KimoKawaii Anime Experience & Convention celebrates its 5th anniversary with an array of notable voice actors, guest authors, cosplay contest, Japanese fashion show and Anime Family Feud on June 6 – 7 at the Lonestar Convention and Expo Center, 9055 Airport Rd. in Conroe. Come join the festivities, shop the vendor booths, attend Q&A panels of this year’s guests and enter the Cosplay contest. For tickets or more information please visit KimoKawaii.net.
This year’s guest line-up includes popular anime voice actors Cynthia Cranz (Texas born and best known for Chi-Chi/Mrs. Briefs of Dragon Ball Z series), Eduardo Vildasol (Kei Mikhail Ignatove/Psycho-Pass), Lindsay Sheppard (Austin based and best known for Akari Watanabe, Claire Francois, and Sayaka Koyanagi), Addam Gibbs (Ryo from 7 Seeds, Hotaro Oreki from Hyouka, Masaya Hinata from Aokana), Carrie Savage (Rakka in Haibane Renmei, Solty Revant in SoltyRei), Mary Morgan (Katase, Yi Soo-Na, and Kyoko Kasuga), Jacob Eiseman (the donghua “Heaven’s Official Blessing” as Lord Windmaster Qingxuan), Ezra Vervin (Tomme Mima, and Hime), Lara Woodhull (Hinami Fueguchi, Izuku Midoriya (Young), and Mami Misato), Meggie-Elise (Dallas based and best known for The Prototype and Scout in Chapter 4: Safe Haven), and Bradley Smith (Houston based and best known for Combo Panda and Packrat from Ryan’s World). Also attending are guest authors John Simons and C.J. Peterson.
Highlights of KimoKawaii include …
• Japanese Fashion Show – A choreographed performance is directed by Angel Mellody. Now in its 4th year, this is not your standard runway show and not to be missed.
• Geeks of Comedy – hosted by voice actor/comedian Bradley Smith
• Anime Family Feud – A brand new edition to the Kimokawaii programming and hosted by Carlos Holstein.
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• Cosplay Contest – Largest cosplay contest in Montgomery county with categories for kids, teens and adults with trophies and prizes.
KimoKawaii was founded by Chris Carson, better known in the art world as Dirk Strangely — a Houston-based multimedia artist, Navy veteran, independent comic creator, musician, and filmmaker whose work has been featured in publications, exhibitions, and conventions across the country. He is the creator of the graphic novel Graveyard Girl, contributed to Tokyopop’s Legends of the Dark Crystal, and most recently debuted Souls of the Titanic, a fine art series created using authenticated coal recovered from the RMS Titanic — a body of work covered by Click2Houston and other regional media. He also founded Artifactism, a new genre of art he coined that incorporates authenticated historical artifacts directly into the work itself.
The name KimoKawaii has an origin story worth telling. At a convention where Chris was appearing as a guest artist, an elderly Japanese man was seated at the table next to him. The man looked through Chris’s artwork and told him there was a phrase in Japan that described it perfectly. He said: KimoKawaii. He explained it means cute but disturbing — or both cute and weird at the same time. The name stuck and became the foundation of everything the convention stands for.
The KimoKawaii Anime Experience & Convention is the ultimate destination for anime enthusiasts in Montgomery County & surrounding areas. A community-focused anime convention celebrating Japanese culture through art, fashion, and entertainment and providing a unique and immersive visceral experience for attendees.