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December 10, 2025

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Edmund Hoff's research lies in cultural studies related to Japan. He examines the intersection between language and culture, media studies and global aspects of these fields are all areas of interest. Edmund is one of the original organizers for the World Cosplay Summit event and has been helping organize the event since 2003. In 2016 he was involved in bringing the Mechademia Academic Association’s Asia Conference to Japan and continues to play a role on the steering committee. Edmund has recently been featured in the Japanese version of the NHK program "Outside in Lost in Academia"....

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December 10, 2025

Katrina Leonoudakis is a professional translator and localization producer specializing in anime, manga, video games, and anything audiovisual. She has translated anime for HIDIVE and Funimation, localized manga for Seven Seas, produced the dubs of hit TV shows like Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Gen V, and even spent five years as a coordinator at SEGA, where she translated, programmed, and project managed on game franchises such as Sonic, Persona, and Yakuza. She has an MA in translation from Kent State University, and is currently a Localization Director for a major game company in Tokyo, Japan. Ask her about translation theory, or her two blind cats! Check out her site: https://katrina-l-translation.online/...

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December 8, 2025

Andrea is a PhD candidate whose research focuses on technology and Japan. Having worked on games in the past, his current work mainly centers amateur engineering communities inJapan who were active between the 1970s and the 1990s. Normally based in the US, he is now in Tokyo to carry out dissertation research. He spends most of his time volunteering for a local computer museum, reading old magazines, and hanging out at the Game Preservation Society....

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December 2, 2025

In 2016, Hoshikuzu set out to bring larp to Japan and founded the experiential larp promotion association CLOSS. He’s also the head of the Laymun larp circle in Iruma, Saitama. Together with his partner-in-crime, staff member Mochizuki Hinasaki, he has co-written many of the first Japanese larp rulebooks. Known for his calmness, he’s a master at organizing chaos and turning it into elegant, balanced game systems. As the rulebook guy, he handles the mechanics and balance well and has guided many new larpers into the hobby. For almost a decade now, he’s been charging ahead at the frontlines of Japanese larp....

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December 2, 2025

Sylvie Bissonnette is the author of Affect and Embodied Meaning in Animation: Becoming-Animated (2018), a book that explores the different facets of spectatorship in anime, animation, video games, and virtual reality from the perspective of the embodied viewer. She guest edited the issue 15.1 of Mechademia Second Arc: Modes of Existence (2022) and the special issue 9.2 “Animating Space and Scalar Travels” (2014) for the journal Animation. Her articles on cinema and theater appeared in the Contemporary Theatre Review, the New Review of Film and Television Studies, and Screen. She also published book chapters and articles on Québécois cinema in NVCQ, From Camera Lens to Critical Lens, Stages of Reality, and Regards croisés sur Incendies....

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December 2, 2025

Ace Marrok is a filmmaker and author. Born in Staten Island, New York, with a passion for writing. His stories delve into deep gray morals, with no simple right or wrong, and compelling characters that feel as real as you and me. When he's not writing, Ace is a freelance artist, looking to flex his artistic muscles when he can. He is notable for the podcast Cryptic Collectors, which explores adaptations of cryptids and urban legends, and is the co-author of Draco Azul: Soulless Blood, alongside creator Andres Perez....

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December 2, 2025

Clair Nguyen serves as Lecturer in Music Theory at UNC Greensboro. Her primary research focuses on the intersections of music theory and film & media studies that includes films, music videos, video games, theme park music, Japanese anime, and Hatsune Miku rhythm games. Her secondary research area centers on Vietnamese popular and traditional music, including the vọng cổ tradition. She currently serves as advisor for the UNCG Animation Club as well as co-chair for the Society of Music Theory’s Film and Multimedia interest group. Clair has presented at various regional and national academic conferences and loves to bring music theory to anime conventions and places beyond the scope of traditional academia....

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December 2, 2025

Gerardo (Gerry) Lopez (he/him) is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Among his current research interests is exploring the depiction and perception of robot-like voices across various musical contexts, through an interdisciplinary approach that blends music theory and music psychology....

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December 2, 2025

A lifelong Godzilla fan, JR Lipartito first came to Japan in 2001 and has called it home ever since. What began as a childhood obsession with giant monsters eventually led him into film, media, and education—paths that now converge in his work at Temple University, Japan Campus, where he serves as Instructor, Faculty Advisor for the Communication Studies major, and Communication Studies Operations Manager. At TUJ, he teaches media production and new-media courses while supporting the day-to-day academic and creative life of the department. Before moving into full-time academic leadership, JR worked in a wide range of media production roles for television, corporate clients, and independent projects. His creative work includes numerous short films and digital productions, most notably collaborations with...

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December 2, 2025

Kumiko Saito is an Associate Professor of Japanese in the Department of Languages at Clemson University. Her research centers on modern Japanese literature and contemporary popular culture, particularly science fiction, gender, and visual narratives such as manga and video games. She has published on topics such as Japanese science fiction, magical girls, otome games, and the evolution of romantic love in Japanese media in journals such as Journal of Japanese Studies and Journal of Asian Studies. At Clemson, she teaches courses on Japanese literature and language....

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