Sword Art Online Cast & Crew Appear at Anime Boston 2013

Press Release:

Anime Boston, the largest anime convention in the Northeast, announced another round of guests today.  Director Tomohiko Ito, producer Shinichiro Kashiwada and voice actors Cherami Leigh and Bryce Papenbrook will attend Anime Boston at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Mass. on May 24 through May 26, 2013.

Tomohiko Ito works at A-1 Pictures and is most recognized as the director of the hit series Sword Art Online. He made his directorial debut with the animated series Occult Academy.

Ito’s long list of credits includes Death Note, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Summer Wars to name a few.

This will be Ito’s first time appearing at an Anime Convention here in the U.S. Mr. Ito is looking forward to share his thoughts on Sword Art Online and more, here at Anime Boston.

As Aniplex’s producer, Shinichiro Kashiwada is involved as a chief producer for the hit animated series Sword Art Online.

He has also been involved with numerous titles including Puella Magi Madoka Magica TV series and Oreimo Series as an associate producer.

Cherami Leigh is an on camera and voice actor from Dallas.

In the anime world, she is the female lead Asuna in Sword Art Online.  She has appeared as Road in D. Grayman, Sae in Peach Girl, Yuti La in Heroic Age, Elizabeth in Black Butler, Patty in Soul Eater, Ayano in Kaze no Stigma, Natsumi in Sgt. Frog, Naomi in Witchblade, Yoshika in Strike Witches, Elicia Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,  Setsuna and Akira in Negima, Mai in Ghost Hunt, Tamaki in Bamboo Blade, Himawari in XXXholic, Cecily in Sacred Blacksmith,  Liechtenstein in Hetalia, Lucy in Fairy Tail, Takeshita in B Gata H Kei, Kneesocks in Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, Sunako in Shiki, Suzuha in Steins;Gate, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Gaige in Borderlands 2.

She has been in over 75 commercials, and was a live national on-air DJ for Radio Disney. She has appeared in many films and television shows, including the soon to be released Beyond the Farthest Star and in the hit webseries Throwing Stones. She was also in the Emmy-award winning Temple Grandin, and has appeared on various network television shows.

Bryce Papenbrook has been a professional voice over artist since the age of eight. He has also been announced as Kirito, the male lead of Sword Art Online.

Papenbrook was introduced to the voice acting scene by his father, Bob Papenbrook, and has continued the trade in his footsteps. Bryce has performed in numerous video games, cartoons, and television shows.

Some recent roles include Rin Okumura in Blue Exorcist, Asbel Lhant in Tales of Graces F, Zidane Tribal in Final Fantasy Dissidia 012, Masaomi Kida in Durarara!!, and Guan Ping in Dynasty Warriors. Past leading roles include Shugo in .hack//Sign Legend of the Twilight, Jack in MAR, Jack Russell in Radiata Stories, Hanabusa Aido in Vampire Knight, and Isami Fujiwara in Noein.

Previously announced guests were Chris Ayres, Greg Ayres, Lauren Landa, David Matranga, ORIGA, Raj Ramayya, Stephanie Sheh, Tom Wayland, and Kari Wahlgren.

About Anime Boston: With more than 22,000 attendees in 2012, Anime Boston is an annual three-day Japanese animation convention held in Boston, Mass. Anime Boston 2013 is scheduled for 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.

Anime Boston 2013 Announces Next Round of Guests

Press Release:

Anime Boston, the largest anime convention in New England, announced another round of guests today. Musical guests ORIGA and Raj Ramayya, as well as voice actor David Matranga, will attend Anime Boston at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Mass. on May 24 through May 26, 2013.

Olga Yakovleva, better known under the moniker ORIGA, is a Russian vocalist, born in a small town of Kochenevo in the Novosibirsk Region of Russia. Her music studies began when she was 5 and at age 11, she was invited to appear on a children’s TV program to perform a song she had written. From that time on, her studies of voice and composition have never stopped.

During her education at the Novosibirsk Musical College (1986-1990), she participated in various themed-based festivals and competitions, refining her own style as a popular singer on stage. In December of 1990, she went to Japan on a 3-month personal invitation and took part in several festivals in the City of Sapporo as a representative of Russian culture. At the same time, she signed a contract with the ROAD & SKY Company, and, in May of 1994, she went to Tokyo to record her first album and launch her career as a singer and composer.

Anime fans may recognize her as the vocalist for all three opening themes of the popular anime series “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, which allowed her to work with famed composer Yoko Kanno and perform together with her in several concerts. She is also known for recording songs for other anime such as “Fantastic Children”, and more recently the video game “Final Fantasy XIII-2”.

Raj Ramayya is an Indo-Canadian singer, composer and lyricist based in Marin County, California.

His claim to anime fame would be his musical collaborations with famed Japanese composer Yoko Kanno as a member of The Seatbelts. Raj sang the opening credits song “Ask DNA” and wrote the lyrics for “Cosmic Dare (Pretty with a Pistol)” from the fan favorite feature film Cowboy Bebop: the Movie, and both sang and wrote the lyrics for “Strangers” from the anime series Wolf’s Rain. Not limited to music in anime, he has also worked on songs for video games from the likes of Konami, Sega, and Capcom.

Ramayya has been featured as a guest vocalist/composer with several distinguished artists, ranging from talented composers Yoko Kanno (Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain) and Tatsuya Oe (Captain Funk, Hotei), to gifted lyricists Chris Mosdell (Eric Clapton, YMO) and Ron Sexsmith, and everyone in-between. His work has won him multiple awards and critical acclaim from around the world.

Among his other projects are the electronic Indian fusion music project “Bhang Lassi”, the alternative Indian-influenced folk rock band “The Beautiful Losers”, and session singing for products ranging from Asahi Beer and KFC, to Toyota and Coca-Cola. He is also a guest vocalist with three different Japanese electronic music groups; Captain Funk, Akakage, and Studio Apartment, with SA’s song “Strawberry Rainbow” (which Raj both sung and wrote lyrics for) hitting #1 on the iTunes Japan charts.

David Matranga is delighted to be attending Anime Boston this year. He has been working as a voice artist for 12 years voicing over a 50 roles including Starship Troopers: Invasion, Halo Legends, Appleseed, Appleseed Ex Machina, Appleseed The Series, Saiyuki, Orphen, Le Chevalier D’Eon, Clannad, Gilgamesh, Colorful, 5 Centimeters Per Second, High School Of The Dead, and Super Milk Chan to name a few.

Previously announced guests were Chris Ayres, Greg Ayres, Lauren Landa, Stephanie Sheh, Tom Wayland, and Kari Wahlgren.

About Anime Boston: With more than 22,000 attendees in 2012, Anime Boston is an annual three-day Japanese animation convention held in Boston, Mass. Anime Boston 2013 is scheduled for 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 their website.

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 their website.

Anime Boston 2011 Announces First Round of Guests

Anime Boston, the largest anime convention in New England, announced its first round of guests: Brothers Greg and Christopher Ayres, voice actress Brina Palencia as well as industry guest Jonathan Klein return to the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass. on April 22-24th.

Brina Palencia is an actress working in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She has voiced numerous characters for anime and video games. Some of her anime highlights include: Natsuki in Summer Wars, Chibitalia in Hetalia, Ciel Pahntomhive in Black Butler, Holo in Spice and Wolf, Yumi Azusa in Soul Eater, Sora in Oh Edo Rocket, Rei Ayanami in Evangelion 1.0, Juliet in Romeo x Juliet, Miharu in Nabari No Ou,Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece, Tamama in Sgt. Frog, Ennis in Baccano, Mikoto in School Rumble, Georgie in Shin Chan, Eve in Black Cat, Moro and Zashikiwarashi in xxxHolic. In the land of gaming she can be heard as Mad Moxxi in Borderlands, Moogle/Dungeon Hero X in Final Fantasy Fables, the main player in Mushroom Men and The Maw, and various characters in Guitar Hero III and IV, Stunt Driver 2, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Street Fighter 4.

She has also served as ADR Director for Moon Phase (eps 21-26), School Rumble, Black Blood Brothers, and xxxHOLiC (the movie and eps 1-8), Assistant ADR Director for Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, D Gray Man and Dragon Ball Kai, and Music Director for Sasami: Magical Girls Club, Negima!?, My Bride is a Mermaid, and Dragon Ball Kai.

On camera, you can see her as the co-host for GameStop TV alongside fellow voice actor, Chris Burnett.

Christopher Ayres has been working professionally in theatre, television and film since the age of 6. Currently a voice actor for ADV Films, FUNimation Entertainment and Seraphim Digital Studios. Ayres is also an ADR Director for Amusement Park Media. His first project at studio was the hit anime musical comedy The Nerima Daikon Brothers. His other voice acting roles are Kei Kourono in Gantz, Suitengu in Speed Grapher, Von Kampher in Trinity Blood, Hayashimizu in Full Metal Panic? Fummofu, Johnny in One Piece, Sid in Devil May Cry, Yusuf Ali Mesa in Yugo the Negotiator and Koji in Godanner.

Greg Ayres can be heard rockin’ his way through conventions and animated series alike. He can be heard as the loud-mouthed Hideki in Nerima Daikon Brothers, Koyuki, singing with the band in Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, or just as himself on the DJ circuit. He also voiced Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host club, and Abe in Big Windup. Other recent works include JR. in Xenosaga , Roan in Ragnorok The Animation, Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK, Nowy, in Glass Fleet, and Yukinojoh Tohyama in The Wallflower.

The once fanboy turned VA started working in anime a little over six years ago. In his first two years in the business, he landed the roles of Son Goku in Saiyuki and Kaworu Nagisa in the Director’s Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Other roles include Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Negi Springfield in Negima, Heihachi in Samurai 7, Jr. in Xenosaga: The Animation, Satoshi Hiwatari in DNAngel, Pope Alessandro XVIII in Trinity Blood, Tsuyoshi in Kodocha, Leo in Ghost Stories, Tsujido in Speed Grapher, and Gau Ban in Shadow Skill.

Jonathan Klein is the Vice-President of New Generation Pictures, Inc., based in Beverly Hills. His company produces the English language versions of some of the most popular anime and videogames in the United States and Japan. New Generation Pictures has worked on hundreds of different projects, including such popular anime as; Hellsing, Hellsing Ultimate, Gun x Sword, Kamichu, R.O.D the TV, Ikki Tousen, NieA_7, 3×3 Eyes and many other titles. Jonathan has also directed of the English language versions of such anime titles as Ergo-Proxy, Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze, Melody of Oblivion and Paranoia Agent.

Jonathan has also directed many video games including; Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers, Final Fantasy IV, Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, Rune Factory 3, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, Final Fantasy; Chocobo’s Dungeon, Time Crisis 4, Dawn of Mana, Valkyrie Profile 2, and Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume and was also the English language producer on Street Fighter IV & Super Street Fighter IV as well as the highly anticipated Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Beyond working as producer and director, Jonathan’s responsibilities also include scriptwriting, script adaptation and even working behind the microphone as a voice actor. Jonathan has voice acted in such anime & videogames as Final Fantasy IV, Star Ocean IV, Rune Factory 3, Ergo Proxy, Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, Kamichu, Girls Bravo, Gun x Sword, Burst Angel, Galaxy Railways and Beck.

About Anime Boston:
Anime Boston is an annual three-day Japanese animation convention held in Boston, Massachusetts. Anime Boston 2011 will be held Friday, April 22nd through Sunday, April 24th at the Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Boston Hotel.

Anime Boston 2011 will once again be presenting popular events which include a masquerade, an anime music video contest, video programming rooms, an artists’ alley and art show, karaoke, game shows, video games, manga library, dances and balls, and much more…