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Anime Central 2026 Hosts Directors Keisuke Shinohara, Ayumi Moriyama, Yusuke Yamamoto, Takushi Koide
posted on by Adriana Hazra
Illinois-based convention Anime Central (ACen) announced on Friday that it will host the following directors as Guests of Honor:
- Keisuke Shinohara (My Dress-Up Darling, Black Fox, A3! Season Spring & Summer)
- Ayumi Moriyama (episode director for Pokémon: Journeys, Pokémon: Horizons, Let's Play)
- Yūsuke Yamamoto (Bocchi the Rock! assistant director, Oshi no Ko unit director)
- Takushi Koide (Goodbye, Lara; assistant director for Shōjo Kageki Revue Starlight Rondo Rondo Rondo, episode director for Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun)
The convention stated the anime directors are attending the convention as part of "Global Anime Challenge 2.0," which is "an international initiative designed to foster cross-cultural exchange and support emerging and mid-career talent shaping the future of anime." The convention said the four guests "represent the evolving creative landscape of Japanese animation and the voices shaping what comes next."
Anime Central 2025 hosted the first Global Anime Challenge.
The convention will take place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, IL on May 15-17.
Last year's ACen event took place at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL on May 16-18. It hosted director Keiichirō Saitō (Bocchi the Rock!, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End), producer Takafumi Nakame (The Garden of Words, The Imaginary), animator Kaoru Tanimoto (Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange), and animator Mana Kudō (The Rising of The Shield Hero) at as part of its partnership with Japan's Global Anime Challenge (GAC). It hosted KAF's debut concert in the United States. The convention also hosted voice actress Satomi Arai amongst several other Japanese guests.
Sources: Anime Central's X/Twitter account (link 2, link 3), Anime Central's website
