June 24, 2009

Voice actor Kikuko Inoue to appear at Otakon

Best-Known for Portraying Belldandy

Baltimore, MD (June 18, 2009) – Prominent seiyuu (voice actor) Kikuko Inoue will appear at Otakon 2009.

Inoue is perhaps best known for portraying goddess Belldandy in the perennially-popular Oh My Goddess. Indeed, she is so identified with that character that later chapters of the manga adapted the character's speaking style to Inoue's. The role is quite similar to one of her earlier roles, that of older sister Kasume Tendou in Ranma 1/2. Inoue's voice lends itself to reserved, mature, domestic, and regal characters. Her characters are frequently islands of calm and sanity amidst the rampant chaos. Other prominent roles have included Rune Venus in El-Hazard and Kazami Mizuho in Onegai Teacher. In both cases, she played a strong but compassionate leader.

Occasionally, Inoue plays against type as a sultry, aggressive flirt: the dancer Corvette in Idol Project and sex-crazed nurse Ruko Tatase in the infamous hentai Ogenki Clinic are two such roles. She's also taken villainous turns, such as Alv in Kiddy Grade and Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist.

As one of the industry's more prolific actresses, the always-in-demand Inoue has had a role in many fan favorites over the years, including Electra in Nadia: Secret of Blue Water, Seira Mimori in Saint Tail, Inuyasha's mother Izayoi in Inuyasha, Caridad Yamato in Gundam Seed, Cecile in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Sanae Furukawa in Clannad, Grace O'Connor in Macross Frontier, Panther in Saber Marionette J, and Miria in Claymore. She's also featured in many video games, including Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and 4; Guilty Gear; Sakura Taisen 3 and 4, and the Super Robot Wars series.

Inoue has a thriving fanbase in Japan, where she is known as "Onee-chan" (big sister), thanks to her prominent roles of that sort. A shared joke among her fans is that when she is asked about her age, she always smiles and claims to be 17 years old – a claim she has made for many years.

Otakon 2009 will be held July 17-19 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its sixteenth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore's few large, city-wide events, drawing over 22,000 individual members for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 60,000 "turnstile" attendees). Otakon is a membership-based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see http://www.otakon.com/otakorp/index.asp
For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2009, see http://www.otakon.com/

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