LLNN Coverage of Otakon 2002

Japanese and American Guests of Honor for Otakon 2002 included luminaries from near and far:

Takehiko Ito: Creator and Character Designer, Mr. Ito's anime projects include NG Knight Ramune & 40, Outlaw Star, and Angel Links. He is currently working on the manga Outlaw Star 2, which will be published beginning this fall in the pages of Sheisha's Ultra Jump.

Yasuhiro Nightow: Manga Artist for Trigun and it's lovable main character Vash the Stampede. Mr. Nightow has also recently contributed character designs to Sega’s Gungrave for Sony Playstation 2.

Masao Maruyama: Producer and founder of Madhouse Studios, Masao Murayama has had a hand in the Japanese animation industry for almost forty years. He is credited producing numerous works including: Barefoot Gen, Dagger of Kamui, Record of Lodoss Wars, Urusei Yatsura, Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Cardcaptor Sakura, Trigun, Perfect Blue, and a number of others. Some of his latest work can found in recent TV series X and Chobits.

Yutaka Minowa: Minowa is best known as the character designer for Vampire Hunter D and it’s sequel, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. He has also been the character and concept designer for Outlaw Star, character designer and animation director for Ninja Scroll, and has also contributed character designs to the Outlaw Star pseudo-spinoff Angel Links. His current contribution has been towards the Escaflowne movie, A Girl In Gaea, as an animator.

Hiroyuki Morioka: Author of sci-fi epic Seikai no Monshou and Seikai no Senki (Battleflag of Stars) which were adapted into three popular anime series: Seikai no Monshou, Seikai no Senki, and Seikai no Senki II.

Yoko Ishida: Singer and cheerleading celebrity pop idol behind Para Para MAX and has also contributed songs to the soundtracks of such series as Sailor Moon, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar, and New Snow White Legend Pretear.

Yoko Ishida (center) and her Para Para Max dancing crew buddies ham it up for the camera while strolling around the convention halls with their fans.

Steve Bennett (left) always hard at work drawing up sketches for the very dedicated Studio IronCat fans.

Tatsuo Sato: Sato has a long list of credits including being Animation Director for Chibi Maruko and Akazukin Cha Cha, Director of Martian Successor Nadesico TV series, the movie Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness, Gakuen Senki Muryo, and Nekojiru Sou. Currently, Sato-san is directing a TV animation to be aired in 2003.

Steve Bennett: Art Director and co-founder of Studio Ironcat, a Japanese manga publishing company credited with working on translating titles such as Futabakun Change!, Flag Fighters, Vampire Princess Miyu, and Crusher Joe.

Bruce Faulconer: The award-winning composer of the music for Cartoon Network's hit Dragonball Z, Dr. Faulconer's involvement in the American version of the series helped propel it from the top thirty to being the #1 most-watched animated television series in the United States, currently reaching over 22 million households.

Fred Perry: Artist who has worked for companies such as Eternity Comics, Malibu Comics, and Antarctic Press and is currently known for his mangas Gold Digger and Legacy, both available from Antarctic Press. You can also find his self-produced Gold Digger animation on DVD in some specialty stores.

Neil Nadelman: Translator of episode one of Bubblegum Crash, Mobile Suit Gundam, Macross Plus, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, the Slayers series, and Wings of Honneamise. Nadelman has worked for numerous American anime distribution companies including AnimEigo, Pioneer, Central Park Media, and Right Stuf and is still active in the anime translation business to this day.

Fred "Piro" Gallagher and Rodney "Largo" Caston: Web Manga co-authors of Megatokyo, one of the most popular and funniest anime/game based comics on the Internet taking in over 200,000 readers a day.

Wendee Lee: Voice Actress as Vanessa in Harmony Gold’s Robotech, Tenchi Muyo’s Kiyone, Cowboy Bebop’s Faye Valentine, and Outlaw Star’s Suzuka. Ms. Lee has also worked as an adaptive writer for dubbing projects, and has assumed the role of voice director on several recent shows including Outlaw Star.

Lianne Sentar: Author and respected member of the anime fanfiction community who is credited with writing the Sailor Moon novel series for Tokyopop. Lianne also has two original novels, Rain and Children Of The Sky and currently attends St. Joseph’s College in Connecticut, where she continues to do freelance and contract work for Tokyopop.

Gilles Poitras: The "most influential anime fan in the US", Gilles is author of The Anime Companion and The Anime Essentials, and has since lectured about anime and manga for the growing anime community in most of California and it’s surrounding areas. Gilles currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he works as the Director of Information Resources for the Exploratorium Museum and heads up his own anime club.