SEGA and ATLUS are going all in at Anime Expo 2026.
On Monday, the companies and SPJA announced five Guests of Honor heading to Los Angeles this July, representing decades of Sonic and Persona legacy—plus a celebrated anime director.
The Lineup
Takashi Iizuka – Creative Officer of Sonic
The man behind Shadow the Hedgehog and a 30+ year Sonic veteran. Iizuka’s credits include Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Mania. He also oversees the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise.
Autograph session: Friday, July 3, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM, JW Gold Ballroom
Kazuhisa Wada – General Producer, Persona Team
A Persona veteran since serving as Design Director on Persona 3, Wada now oversees the entire Persona team as General Producer, including Persona 4 Revival.
Shigenori Soejima – Character Designer / Illustrator, ATLUS
The legendary artist behind the iconic characters of Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. Soejima serves in a supervisory role for Persona 4 Revival.
Atsushi Nomura – Business Producer, Persona Team
Nomura handles IP production, project planning, and promotion for the Persona series, with credits including Persona 4 Revival, Persona 5 Tactica, and the remastered Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable.
Yoshiyuki Asai – Director
Asai began as an animator at Toei Animation before directing Charlotte, Fate/Apocrypha, and The Day I Became a God. His series Buddy Daddies won Best Original Anime at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024.
Autograph session (Wada, Soejima, Nomura, Asai): Friday, July 3, 1:00 PM – 2:50 PM, JW Gold Ballroom
This is one of the strongest Guest of Honor lineups AX has seen in years. Sonic fans get a living legend in Iizuka. Persona enthusiasts get three key creative forces behind the series’ modern revival. And anime fans get Asai, whose work on Buddy Daddies proved he’s one of the most interesting directors working today.
Autograph sessions require sign-ups. AX 2026 runs July 2–5 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Source: fortyseven
