Takamasa Sakurai and Christopher Bevins to appear at Otakon 2010
Baltimore, MD (June 8, 2010) – Writer and "pop culture diplomat" Takamasa Sakurai will be a guest at Otakon 2010. This will be his first appearance at Otakon. Sakurai has had a vast career ranging from publishing to producing radio programs, websites, and music videos, as well as writing non-fiction material.
Currently researching Japanese pop culture globally while furthering his career as a writer and journalist, business planner and event producer, he is involved in pop culture diplomatic activity such as speaking in seminars and organizing and producing events in a current total of 43 cities in 17 countries including France, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Korea, China, Russia, and Brazil. Sakurai has been an executive member of the advisory panel to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Sakurai is one of the founders of the organization Kawaii Ambassadors, which helps introduce Japan's unique "Harajuku fashion" to countries abroad. He has written such books as Anime Bunka Gaikou (Anime Culture Diplomacy), Sekai Kawaii Kakumei (World Kawaii Revolution), and Nihonwa Animede Saikou Suru (Japan Will Rebuild Itself with Anime).
Baltimore, MD (June 8, 2010) – The multi talented Christopher Bevins will be a guest at Otakon 2010. Christopher Bevins has recorded, directed, produced, acted in and/or written script adaptations for over 70 anime series, movies and specials.
His directing credits include BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Witchblade, El Cazador de la Bruja, Samurai 7, Speed Grapher, Shigurui: Death Frenzy, Burst Angel, Spiral and Dragon Ball GT, as well as episodes of Gunslinger Girl, Case Closed and Big Windup! He also recently directed and script-adapted the Case Closed movie, The Last Wizard of the Century.
Bevins also has numerous voice acting credits, including Apollo in Aquarion, Mercutio in Romeo x Juliet, Kenji in Initial D, Johnny in D.Gray-man, Nicholas Wayne in Baccano!, Shishi Wakamaru in Yu Yu Hakusho, Bee the Puppy in Dragon Ball Z, Lafitte and Shu Shu in One Piece, and Beck the Dog in BECK. You can also hear him in various series like Dragon Ball, Sgt. Frog, Shin chan, Soul Eater, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist (both series), Ouran High School Host Club, Desert Punk, Kodocha, School Rumble, Case Closed and many more. Recently, Chris reprised his video game role as the English-language voice of Dhalsim in Super Street Fighter IV.
Otakon 2010 will be held July 30 – August 1 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its seventeenth 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 25,000 individual members for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 70,000 "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 2010, see http://www.otakon.com/
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