In promotion of the theatrical release of the Live Action Death Note Movie, Viz Pictures, the film affiliate of Viz Media in North America, is giving away 2 pairs of FREE tickets to the fans of AnimeNEXT! The tickets are for the 7:30 PM showing on May 21st at the Chelsea Cinemas; 260 West 23rd St. in Manhattan, New York.

We will randomly pick two (2) winners from a pool of email entries. Each applicant must only submit one (1) email request for the tickets. To apply, click the "contact" link and send in a request to "Information." The email must say "I WANT TO SEE THE DEATH NOTE MOVIE" in the subject in order to qualify. This chance to win a pair of these tickets is only available to pre-registered AnimeNEXT 2008 attendees. The contest will end on Friday, May 16th at 12:01AM. The winners will be announced on the front page of this site (animenext.org) later that day.

AnimeNEXT supports Viz Pictures and Viz Media's foray into the Theatrical Movie marketplace. We encourage all of our friends and fans alike to support this effort as well. Good luck and see you at the movies!

We are proud to announce another stellar English Voice Actor appearing at AnimeNEXT '08; Leah Clark. Leah has skillfully provided the voices for Nodoka Miyazaki in Negima! and Akane Suzumiya in Rumble Hearts. She also sparkled in the lead role of Suzuka Asahina in Suzuka. Leah has also brought life to characters in the One Piece, Full Metal Alchemist, xxxHolic and the Tsubasa Chronicles movies.

And to make her appearance even more exciting, Leah will be showing a brand new Funimation project exclusively at AnimeNEXT; the Tenchi spin-off series Sasami: Magical Girl Club!!! What secrets will Leah reveal about this new show? Come and find out.

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! fills our hearts to announce that Brian Drummond and his son, Aidan, will be making a guest appearance at AnimeNEXT 2008!

Brian has a long resume in the English voice acting scene, voicing some of anime's most notable roles, including Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, Zechs Marquise from Gundam Wing and Andrew Walfield from Gundam Seed & Seed Destiny. He has voiced roles in Escaflowne, Transformers, Soul Taker, and Zoids Fuzors. And is now the voice of Ryuk in the Live Action Death Note Movie!!!

Aidan Drummond is an up-and-coming VA who's voiced roles in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever and the Inuyasha movie 4!

Come one and come all and join us in giving Brian and Aidan a warm AnimeNEXT welcome!!!

We are pleased to announce that Tom Wayland will be making an appearance as an Industry Guest at AnimeNEXT 2008. Tom is an accomplished Voice Actor, Writer and ADR and Voice Director; recently becoming the Voice Director of the new Pokemon English-language Dub. He is a great guest and a great friend to AnimeNEXT. We are just *pink* with excitement to have him!!!

Jhouse-Rock ENT and AnimeNEXT are pleased to announce RENTRER EN SOI live in concert at the 2008 AnimeNEXT convention! This powerhouse of Japanese rock has been busy touring to sold out audiences throughout Japan. However, Japan is no longer enough. They wish to come back to the US for their first ever east coast concert at AnimeNEXT. So come watch RENTRER EN SOI in an unforgettable Friday night concert and experience the raw joy and despair that has made RENTRER EN SOI so popular. Then on Saturday you will be able to catch the band members at various convention events through the day including signing and photo opportunities.

If you would like to participate in our LARP this year, we've got bad news and we've got good news. The bad news is that pre-registration is officially closed, retroactive to today. The good news is that there are a small amount of pre-made characters that will be available for registration on Friday morning, June 20. So get to the con early if you still want to role-play for the entire weekend!

Sure it's fun to get dressed up in costume and run around as your favorite characters. But it's even more fun to participate in a game show while you're doing it! Back by popular demand, the information and rules are up for the Cosplay Dating Game and the Cosplay Human Chess Show.

AnimeNEXT is the place to get your Japanese-themed gaming on, and we've got information about our first-announced tournament: Naruto: Ultimate Fighter 3 for the PS2! Sponsored by Bandai Namco, the lucky winners of this tournament can win special convention-exclusive merchandise such as posters and figurines, and the grand winner will win a copy of the PS2 game! Check out the Video Gaming for more details.

The AnimeNEXT block of rooms at the Embassy Suites is now sold out. We're working with other hotels to secure more space for attendees. Currently rooms are still available at the La Quinta. More information can be found in the location section.

We're busy as bees behind the scenes here at AnimeNEXT headquarters, and we're pleased to announce that registration is open for fan panels , the AMV Contest and Artists' Alley. Each registration is separate and each has its own deadline, so be sure you read the rules carefully!