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Taiyou Con is an active annual anime convention in Mesa. It was first held in 2011 and is often the first con of the Arizona year. It was run by Michael Spadafore for most of a decade, but he left to pursue other interests after the 2020 event. Controversy erupted in the run up to the 2022 event, when event director Gackto Takaida, also known as Kato Tam, was accused of sexual assault by Allie Tam. The allegations were made on 15th December, 2021 and Takaida denied them. He then stepped down from his post as convention director on 18th December, 2021, with Jai Son appointed as his replacement. Even though the convention announced on 21st December, 2021 that he "will no longer be working with the convention anymore", he remained an owner of the event until at least 23rd December, 2021. More details at Anime News Network. A growing boycott of Taiyou Con led to the creation of LunaCon as a safe, free and non-profit alternative, with all proceeds given to the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. However, Allie Tam issued a public retraction of her allegations on 31st March, 2022, though all her Facebook posts on the subject have since been removed. More details at the Arizona Republic. Social Media | Most Recent Program Book Covers | History | Guests | Attendance | Other Documents |
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Chronology of Arizona Conventions | Index of Program Books
# | Date | Location | Chair | Guests | Book | Web | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2011 7 Jan 9 Jan |
Hilton Phoenix East Mesa |
see below | ||||
2 | 2012 6 Jan 8 Jan |
Hilton Phoenix East Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | see below | |||
3 | 2013 4 Jan 6 Jan |
Hilton Phoenix East Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | see below | |||
4 | 2014 3 Jan 5 Jan |
Hilton Phoenix East Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | see below | |||
5 | 2015 16 Jan 18 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | see below | 34 MB |
||
6 | 2016 15 Jan 17 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa
| Michael Spadafore | see below | |||
7 | 2017 6 Jan 8 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | see below | |||
8 | 2018 5 Jan 7 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | see below | |||
9 | 2019 11 Jan 13 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | see below | |||
10 | 2020 3 Jan 5 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
Michael Spadafore | ||||
11 | 2021 8 Jan 10 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
1 | ||||
12 | 2022 7 Jan 9 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
Jai Son | ||||
13 | 2023 6 Jan 8 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
see below | ||||
14 | 2024 5 Jan 7 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
see below | ||||
15 | 2025 24 Jan 26 Jan |
Mesa Convention Center Mesa |
see below |
|
Taiyou Con generally has too many guests to list in the table above. Here are the guests announced for each event: 2011: Troy Baker, Chris Cason, Charlene Ingram, Brian Foster Kane, Kitsune Robot, Perfect Math Class 2012: Charlene Ingram, Kirby's Dream Band, Chris Sabat, Patrick Seitz, Eric Vale, Armand Villavert Jr. 2013: Chris Guerrero, Kirby's Dream Band, Lauren Landa, Maridah, Sonny Strait, Cristina Vee 2014: Chalk Twins, Frances Delgado, Darrel Guilbeau, Kyle Hebert, Ichigokitty, Mari Iijima, Charlene Ingram, Maridah, Michelle Ruff, Heather Vaughn, Cristina Vee 2015: Frances Delgado, Erin Fitzgerald, Chris Guerrero, Shihoko Hirata, Ichigokitty, Johnny 'n' Junkers, Yumi Kawamura, Lotus Juice, Mega Ran, Eric Stuart, Heather Vaughn 2016: Valerie Arem, Yuu Asakawa, Erin Fitzgerald, Samantha Gorel, Hanyann, Charlene Ingram, Lotus Juice, Mega Ran, Garnet Runestar, Chris Sabat, Sean Schemmel, Twinfools, Nova VandorWolf, Kappei Yamaguchi 2017: Yuko Sanpei, TeddyLoid, Akemi Kanda, Lotus Juice, Shihoko Hirata, Mega64, Heather Vaughn, Lunar Lyn, CeruleanDracon, Clifford Chapin 2018: Mega64, Shino Kakinuma, Toshio Furukawa, Robbie Daymond, Satomi Arai, Kimidori Cosplay, Derek Stephen Prince Lisle Wilkerson 2019: Yoshitoshi Abe, Ray Chase, Chocolate Covered Cosplay, Robbie Daymond, Max Mittelman, Yuriko Yamaguchi 2022: Shawn Chiplock, Ryan Colt Levy |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
810 | 1,500 | 1,600 | 1,963 | 2,651 | 3,211 |
Postcard (1 MB)
Pocket Program (105k)