PROGRAM

Akiko Sugawa-Shimada, PhD, is a professor at Yokohama National University, Japan. Dr. Sugawa-Shimada is the author of a number of books and articles on anime, manga, and cultural studies, including Girls and Magic: How Have Girl Heroes Been Accepted? (2013, the 2014 Japan Society of Animation Studies Award), 2.5- dimensional Culture (2021, in Japanese), chapters in the books Japanese Animation: East Asian Perspectives (2013), Teaching Japanese Popular Culture (2016), Shojo Across Media (2019), Contents Tourism and Pop Culture Fandom (2020), Animating the Spiritual (2020), Idology in Transcultural Perspective (2021), War as Entertainment and Contents Tourism in Japan (2022), and as co- author Cultural Approaches to Studio Ghibli’s Animation (2022 in Japanese). Her recent works are The Introduction to the 2.5D Studies (2024 in Japanese), a chapter of Cambridge Companion to Manga and Anime (2024), and Mechademia: Second Arc vol. 15.2, “2.5D Culture,” joined as guest editor. She has been involved in a research project “Women in Japanese Animation.” https://note.com/womenin_janime/n/n33d86a911b16

CEO and Producer, ARTn / Specially Appointed Professor, Shinshu University / Visiting Researcher, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo / Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Technology / Advisor, WAN: Art & Tech Creators Global Network, Agency for Cultural Affairs

Asako Tomura studied surface science and media art, and began her career in the Advertising Department at Shiseido before joining Sony in 2001. At Sony Pictures and Aniplex, she pioneered digital business development for film and anime in the early days of online media. At Sony’s headquarters, she led global social contribution initiatives in collaboration with international organizations and NGOs in the CSR division. She later served as General Manager in the Technology Strategy Division, where she promoted the use of emerging technologies in entertainment, advanced content R&D, and collaborative projects between artists and engineers. She has served as an advisor for the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ media arts creator development programs, and as a jury member for the European Commission’s S+T+ARTS Prize, SIGGRAPH Asia, and the ACC Tokyo Creativity Awards, among others. Since becoming independent in 2025, she has focused on practice and education at the intersection of art, science and technology, and society.

Producer, nori inc./dwarf studios.

She started her career in the TV commercial industry. The key moments came with the "Domo-kun" project in 1998 and "Komaneko" in 2003, after which she joined the founding of Dwarf. By producing high-quality stop-motion films that can be enjoyed timelessly, she has played a leading role in positioning the studio as one of the first in Japan to collaborate with global streamers. The Netflix series Rilakkuma and Kaoru (2019) and Rilakkuma's Theme Park Adventure (2022) gained widespread attention and popularity. Currently, she specializes in stop-motion animation and character design, aiming to go beyond conventional norms. She focuses on creating works that incorporate new talent and technologies, transcending traditional methods and company frameworks. Her latest projects include Bottle George, an Oscars 2025 shortlisted short film directed by Dice Tsutsumi (former Pixar Director), and HIDARI, which has made a major impact on the industry, despite only being a pilot.

With a Ph.D degree in Fine Art, Dr. WANG Chi-Sui 王綺穗 highlights questions of the temporality and the materiality of identities in her creative art practices. Her works and curation have been widely exhibited, screened and published internationally, and received great reviews and awards. Since 2004 she began her academic career in Ireland ( 2008~13, Dublin City University) and in Taiwan (2013~ now, Taipei National University of the Arts). She is the Program Director currently for Taichung International Animation Festival (TIAF) and Executive Curator for KuanDu International Animation Festival (KDIAF). Meanwhile, she have been invited to curate programs and exhibitions for festival and event as well as being a producer for animated films.