No Brand Con is an annual three day anime convention

Anime convention

An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...

 held in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Eau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 65,883 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest municipality in the northwestern portion of the state, and the 9th largest in the state overall. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County,...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was the first Anime convention in the state of Wisconsin, and is currently its longest running. No Brand Con was originally organized by the Anime Appreciation Society of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, but is now managed by an independent nonprofit corporation (with the AAS

AAS

Aas may refer to:* Aas * Aas, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a village in FranceAAS, as an acronym or initialism, may refer to:-Businesses:*Ateliers Aéronautiques de Suresnes, a defunct French aircraft manufacturing company...

 staying on as an official sponsor).

History

Inspired by their past experiences working at conventions, members of the anime club Otaku Anonymous Kevin Tambornino, Terence Clark, Trae Dorn, and Topher Marohl decided to create their own convention. Some of the members, who were also University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire students, formed the official university organization called The Anime Appreciation Society (or AAS). Through AAS, members were able to meet new people who shared similar interests, recruit new membership at university functions, and utilize university facilities for the nascent convention.

The name for the convention was derived from the closing credits theme of the 1991 anime OVA of Here is Greenwood

Here is Greenwood

is a 9-volume Japanese manga written and illustrated by Yukie Nasu and six-episode anime OVA revolving around the activities of four boys in Greenwood Dormitory at a fictional prestigious Japanese all-boys' private school named Ryokuto Academy. The manga was serialized in Hana to Yume and published...

 entitled "No Brand Heroes" which was sung by Chika Sakamoto

Chika Sakamoto

is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo affiliated with Arts Vision.-Television animation:*Baby and Me *Ashita no Nadja *Legend of the Mystical Ninja *Fighting Foodons *Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ...

. The convention mascots primarily composed today of Duct Tape Boy, The Gardening Ninja, Green Boy, and Future Girl refer to themselves as The No Brand Heroes with their headquarters being called The Amazing Justice Center.

The first No Brand Con was held for two days in April, 2002 at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire's Davies Center, with an attendance of 115. The following year, the convention was expanded to a three-day event. Due to its continual growth, the convention was moved off campus into a convention center and hotel venue.

Event history

Dates	Location	Atten.	Guests

External links

• No Brand Con official website