| Enter Information of Upcoming Events [Part 1] |
[Jul. 13th, 2003|12:53 pm] |
There's only one con I know of coming up soon and that's Otakon.
"Otakon is a convention devoted to east Asian culture, with a particular focus on Japanese animation (anime). For a weekend every year, we provide an opportunity for members to be immersed in films, series and other exciting activities along with fellow enthusiasts. Everyone is welcome, from the barely curious to hardened experts. Most of all, the goal is to have fun." -Otakon Website (Otakon[Opens in a new window])
Otakon 2003 is on August 8-10 in Baltimore, Maryland. If anyone would like to meet up there, contact me through e-mail (otakutocosplay@yahoo.com) or IM me (Otakuto Cosplay, if not there, try KaaayLeee) or hit the g.
The guests at Otakon will be:
Japanese
Itsuro Kawasaki, Director
Happen to be a fan of RPG videogames? Director Itsuro Kawasaki is known for his anime adaptations of role-playing video games. If you own a Playstation and love RPGs, you've no doubt played one of the games his shows were based on. Kawasaki-san got his start as assistant director on the OAV series, ?Please Save My Earth.? He then took up storyboard duties on the mega-hit show ?Martian Successor Nadesico.? Later, in 1998, Kawasaki-san directed the first of his videogame-to-animation series, ?Popolocrois Monogatari."
A year later, he directed the television series based on Sony's strategy-RPG, ?Arc the Lad.? Arguably his most popular work, he followed that by directing a second television series, this time based on another Sony RPG, ?Wild Arms.? In fact, the first episode of ?Wild Arms: Twilight Venom? aired a mere seven days after the last episode of the ?Arc the Lad? series!
This year, Iwasaki-san directed the twelve episode spy-action series ?Licensed by Royal.? With such an excellent track record, everyone looks forward to next series with Iwasaki-san's special vision.
-
Tsukasa Kotobuki, Artist
Some people can spot a cute girl from a mile away. Tsukasa Kotobuki makes a living creating them on paper. Kotobuki-san got his start as a professional back in 1995, as the character designer for the fighting game, Battle Arena Toshinden on the then-brand-new Sony PlayStation. After working on both sequels to Toshinden, he made the jump to the animation industry, designing the cute female leads of ?Saber Marionette J.? In addition, Kotobuki-san created a number of original characters for the television show.
With the immense popularity of ?Saber Marionette J? and its art style, Kotobuki-san was given the chance to adapt his own original story to television. In 1998, ?Akihabara Dennou Gumi? (?Cyber Team in Akihabara?) aired. With initial character designs and a story by Kotobuki-san, ?Akihabara? only added to his growing popularity. Two years after ?Akihabara,? he once again made another jump from character designer to mecha designer with ?Ginsou Kikou Audian? (?Attack Armor Audian?). With the new millennium, Kotobuki-san can be found drawing the manga ?Ragnarok,? appearing monthly in ?Shonen Ace?. (Not to be confused with the Korean ?Ragnarok manga? published domestically by Tokyopop.)
Also, true fans may be able to find his current art in small comic shops and online; Kotobuki-san spends much of his free time creating doujinshi, or fan-manga.
-
Yoshiaki Iwasaki, Director
Sometimes people miss their calling in life. Some people just get lucky the first time. Director Yoshiaki Iwasaki is one of those lucky people. While enrolled at Chiba University, Iwasaki-san frequently dabbled in the creation of amateur animated films. After graduating from the university with an engineering degree, he had the good fortune to learn more about animation from the creators of ?Gunbuster.? Iwasaki-san decided to remain in the industry, doing some directing for ?Slayers,? the second ?El-Hazard? series, ?Dai-Guard,? and storyboards for the romance series, ?To Heart.? In addition, he also did a turn as an animation director for ?Revolutionary Girl Utena.?
Iwasaki-san was then tapped to direct an animated adaptation of a popular manga. The manga in question was by upstart creator Ken Akamatsu, and was titled ?Love Hina.? ?Love Hina? went on to be wildly popular in both Japan and the United States. It led to two specials, and an OAV series, ?Love Hina Again,? which was also directed by Iwasaki-san. Recent shows to receive his subtle directorial touch include ?Turn A Gundam? (Animation Director), and another adaptation of Ken Akamatsu's work, ?Earth Defender Mao-chan.?
-
Masao Maruyama, Producer
The founder of Madhouse Studios, Masao Murayama has had a hand in the Japanese animation industry for almost 40 years.
Murayama-san was born in 1941 in the Miyagi Prefecture. After graduation from Hosei University in 1963, Mr. Maruyama went to work as an animator for ?Mushi Production.? He later went on to help produce ?Unico,? based on a story by Osamu Tezuka, of ?Astro Boy? fame. In 1972, Maruyama-san had a direct hand in the establishment of the burgeoning new animation studio Madhouse and in 1980 he was inducted into the board of directors.
Despite the wide range of mediums Madhouse Studios deals in, be it television, OAV, or theatrical release, Maruyama brings the same level of quality to every production. Regardless of the subject matter, Madhouse always brings something new to the table and is internationally known for exceptional animation. Maruyama is also acknowledged for his eye in finding young talent to bring into Madhouse.
Since Madhouse's inception, Maruyama-san has produced an amazing library of animation including: ?Barefoot Gen,? ?Dagger of Kamui,? ?Record of Lodoss Wars,? ?Urusei Yatsura,? ?Vampire Hunter D,? ?Ninja Scroll,? ?Cardcaptor Sakura,? ?Trigun,? ?Perfect Blue? and a number of others. Some of his latest work can found in recent TV series ?X,? ?Boogiepop Phantom,? ?Chobits,? ?PitaTen,? ?Abenobashi Maho Shotengai? and the new ?Ninja Scroll? television series.
-
Rica Matsumoto, Voice Actress
Seiyuu, or voice actors, are amazingly prolific in the Japanese animation industry. Rica Matsumoto, with almost 50 roles to her credit, is a shining example of this standard.
She was born November 30, 1965, in Yokohama. In 1988, she received her first voice acting work with Studio Pierrot's ?Osomatsu-Kun,? a kid's show with a plethora of strange characters.
Since then she has voiced numerous characters including: ?Outlaw Star's? kid sidekick Jim Hawking, cloned Dragon of ?Earth Nataku? (X TV), villain-turned-ally Bakura Ryou (?Yu-Gi-Oh?), lovely angel Kei (?Dirty Pair Flash?), cop Aoi Futaba (?You're Under Arrest?), three-eyed love-seeker Opera Vectra (?Star Ocean EX?), and anti-gravity child's toy Haro (?Mobile Suit Victory Gundam?).
Her most famous role is that of Satoshi, main character of the hit anime ?Pokemon.? Of course, most American children know Satoshi by his American name, Ash Ketchum. Matsumoto-san has voiced Satoshi through all 279 of the first television series, two specials, six movies, and to date 31 episodes of the currently-airing ?Pokemon Advance.?
In addition, she has sung three of the openings for the show and four openings for the movies. To call Rica Matsumoto a valuable part of the ?Pokemon? legend is putting it lightly. Lately, she can found as the voice of Misty in ?Bomberman Jetters,? and Nekobe in the ?Ninja Scroll? television series
 TM Revolution, musician
Takanori Nishikawa, one of Japan's HOTTEST pop singers, will be making his first trip to America by being the Guest of Honor for Otakon 2003! Known as TM Revolution - The TM stands for "Takanori makes" - TMR will also be performing for us at Otakon!
Any plans you had about NOT attending Otakon can now be officially scrapped. So get your plans together and start counting down the days to your attendance to TM Revolution's LIVE AMERICAN DEBUT!
---
American
Frederik Schodt, author - http://www.jai2.com [External Link, Opens in New Window]
Frederik Schodt has always been an aficionado of Japanese culture. Around 1976, Schodt and a number of friends put together DADAKAI, an organization with the eventual goal of publishing manga in English for non-Japanese speakers. A few titles were translated, but their dreams were never realized due to the fact that many had never heard of manga outside of Japan. In 1983, Schodt came to the attention of classic fandom with his first book, Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. Manga! became a bible for new manga readers everywhere. Schodt continued his success with Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia, a guide on Japanese technology, and America and the Four Japans: Friend, Foe, Model, Mirror, a primer for US-Japanese relations. In 1996, he completed Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga, a follow-up to Manga!, and his most recent book, Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald MacDonald and the Opening of Japan, has just been published by Stonebridge Press. His work can also be found in the translations of the Astroboy and Ghost in the Shell manga and the novels Gaku Stories and Jack and Betty Stories.
-
Julie Davis, editor, Animerica - http://www.animerica-mag.com [External Link, Opens in New Window]
In high school, the Japanese animation bug hooked Julie Davis when she happened to catch Star Blazers on television. She then drifted away from anime for a couple of years before landing a job working on Animag, The Magazine of Japanese Animation in 1989. Later on, Ms. Davis began working for Animerica as a consultant in their first issue. She was made Editor of the same magazine in 1998, and promoted to Editor-In-Chief in 2000. To date, she continues to be Animerica's Editor-In-Chief, while attempting to launch a line of art books for Animerica's parent company, Viz. In addition to her work in Animerica, Ms. Davis also edits Viz's Ranma 1/2 and Inu-Yasha manga.
-
Steve Bennett, animator - http://www.ic-ent.com [External Link, Opens in New Window]
Steven R. Bennett IV is the co-founder of I.C. Entertainment and a 1995 recipient of the prestigious Tezuka Award. In the early 1980's, Steve worked at Studio Pierrot in Tokyo as an apprentice animator to Noboru Furusei (New Dominion Tank Police, Lupin III) on projects such as Cat's Eye and Urusei Yatsura. In 1997, Steve co-founded Studio Ironcat L.L.C. with the help of Japanese manga artist Masaomi Kanzaki and released manga titles such as Go Nagai's Cutey Honey and Narumi Kakinouchi's Vampire Princess Miyu. In 2002, Studio Ironcat was reborn as I.C. Entertainment, and the company has taken a new focus on domestic manga, which resulted in the 2003 publication of their AmeriManga and Megatokyo titles. Steve has recently been working on character designs for a video game currently in development. In addition to being one of the most well-known figures in the domestic industry, he's also one of the most friendly and always enjoys chatting with other fans.
-
Dr. Susan Napier, author, University of Texas
Susan Napier is the Mitsubishi Professor Japanese Studies in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. Dr. Napier received her PhD in Japanese Literature from Harvard and has taught courses on anime and the influence of 20th Century Japanese art at Princeton, Harvard, and the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.
-
Jan Scott-Frazier, animation director
Jan Scott-Frazier's importance to the American anime community is hard to deny. In 1989 Jan became the first foreigner to work in the production department of an anime studio and over the years has worked on such anime as Bubblegum Crash, Moldiver and Genocyber. After a stint working for the U.S. leg of Production I.G., Janmoved on to work for Trimedia East, the makers of RETAS, an award-winning software that aids in 2D animation. On top of this, Scott-Frazier has also written extensively about the anime industry as a regular columnist for the popular online magazine, EX.
-
Robert DeJesus, artist
Robert is an Indiana born, self-taught artist. He got his first break in 1990 in Antarctic Press' anthology, Mangazine, and from there was asked to work on other AP comics, most notably the Ninja High School series. Eventually moving on to freelance work, he teamed up with
Adam Warren on Bubblegum Crisis and Dirty Pair and co-produced a portfolio 'zine with Steve
Bennett. His art has also attracted invitations from several Japanese artists, including Kenichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats) and KoKoMai (Playstation character designer), to do work for their own personal dojinishi circles. Robert has also done work for comic companies, major
magazines, an animated TV show, a major toy manufacturer, and a prominent video game
developer. His most recent work can be seen in an upcoming issue of Anime Invasion, and with the help of his wife/partner-in-crime, Emily, he has recently started his own company, Studio Capsule.
-
Fred Gallagher, artist - www.megatokyo.com [External Link, Opens in New Window]
Artist, writer, and driving creative force behind the immensely popular Megatokyo manga, Fred Gallagher is at the vanguard of the webmanga movement. In addition to the online version of Megatokyo, I.C. Entertainment is currently publishing the manga in print form. Otakon 2003
will mark Fred's third appearance as one of the convention's most popular guests.
-
Scott Houle, ADR director
Scott Houle has had a large impact on the Japanese animation localization industry for a number of years now. If you happen to be a lover of English dubbing you've no doubt heard some of his work. As President of the Coastal Carolina Recording Studio, he leads one of best ADR (Automatic Dialogue Replacement) studios around. Scott has contributed to each Coastal Studios' project in a number of ways, including ADR Direction, Voice Direction, ADR Editing, and Script Adaptation. Among the series that have had his special touch are Ah! My Goddess, You're Under Arrest, Blue Submarine No. 6, Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy, Shinesman, Baoh, Spirit of Wonder, and Crusher Joe.
-
Pamela Weidner, voice actress
A small town in North Carolina, and a single UHF channel with Star Blazers playing weekly. A rather obscure beginning for one of America's most prolific anime voice actresses. While having acted in live theater and independent films, Ms. Weidner reserves her true enthusiasm for her
animation voice-over work. Although most of her time these days is spent Script Editing and ADR Directing for Coastal Carolina Studios, she still has an impressive body of voice work behind her. She's been the voice for Skuld in Ah! My Goddess, Yoriko in You're Under Arrest, Mayumi in Blue Submarine No. 6, Princess Sheena in Shinesman, and Miyu in the Vampire Princess Miyu OVA series.
-
Justin Cook, ADR director
From an early age, it was obvious to anyone that Justin Cook was destined for anything other than a creative field. Little did he know that anime would end up being that creative outlet. Thanks to a bit of luck and a lot of perseverance, Mr. Cook found himself in Fort Worth, TX working for FUNimation Studios. He worked his way up the ladder at FUNimation, doing random character voices for Blue Gender and Dragon Ball Z before landing in the ADR Director's chair. Since then, Justin has ADR directed much of Dragon Ball Z, all of Yu Yu Hakusho, and all of Fruits Basket. He also happens to be the voice of Yu Yu Hakusho's lead character, Yusuke Urameshi.
-
Johnny Yong Bosch, voice actor
People say you can't learn anything from movies. Johnny Yong Bosch proves that it's entirely possible. Johnny learned a great deal of his martial arts from watching the movies of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee in his younger years. After taking on formal training, and winning a total of seven tournaments, he auditioned for a part in a new Fox Kid's television show. Johnny was cast as Adam Park, the second Black Power Ranger, and continued playing the character through three incarnations of the show: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, and Power Rangers Turbo. Later, he turned toward his less physical talents and was cast as the voice of $$60 Billion Man, Vash The Stampede, in the American release of Trigun. To date, he can be found doing the voice of Reiji Kageyama, main villain of Gate Keepers.
-
Gabe and Tycho, artists - http://www.penny-arcade.com [External Link]
An archangel and a sixteenth century astronomer doing a webcomic? Or just two guys with a little talent and a love for videogames? Under the guise of Gabe and Tycho, Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins have been doing Penny Arcade since 1998. From their humble beginnings at the PC game news site loonygames, Gabe and Tycho have made fun of virtually every aspect of videogame culture, and gained a huge following while doing so. In addition, they remain informative; reviewing import games in their Land Of The Rising Fun specials, and showing hardcore gamers how to set up the ultimate gaming rig in The Hook Up. This is only their second anime convention and they are very frightened. Be nice.
-
Mandy Bonhomme, Voice Actress
Originally from Pennsylvania, Mandy Bonhomme is a New York-based voice actor who has lent her considerable voice talent to a number of anime shows. In the past, Ms. Bonhomme has worked on ?Revolutionary Girl Utena? as the voices of Jury Arisugawa, Kieko, and one of the ?Shadow Girls.? Since then she's also done small roles in ?Boogiepop Phantom? and ?Jewel Bem Hunter Lime.? Recently, she can be found as the voices of Miho, Shiho and Multi in the upcoming ?Comic Party,? Yurika in ?His & Her Circumstances,? and the guest character Sue in assorted episodes of ?Pokemon.?
-
Brian Drummond, Voice Actor
Brian Drummond knew his voice would be a big part of his life ever since his teachers told him to keep quiet in fifth grade. Today, those same teachers continue to hear Brian's voice on the Saturday morning cartoons their grandchildren watch. After a stint in the film and television, Mr. Drummond turned his attention to animation and voice acting. After roles on ?Reboot? and ?G.I. Joe Extreme,? he landed a role as the voice of the Saiyan Prince Vegeta on ?Dragon Ball Z.? Since then Brian has lent his voice to a number of popular anime characters, including Zechs Marquise (?Gundam Wing?), Allen Schezar (?Escaflowne?) and Hayato (?Project Arms?). Mr. Drummond hopes to continue getting more voice acting roles, if only so those same old teachers can continue hearing his voice.
-
Kristine Sa, Musician
A talented songwriter with an amazing voice to match, Kristine Sa was born in 1982 and immigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1988. At a young age, she watched her sister attain a small degree of fame in the local music industry. She dreamed of her own career in entertainment, secretly writing songs and recording them in her basement. At the age of 16, she took her first step toward her dream, by joining an all-girl musical act. The group quickly fell apart, due to mismanagement, but allowed Ms. Sa a special opportunity.
A friend who heard Kristine's voice referred her to a small start-up label in New York City. Nemesis Records had been looking for an artist with whom they could start a recording relationship. After listening to the songs she had been secretly recording over the years and reading her poetry on her own web page, Nemesis convinced her to record for them.
For two years Ms. Sa went to school full time, while flying between Toronto and New York to record with Nemesis. Over a period of time, some of her completed songs were released as promotional mp3s, gaining Kristine a cult international following. When her debut album, ?I Never Knew,? was released in February of 2002, the sales shocked Nemesis. CDs were sold all over the US, the UK, Australia, and even as far away as Taiwan. As people continue to discover her music, her childhood dreams come that much closer to reality.
---
European
Pontus Madsen, writer
Pontus Madsen is co-author of the popular and politically incorrect webmanga Little Gamers. Little Gamers emerged on the web and has proved its endurance with witty sarcasm during the post-millennial years. Together with Christian Fundin, Pontus creates a comic that is striving to keep the scene real and is throwing both high and low punches against the gaming world as we know it. Mr. Madsen spends his days working as a web designer and the nights playing all them console games. Little Gamers is today the only Scandinavian webcomic that has gained success both in Japan and USA, but this will be Pontus' first anime convention appearance, not to mention his first trip so far away from his consoles. Greet and be gentle to the part-Swedish, part-Danish young comic artist who's taking the plane across the Atlantic. W00t!
(all information on guests is from the Otakon website)
---------------
Whoo! Remind me not to go into webdesgin. Not hard. Just takes a lot of time and alot of patience (one of which, I don't have). Now! For the things that will be goin' on at Otakon!
Happenings will include:
-Anime
-Costuming
-Dance
-Games
-Karaoke
-LARP (Live Action Role Play)
-Modeling Contest
-Music Video
-Otaklause Challenge
-Panels & Workshops
-Photo Suite
-Video Games
---
If you have anymore questions on Otakon, just go to the website or contact me (or Richii).
That's all I have on Otakon.
Fanimecon (held in Norther California, as sadballoon informed me) has come and gone for this year, but it will be back next year! :) Check out www.fanime.com for information.
Yaoi-con will be held October 17-19 this year. More information as that nears.
IMPORTANT!!! As previously stated, Otakuto is now country wide! :DDD It's not concentrated in one area anymore.
Hopefully more people will join now! :DD :DD
~~Hikari ^..^
[Small note: As Otakuto is now a community, all official posts will be made from my personal account, this one (sylphw).] |
|
|