November 13, 2005
News for Anime Boston 2006:
Anime Boston 2006 announces its first round of guests
Voice actor extraordinaire Steven J. Blum joins an all-star guest listBOSTON, November 13, 2005 - The New England Anime Society is proud to announce the following distinguished guests will attend Anime Boston 2006: voice actors Greg Ayres, Steven J. Blum, Richard Epcar, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and artists Robert and Emily DeJesus.
Greg Ayres is not your average voice actor. The once "fanboy" turned VA started working for ADV Films two years ago, and in that time, he snagged 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 and Azumanga Daioh.
Steven J. Blum is a name that needs no introduction. A veteran of the voice-over business, Steve Blum cut his vocal teeth in anime like Bio-Booster Armor Guyver and Giant Robo, and since has voiced hundreds of diverse characters in every media imaginable. For over 15 years, he has been the voice that has brought many memorable animated characters to life. Some of his unforgettable roles include Spike from Cowboy Bebop, Tom (the robot) from Toonami, Roger Smith from Big O, Zabuza from Naruto, Jamie from Megas XLR and Blunk in the Disney series W.I.T.C.H. In video games, he's lent his voice to Crash Bandicoot, Pitfall Harry, Ethan Hunt, Wolverine, Jabba the Hutt and Ares. His voice can also be found in Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Scrapped Princess, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Radiata Stories, Zatch Bell! and Psychonauts. This will be Blum's first convention in Northeast.
Robert DeJesus is an Indiana-born, self-taught artist. In 1990, he got his first art career break when he sent an eight-page short story to Antarctic Press' anthology, Mangazine. From that, he was asked to work on other assorted Antarctic Press comics, such as Ninja High School and Mangazine. After working for the company for about four years, Robert went freelance. He teamed with other artists such as Adam Warren on Bubblegum Crisis and Dirty Pair and Phil Foglio on the Xxxenophile card game. He co-produced a portfolio 'zine with Steve Bennett. Robert's biggest claim to fame has to be designing Banzai Chibi Chan, the mascot for PlayStation Magazine: 100% Independent. DeJesus and his wife, Emily, have started their own company, Studio Capsule.
Richard Epcar is well known to anime fans, starting with the original Robotech series where he played Ben Dixon, Lunk and Gruel. He has been the voice of Batou (Ghost in the Shell) since the series was introduced to the U.S. in 1996. He was Guld in Macross, Jigen in the new Lupin the 3rd series and Mac in Teknoman. Most recently, he can be heard as the title character in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo on Cartoon Network, which he also helps write and direct. Many will remember him from Fushigi Yûgi: the Mysterious Play, Gundam, Serial Experiments Lain, Captain Harlock, Trigun and GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka. His directorial work includes the first season of Digimon: Digital Monsters, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and the upcoming Lupin the 3rd television series. His voice work in video games includes roles in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Robotech: Invasion and the Xenosaga series.
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn displays her talents in a wide variety of fields, including as a voice actress, writer, singer and director. She is well-known among anime fans for many diverse projects, such as Major Matoko Kusanagi in Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Chris Riley from Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Helba from .hack, Jagura from Wolf's Rain and Jeanne from Witch Hunter Robin. She has also worked on scripts, most notably for Digimon: Digital Monsters, and she co-directed Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. She can also be found in roles in Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Princess Mononoke.
About Anime Boston: Anime Boston is New England's premier convention for fans of Japanese animation and art. First opening its doors in 2003, Anime Boston has been proud to offer a gathering place for fans of anime, manga, video games and related works and to offer the best entertainment for them. Anime Boston 2005 featured more than 130 hours of video programming, more than one dozen contests and is one of the largest anime conventions in the United States with more than 7,500 attendees. Anime Boston 2006 will be from May 26, 2006, through May 28, 2006, at the Hynes Convention Center and the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. More information about Anime Boston is available at http://www.animeboston.com.
About The New England Anime Society: Founded in 2001, The New England Anime Society Inc. is a Massachusetts-based non-profit 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.
