.of.the.order@kumoricon.org. You can email Good of the Order at any time during the year, and your email will be reviewed during the next regular meeting.

“Good of the Order” is a great place to share new anime you’ve been watching, bring up exciting activities you recommend people try, ask questions, or share news you think would be relevant to the staff and attendees of Kumoricon.

If you are an organization member (voting staff) of Kumoricon, you may officially participate in this meeting, including counting toward quorum and the ability to vote, using the procedures listed on the Meetings page.

The Meetings page will always show the most up-to-date schedule for dates, times, and locations for meetings of the membership.

See you there!

Are you ready to own the runway for Kumoricon’s Fashion Show? Applications are now open for Models to strut your stuff! The focus this year is decora and lolita, so it’s time to get colorful! Brands will be announced later.

Maozon is a music producer and DJ based in Yokohama, Japan.

In 2013, he entered the “SEE THE LIGHTS” remix contest held by ASY, a project by DJ AKi, STY, and YUUKi MC, and won the grand prize. The song “R.Y.U.S.E.I.” for Sandaime J Soul Brothers, which was his major debut work, won the 56th Japan Record Award and 2016 JASRAC Gold Award. In the same year he also composed the song “O.R.I.O.N.” for Sandaime J Soul Brothers which placed 7th in the top 10 highest selling songs of 2015 in Japan. He continues to compose and arrange music for major label artists as a member of Digz Inc.

Outside of his major label work, Maozon is an active composer for a variety of popular music games including Konami’s beatmania IIDX and Bushiroad’s D4DJ Groovy Mix. Independently he is a pillar of the Japanese club scene, acting as a mainstay in the drum’n’bass scene and regularly performing at clubs across Tokyo. Despite how active his career is he continues to enjoy releasing dance music with independent labels operating worldwide and shares his music production techniques on the twitch.tv livestreaming platform.

Damien Haas is a voice actor, sketch comedian, and lifelong fan of all things gaming and anime. He’s known for such voice roles as Laios in “Delicious in Dungeon,” Kiyoka Kudou in “My Happy Marriage,” Diego Brando in “Steel Ball Run,” Shez in “Fire Emblem: Three Hopes,” Heller in “Starfield,” Van Arkride in “Trails Through Daybreak 1&2,” Ryoga in “Ranma 1/2,” and many others.

When he’s not just a disembodied voice, he can be found streaming on Twitch multiple times per week or being an internet clown on the YouTube channel Smosh.

We are thrilled to announce that Phoebe Chan will be the MC of the Idol Festival for this year!

Are you interested in putting on an idol performance? Auditions for the Idol Festival are officially OPEN!

Please be sure to read the rules before applying.

We would like to welcome back pc/nametag as a Sponsor for this year and thank them for assisting with this year’s badges and badge ribbons.

This collaboration means we are excited to once again offer Kumoricon’s fans a 10% discount on custom badge ribbons!

Create your ideal ribbon on their website and use the code FANCON26 at checkout to receive your savings!*

Express your personality at the convention — or just because you can!

*Offer available until 1/31/2027. Additional terms may apply.

Are you a cosplayer who likes to roleplay and play-fight with your friends? Do you like being told what to do and where to go by a fictional character? Then you’ll be great as a chess piece! Applications are now open!

We select our participants from the pool of applicants, so think hard about who you want to cosplay as and review the rules before you sign up.