January 15, 2009

Anime Boston 2009 announces first round of guests

Northeast's largest anime convention to host international talent

Boston – 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 actor Greg Ayres; industry guest David Williams; artists Robert and Emily DeJesus and Misako Rocks! and musical guest BESPA KUMAMERO.

BESPA KUMAMERO was formed in March of 2001. The members Azumi (Vocals) and Monkichi (Programming/Guitar) call themselves a digital techno performance unit. Their unique group performs regularly in Tokyo but has toured in France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, etc. and been featured in many interviews and articles in those countries. In 2007, BESPA KUMAMERO toured and played 6 dates in the U.K., followed by 2008 appearances at Anime Matsuri (Houston, TX), Animex 2008 (Monterrey, Mexico), and Tokyo Cyber Eve (Moscow, Russia).

Greg Ayres has spent the last year as Kaoru of Funimation's hit Ouran High School Host Club. 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. He is also a regular in the New York DJ circuit, playing anime conventions and also at The Knitting Factory.

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.

Misako Rocks! developed a love for comics and manga at an early age and drew her first comic at the age of 13. She moved to New York in 2001 and worked as a a puppeteer, face painter, animal balloon maker, and art teacher while still developing her own work. Her first break came when the Onion decided to use her illustrations for their now famous "Savage Love" column, which runs every week. Shortly thereafter, Misako scored a two-book deal with Hyperion, a three-book deal with Henry Holt and a writing gig for Archie comics. She has been featured in many magazines and newspapers, including Elle Girl and the New York Times. The BBC also featured her in a documentary about comic book creators. On top of that, she has recently received the Venice Beach, LA Playwright award.

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 2009 will be held Friday, May 22 through Sunday,May 24 at the Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Boston hotel. 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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