Anime Boston 2008 announces first round of guests
Northeast's largest anime convention to host international talentBoston - Anime Boston, the largest anime convention in New England, announced its first round of guests today. As a mix of past favorites and new surprises, guests include voice actors Greg Ayres, Christopher Ayres and Monica Rial; industry guests David Williams; artists Robert and Emily DeJesus and musical guest tokyo pinsalocks.
Greg Ayres has spent the last year rocking his way through two new anime series as the loud-mouthed Hideki in Nerima Daikon Brothers and Koyuki from Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. The once fanboy turned voice started working for ADV Films a little over five years ago, and within the first two years managed to snag two of his favorite roles in anime. He was thrilled to voice the role of his favorite character Son Goku in Saiyuki, then one year later, Kaworu Nagisa in the director's cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Other roles include Toga in Gravion, Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Yuya Asou in SuperGals, Mannen in Pretear, and Shinji Kazama in Full Metal Panic. He can also be heard in other titles such as The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Steel Angel Kurumi, Those Who Hunt Elves II, Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat, Cromartie High School, Gunslinger Girl, Azumanga Daioh, D.N.Angel, Kodocha, Trinity Blood and Macross. When not recording, he can be found as a DJ in various clubs and anime conventions around the U.S.
Christopher Ayres is a voice actor for ADV Films and Funimation. His credits include Suitengu in Speed Grapher, Oshodani in Papuwa, Lin in Macross, Kei in Gantz, Sousyu in Yumeria, Kenji in Diamond Daydreams, Yukihiko in Maburaho and Woogey in Michel. Formerly a stage actor appearing in Broadway and Off-Broadway, he has been a voice actor in anime and live action films for the past three years. He is also famous for his Mock Combat for Cosplay panel he runs at various anime conventions. He is also the brother of Greg Ayres.
Robert DeJesus is a writer, story creator, illustrator, storyboard artist and character designer for Studio Capsule. Robert is no stranger to the anime and manga community. An Indiana born, self-taught artist, who got his first art career break when he sent an eight page short story to comic publisher, Antarctic Press in February of 1990. He has drawn manga inspired art for well over 19 years and has been published nearly all over the world. He has worked for many companies like Playstation Magazine, Marvel, Hasbro, and recently with Harper Collins Publishing.
Emily DeJesus is a writer, editor, story creator and manager of Studio Capsule. Robert and Emily met at a convention called Anime Central and haven't been apart since that day. Emily has always enjoyed manga and anime, but never thought it could be her job. Emily has worked with Robert for over 7 years now. She helps write the web comic "How to Loathe Drawing in the Manga Style" and has just finished writing her first children's book. She enjoys the business side of working for Studio Capsule very much and is grateful that she has an opportunity to work in the manga/comics business.
Monica Rial has been working in the anime voice over industry for eight years. As an actress for ADV Films and Funimation Entertainment she has appeared in many anime roles including: Misuzu in Air TV, Simca in Air Gear, Nyamo in Azumanga Daioh, Okoi in Basilisk, Jo in Burst Angel, Towa in DN Angel, Hyatt in Excel Saga, Kyoko in Full Metal Panic, Momoko in Ghost Stories, Angelica in Gunslinger Girl, Lumiere in Kiddy Grade, Kirika in Noir, Haruka in Rahxephon, Misa in Macross, Kagura in Speed Grapher and Maria in Witchblade. She can be heard on the Cartoon Network in Crayon Shinchan, Fullmetal Alchemist and Trinity Blood. She also writes ADR script adaptations and writes a monthly article, Monica's Reality Check, for Newtype USA magazine.
tokyo pinsalocks fuse fresh rhythms with the psychedelic vocal stylings of singer/keyboardist Naoko, mashed through vocal filters to create a retro-futuristic new-wave meltdown. Since their formation in 2000, tokyo pinsalocks have toured all across Japan, including Sapporo's revered Rising Sun Rock Festival. In February 2007, the band took their music to England for a week-long tour, gaining them an instant British fanbase and in 2008, the band will be touring the U.S.
David Williams is currently an ADR Director for ADV Films as well as their DVD Producer and voice on the Internet. He has directed Angelic Layer, Pretear, Najica, the original Nuku Nuku OVAs, Dirty Pair, and many others. He's produced more DVDs than he can remember and had more skin grafts due to online flame wars than he wants to remember. He's often invited to anime conventions where he can be seen wandering the con with his "What would you do for a DVD?" badge, giving out DVDs to clever and amusing otaku. His roots in the industry go deep, having been an anime fan since before there was an anime industry in the U.S. and with ADV from the beginning when his living room was used as a production facility for their first show, Devil Hunter Yohko.
About Anime Boston: Anime Boston is an annual three-day Japanese animation convention held in Boston, Massachusetts. Anime Boston 2008 will be held Friday, March 21 through Sunday, March 23 at the Hynes Convention Center and Boston Marriott Copley Place. More information about Anime Boston can be found at http://www.animeboston.com.
About New England Anime Society: The New England Anime Society was founded in 2001. Based in Massachusetts, The New England Anime Society, Inc. is an organization dedicated to furthering public education and understanding of the Japanese language and culture through visual and written media. More information about The New England Anime Society is available at http://www.neanime.org.
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