If you have attended various conventions the last few years, pretty much post pandemic, you might have noticed an increase in popularity in anime and video games. Both have been represented pretty well in Arizona with dedicated conventions that seemingly see a rise in attendance every year but along with this, the individuals who bring those characters to life are even more celebrated. This spring, Phoenix has multiple conventions with a great line up of voice actors from various properties and franchises.

First up is Anime Arizona, the convention was on hiatus in 2024 but is coming back this year with quite the guest list. Taking place March 21 – 23 at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa, Anime Arizona has already announced a Dragon Ball panel with six of the main voice actors including Sean Schemmel and Christopher Sabat who voice Goku and Vegeta respectively. On top of that, we already mentioned the Alex Brightman announcement, but if Dragon Ball or Hazbin Hotel isn’t your thing, what about One Piece, Demon Slayer, or Sailor Moon? All of those franchises and more are well represented with Anime Arizona’s guest line up this year. Even with all of that, the convention as of this posting, says there is more to be announced! Tickets for Anime Arizona are currently on sale with different days and packages available to choose from.

 

Also happening this spring is Game On Expo, the largest video game and anime convention in the Southwest. Returning to the Phoenix Convention Center April 4 – 6, Game On Expo has already announced several cast lineups including for Baldur’s Gate III, Spider-Man, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Other franchises represented by some fantastic voice talent includes Naruto, Halo, Yakuza, Resident Evil 6, and so many more (and we are talking about main characters like Master Chief, Ada Wong, etc). Even though this articles is about voice actors, I would be remiss to not mention some of the other guests for Game On Expo such as Tony Hawk, the Angry Video Game Nerd, and The Living Tombstone with more to be announced. Tickets are currently on sale and if you are interested in attending, don’t wait too much longer if possible as prices go up on February 1.

 

Phoenix Fan Fusion technically takes place during spring (but lets be real, summer starts much earlier in Phoenix) and while no voice actors have been announced just yet, they are getting started on announcements and I am sure we are in for some cool surprises.