List of Guests of Honor for Los Angeles' Anime Expo 2011
Danny Choo
-Known internationally for his antics as the "Tokyo Stormtrooper," Danny Choo speaks at conferences and universities worldwide on Japanese pop culture and consumer-generated media. His activities are regularly featured in web, print and broadcast media worldwide such as CNN, BBC, NHK and G4TV.
Hatsune Miku
-A digital diva famous worldwide for her ankle-length aqua-colored pigtails and distinctive voice, Hatsune Miku will light up the stage at Nokia Theater on July 2nd in her U.S. live concert debut presented by The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, Crypton Future Media, Inc., SEGA Corporation, Tokyo Kawaii Magazine (ASCII Media Works) and Toyota Motor Sales, USA.
Maon Kurosaki
-Kurosaki honed her singing and dancing skills by performing at Dearstage, a famous Akihabara club, and made her major label debut at Geneon Universal in 2010 with the album H.O.T.D., a collection of ending theme songs for "Highschool of the Dead," a smash hit anime series. Many of her songs have risen to the top of the Japanese Oricon charts including "Magic World," the end theme for the "Toaru Majutsu no Index II" series which debuted in the top 20 and "Memories Last," which rose as high as number 14.
Fred Gallagher
-Fred Gallagher is the author and artist behind the popular American manga title, “Megatokyo.” While strongly influenced by Japanese manga and anime, Fred also mixes in elements of American fan culture and other inspirations that only a non-Japanese creator could bring to the medium.
Hirano Katsuyuki
-A life-long fan of heroic fantasies who grew up playing “Dragon Quest” and “Final Fantasy” and dreaming of making his own RPGs, Hirano Katsuyuki is today the Lead Artist at Idea Factory/Compile Heart. Mr. Hirano is most well-known for his character work on “Spectral Souls” and the “Record of Agarest War” series. “I am so excited about Anime Expo and hope to meet with fellow heroic fantasy and RPG fans from the US,” says Mr. Hirano.
Itoh Hiroyuki
-As CEO of Crypton Future Media, Mr. Hiroyuki has established himself as a visionary “meta-creator” - one who creates various products and services to assist the creations of other people. Soon after creating a new category of Vocaloid entertainers with the introduction of Hatsune Miku, he launched PIAPRO (www.piapro.jp), the Vocaloid info, music and artwork-sharing site. Most recently in 2010, he started the music aggregation service ROUTER.FM, which has started to transmit more than 1,000 independent labels to the world.
Izumi Matsumoto
-Izumi Matsumoto is the creator of the popular romantic comedy manga, “Kimagure Orange Road,” first published in “Weekly Shonen Jump” in 1984. Teenage love triangle meets fantasy in this landmark manga that has been adapted into an anime series, novels and a radio drama.
Kalafina
-Along with the hit-making sound producer Yuki Kajiura, Kalafina has provided memorable songs for popular anime series including “Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of sinners,” “Kuroshitsuji - Black Butler,” and “PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA.”
Kenta Sugano
-One of the most prolific game directors at Idea Factory/Compile Heart, Sugano Kenta is famous for epic simulation RPGs including “Spectral Souls,” “Blazing Souls,” the “Record of Agarest War” series, and the “Hyperdimension Neptunia” series. He is currently directing the highly anticipated “Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2.” “I love to surprise and challenge players with deep and complex game mechanics,” says Mr. Sugano. “I can’t wait to meet with RPG fans at Anime Expo and share insights on the creation of our most popular series.”
Miyuki Sawashiro
-Over the last 10 years, Sawashiro has provided voice-over in more than 120 anime titles. She has also lent her talent to many video games and Drama CDs. Notably, she voiced Puchiko in the English dubbed releases of “Di Gi Charat - A Trip to the Planet” and “Leave it to Piyoko!” making her one of the few Japanese voice actors to have reprised a role in English in addition to the original Japanese performance.
Onyx Kobayashi
-A multifaceted artist, Onyx Kobayashi is responsible for the lyrics, music, illustrations and video for the Vocaloid songs including his hit “Saihate,” which has been played more than 2 million times online.
Sohei Niikawa
-Niikawa is the creative force behind such popular NIS games as the “Disgaea” series, the “Marl Kingdom” series (La Pucelle Tactics) and the “Hayarigami” series.
Toshio Furukawa
-Furukawa has played a variety of characters from comedians like Ataru of “Urusei Yatsura” and Inumanu of “Gosenzosama Banbanzai,” to calm, serious ones like Shin from “Fist of the North Star” and Piccolo of the “Dragonball” series. Toshio is capable of performing with a “boy voice” and has played noble hot-blooded heroes such Prince Mito of “Saikyo robo Daioja” and Kento Tate of “Future Robo Daltanius.”
Vic Mignona
-Vic has been acting for stage and screen since he was 8 years old. His career in anime began about ten years ago as Vega in Streetfighter II. Since then, Vic has been in more than a 150 shows and video games.
Wataru Sasaki
-Wataru Sasaki is in charge of Crypton Future Media’s marketing for music creation software. With the introduction of KAITO, the first male Vocaloid in 2006, and then with Hatsune Miku, Mr. Sasaki has used blogs, Twitter and other social media to spark an explosion in consumer-generated content using music creation software. He is currently recording various patterns of voices in Japanese and English as he continues to explore new possibilities in this realm.
Anime expo website
-Known internationally for his antics as the "Tokyo Stormtrooper," Danny Choo speaks at conferences and universities worldwide on Japanese pop culture and consumer-generated media. His activities are regularly featured in web, print and broadcast media worldwide such as CNN, BBC, NHK and G4TV.
Hatsune Miku
-A digital diva famous worldwide for her ankle-length aqua-colored pigtails and distinctive voice, Hatsune Miku will light up the stage at Nokia Theater on July 2nd in her U.S. live concert debut presented by The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, Crypton Future Media, Inc., SEGA Corporation, Tokyo Kawaii Magazine (ASCII Media Works) and Toyota Motor Sales, USA.
Maon Kurosaki
-Kurosaki honed her singing and dancing skills by performing at Dearstage, a famous Akihabara club, and made her major label debut at Geneon Universal in 2010 with the album H.O.T.D., a collection of ending theme songs for "Highschool of the Dead," a smash hit anime series. Many of her songs have risen to the top of the Japanese Oricon charts including "Magic World," the end theme for the "Toaru Majutsu no Index II" series which debuted in the top 20 and "Memories Last," which rose as high as number 14.
Fred Gallagher
-Fred Gallagher is the author and artist behind the popular American manga title, “Megatokyo.” While strongly influenced by Japanese manga and anime, Fred also mixes in elements of American fan culture and other inspirations that only a non-Japanese creator could bring to the medium.
Hirano Katsuyuki
-A life-long fan of heroic fantasies who grew up playing “Dragon Quest” and “Final Fantasy” and dreaming of making his own RPGs, Hirano Katsuyuki is today the Lead Artist at Idea Factory/Compile Heart. Mr. Hirano is most well-known for his character work on “Spectral Souls” and the “Record of Agarest War” series. “I am so excited about Anime Expo and hope to meet with fellow heroic fantasy and RPG fans from the US,” says Mr. Hirano.
Itoh Hiroyuki
-As CEO of Crypton Future Media, Mr. Hiroyuki has established himself as a visionary “meta-creator” - one who creates various products and services to assist the creations of other people. Soon after creating a new category of Vocaloid entertainers with the introduction of Hatsune Miku, he launched PIAPRO (www.piapro.jp), the Vocaloid info, music and artwork-sharing site. Most recently in 2010, he started the music aggregation service ROUTER.FM, which has started to transmit more than 1,000 independent labels to the world.
Izumi Matsumoto
-Izumi Matsumoto is the creator of the popular romantic comedy manga, “Kimagure Orange Road,” first published in “Weekly Shonen Jump” in 1984. Teenage love triangle meets fantasy in this landmark manga that has been adapted into an anime series, novels and a radio drama.
Kalafina
-Along with the hit-making sound producer Yuki Kajiura, Kalafina has provided memorable songs for popular anime series including “Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of sinners,” “Kuroshitsuji - Black Butler,” and “PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA.”
Kenta Sugano
-One of the most prolific game directors at Idea Factory/Compile Heart, Sugano Kenta is famous for epic simulation RPGs including “Spectral Souls,” “Blazing Souls,” the “Record of Agarest War” series, and the “Hyperdimension Neptunia” series. He is currently directing the highly anticipated “Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2.” “I love to surprise and challenge players with deep and complex game mechanics,” says Mr. Sugano. “I can’t wait to meet with RPG fans at Anime Expo and share insights on the creation of our most popular series.”
Miyuki Sawashiro
-Over the last 10 years, Sawashiro has provided voice-over in more than 120 anime titles. She has also lent her talent to many video games and Drama CDs. Notably, she voiced Puchiko in the English dubbed releases of “Di Gi Charat - A Trip to the Planet” and “Leave it to Piyoko!” making her one of the few Japanese voice actors to have reprised a role in English in addition to the original Japanese performance.
Onyx Kobayashi
-A multifaceted artist, Onyx Kobayashi is responsible for the lyrics, music, illustrations and video for the Vocaloid songs including his hit “Saihate,” which has been played more than 2 million times online.
Sohei Niikawa
-Niikawa is the creative force behind such popular NIS games as the “Disgaea” series, the “Marl Kingdom” series (La Pucelle Tactics) and the “Hayarigami” series.
Toshio Furukawa
-Furukawa has played a variety of characters from comedians like Ataru of “Urusei Yatsura” and Inumanu of “Gosenzosama Banbanzai,” to calm, serious ones like Shin from “Fist of the North Star” and Piccolo of the “Dragonball” series. Toshio is capable of performing with a “boy voice” and has played noble hot-blooded heroes such Prince Mito of “Saikyo robo Daioja” and Kento Tate of “Future Robo Daltanius.”
Vic Mignona
-Vic has been acting for stage and screen since he was 8 years old. His career in anime began about ten years ago as Vega in Streetfighter II. Since then, Vic has been in more than a 150 shows and video games.
Wataru Sasaki
-Wataru Sasaki is in charge of Crypton Future Media’s marketing for music creation software. With the introduction of KAITO, the first male Vocaloid in 2006, and then with Hatsune Miku, Mr. Sasaki has used blogs, Twitter and other social media to spark an explosion in consumer-generated content using music creation software. He is currently recording various patterns of voices in Japanese and English as he continues to explore new possibilities in this realm.
Anime expo website