Guests of Honor

Musical Guests

FAKE?: Jhouse-Rock and AnimeNEXT are pleased to announce FAKE? as the musical guest for the 2009 AnimeNEXT convention. The band's music has been described as a mix of alternative rock with electronic sounds. With both English and Japanese lyrics their "Mixture Rock" sound has been embraced by audiences in Japan since 2001. Their song "Pulse" was even featured as the opening song for the hit anime Onmyou Taisenki and now they are coming to America for their first ever U.S. concert. So come watch FAKE? in an exciting concert performance that is sure to get your pulse pounding. For more details see the Jhouserock web site!
 

Industry Guests 

Toshifumi Yoshida: Toshifumi Yoshida is a producer with Bandai Namco in the United States where he has recently worked on Gurren Lagann. Toshi is also well known in the US anime industry for his work in both manga and anime. Toshi may best be known for his work in the past on InuYasha and Ranma ½. Look for Toshi in our schedule where he will be speaking about anime and manga in the United States.

Tom Wayland: Tom Wayland is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in acting. Tom got his start performing in various theatrical productions ranging from “Hamlet”, to “Jesus Christ Superstar”, to “Stomp”. After a stint as a rock star roaming the East Coast's rock clubs, Tom ran out of money and had to get a job – and thus began what is now a 10-year career in the anime/animation industry. Tom has produced and/or directed hundreds of anime programs such as “Now & Then, Here & There”, “Revolutionary Girl Utena”, "Alien Nine", "The World of Narue", "Ichi the Killer", "Mew Mew Power", "Magical Do Re Mi", “GI Joe Sigma Six”, and currently serves as the voice director on the hit series “Pokemon”. Tom is also a very busy voice actor having appeared in over 100 titles including "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" as Jammerhead, "GI Joe Sigma Six" as Stormshadow, “Pokemon” as Reggie, Sho, and numerous creatures, “Yugi-oh 5Ds” as Nervin, “Yugi-oh GX” as Abidos and Chumley, “Chaotic”, "Magical Do Re Mi", "One Piece", “Mew Mew Power”, "Knight Hunters", “Genshiken”, “Kujibiki”, and "Gokusen". Tom’s work can also be seen or heard on various TV commercials, feature films, and audiobook projects. Make sure to check out Tom’s work in the English language version on the hit of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival – “Dead Snow”. What’s it about? 2 words – Nazi Zombies!

Panelist Guests

Misako Rocks!: Misako Rocks! developed a love for comics and manga at an early age and drew her first comic at the age of 13. She moved to New York in 2001 and worked as a a puppeteer, face painter, animal balloon maker, and art teacher while still developing her own work.  Her first break came when the Onion decided to use her illustrations for their now famous "Savage Love" column, which runs every week. Shortly thereafter, Misako scored a two-book deal with Hyperion, a three-book deal with Henry Holt and a writing gig for Archie comics.  She has been featured in many magazines and newspapers, including Elle Girl and the New York Times. The BBC also featured her in a documentary about comic book creators. On top of that, she has recently received the Venice Beach, LA Playwright award!

Chris Malone: Chris “Kilika” Malone is a humble surfer from the east coast. He’s been cartooning ever since he was a wee little grommit, and started focusing on drawing surfing comics back in 2002, eventually starting Blue and Blond in 2003. Unlike the characters in his comic, Kilika grew up in northern Virginia, but he’s been surfing on the Jersey Shore long before he started cartooning. One of the few comics about surfing, Kilika wants to share the surfing lifestyle and experience with everyone, especially those who couldn’t tell a surfboard from a kickboard. He prefers long boards to short ones and hates jellyfish.

Michael "Mookie" Terraciano: Michael “Mookie” Terracciano is the author and artist of the fantasy manga webcomic, Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire. Since its humble beginnings seven years ago it has received acclaim for its unique characters, addictive storylines, painful puns, awful alliteration and (gasp!) updates five days a week. With over two thousand strips in the archive and updates every day it’s no wonder people are talking about this cult webcomic! Want to know what’s so interesting about a grumpy seer, his deformed girlfriend, his angelic little brother, his talking cat, his archmage mother and rock-star father? See for yourself at the Dominic Deggan web site.

Dave Lister: Some say that Dave Lister is made of Legos.  This is false.  Composed mostly of coffee, Dave has learned to work without unnecessary things like sleep.  This made him a perfect fit for the world of freelance illustration and manga.  Striving to create a traditional, yet unique style of manga, Dave has contributed to books, magazines, businesses, and even radio stations.  A veteran of webcomics, Dave is currently producing Paradox Lost, an online manga filled with space pirates, ninja hordes, crazy alien girls, and more caffeine than the FDA recommends in a lifetime.  You can find Dave's comics and art at the Paradox Lost web site.  Dave likes rice.

Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series: Yu-Gi-Oh. You either know it as a children's card game, or a children's anime show. But oddly enough, there are people out there who don't know what Yu-Gi-Oh is - or rather, they do know what it is, and that's why they go out of their way to avoid it. But Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series is different. Here at the Abridged Series, we take the very concept of Yu-Gi-Oh, and we rip out its guts, replacing them with a bunch of inappropriate, loosely connected pop culture references. Some say it's funny. Others disagree. We rip their guts out too. Our main goal is to reduce the series to a fraction of its actual length, making it more accessible to Joe Public. After all, does Joe Public want to watch hours upon hours of card games in the vain hope of catching the slightest shred of plot? And if so, then why? What is Joe's problem? Perhaps he should have taken that job at the restaurant when his wife told him to. Then maybe he wouldn't be divorced with overdue child support payments. That's why we do what we do. So that Joe's kids will know a better future. We're saving lives, people. Abridged style!

Voice Guests 

Greg Ayres: Greg Ayres has spent the last year rockin' his way through two new anime series. As the loud-mouthed Hideki in Nerima Daikon Brothers, and Koyuki, singing with the the band in Beck:Mongolian Chop Squad. He is also thrilled to be able to add the role of Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host club, and Abe In FUNimation's upcoming release of Big Windup to his list of new favorites. Other recent works include JR. in Xenosaga , Roan in Ragnorok The Animation, Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK , Nowy, in Glass Fleet, and Yuki in The Wallflower.

The once "Fanboy" turned VA started working in anime seven years ago with ADV Films, and within the first two years managed to snag two of his favorite roles in anime. He was thrilled to voice the role of his favorite character Son Goku in Saiyuki. Just one year later voiced 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.He can also be heard in other anime titles such as Super Gals, Spiral, Macross, Mythical Detective Loki, Burst Angel , Gravion, Godanner, Pretear, Full Metal Panic, E's Otherwise and a whole lot more.

When he's not in a booth with headphones on, you can usually find him sporting headphones of another variety behind "the decks". A veteran nightclub DJ of many years, Greg has really enjoyed the opportunity of doing something else that he truly loves. From packed rooms at anime conventions, to the legendary stage of *The Knitting Factory (NYC)*, Greg never misses an opportunity to share his love of music with anyone who will listen.

Kyle Hebert: Kyle Hebert is a Los Angeles-based animation and video game voice actor best known from Naruto (Kiba), Bleach (Aizen, Ganju), Gurren Lagann (Kamina) and Dragonball Z (Narrator, teen Gohan).  You'll soon be able to hear him as Ryu in Street Fighter IV and various thugs in the Watchmen game.  Other notable roles include Ouran High School Host Club (Kazukiyo Soga), Tales of Symphonia (Richter Abend), Fullmetal Alchemist (Vato Falman), Dynasty Warriors 6 (Sima Yi), and Devil May Cry 4 (Bael, Dagon).  Kyle cohosts a podcast dedicated to news on all things geeky called The Big Bald Broadcast.  Download episodes and keep posted on his latest projects at www.kylehebert.com.

Bill Rogers: Bill Rogers has worked on shows like Assemble Insert, Shingu, The Third, KO Beast, His and Her Circumstances, Joe vs. Joe, Madara, To Heart, and Comic Party. He is best known for his work in Gravitation (Touma Seguchi), Boogiepop Phantom (Yamamoto), and Genshiken (Tanaka Souichiro). 2009 marks Bill’s 4th year working on Pokemon both behind the scenes in script adaptation and on the mic as the voice of Brock and various creatures in the show. It also marks his 4th year working on video games. With titles ranging from Bullet Witch (X-Box 360) to Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii). 2009 will also see the release of the third game in the M&M series for Wii (which games include Kart Racing, Adventure and Beach Party) for which Bill provides the voices for the majority of male characters including Red & Yellow.

Michelle Knotz: Michelle was cast in her first animated voice-acting role as Hajime Yagi in "The World of Narue" in 2003.  Since then she has also voiced Takako Kawashima in "Shootfighter Tekken," Matsumoto and various additional characters in “To Heart,” and Razali, Cindy, Greta, and The Fairy in “The Third.”  In 2006, Michele landed the lead roles, Jessie, May, Misty and Nurse Joy for the Pokémon 10th Anniversary Special, “The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon,” and continued to voice these characters throughout Season 9 of “Pokémon, the Battle Frontier.”  She has also voiced the characters May, Jessie, and Manaphy for the Pokémon Movie 9, “Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea.”  She voiced Chikorita in the Pokémon Special, “Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate.”  Along with human-speaking characters, she has voiced various Pokémon in the series such as Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Chimecho, Beautifly, Masquerain, Dustox, Cacnea, Seedot and many others. Michele voiced the Pokémon Trainer, Squirtle and various other Pokémon for the Nintendo Wii video game: “Super Smash Bros. Brawl.”  She has also voiced Ogiue Chika in the “Genshiken” OVA’s and Koyuki Asagiri in “Kujibiki Unbalance.”

Stacie Renna Actress Stacie Renna appeared on the Star Trek TV series ENTERPRISE in episode 2.22, “Cogenitor.” Stacie played Traistana, a member of the three-gendered race of Vissians. The critically-acclaimed episode (directed by GENERATIONS star Levar Burton) is considered one of ENTERPRISE’s best. However, Stacie is best-known to sci-fi fans as a voice actress. She is the voice of sexy space huntress Iria in the English language version of the classic Japanese anime IRIA: ZEIRAM THE ANIMATION. Her other anime credits include voicing the title roles in JEWEL B.E.M. HUNTER LIME and MY MY MAI, and the role of the djinn in GOKUDO: SWORDSMAN EXTRAORDINAIRE. In addition, she has appeared in over 40 professional stage productions from The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, to the critically acclaimed Kennedy Center in D.C. Four years ago, Stacie transitioned to the other side of the camera when she became a successful talent manager in Los Angeles, representing roughly 75 actors for television & film. She applies her expertise on both ends of the entertainment industry in an Advanced Networking & Marketing Seminar for actors. She is pleased to be back on the East Coast after a 7 year stint in “La –la” land, and looks forward to her next venture!

 Mike Pollock Mike Pollock is one of New York's premier animation voice-over actors. Saturday morning cartoon viewers of FOX and The CW might recognize his voice as Meat in Ultimate Muscle:The Kinnikuman Legacy, the Mayor and Samo, the bartender, in Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, Garbageman on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dr. Eggman and Ella on Sonic X, Bigoriki in Gororiki, and Langston Lickatoad in Viva Piñata. He's also been heard as Bonaparte in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX on Cartoon Network and the interim narrator in Pokémon. Listen for him in several upcoming projects this year. Mike also does some character work on Sirius XM Radio, as well as radio and TV commercials for Burger King, AC/DC, Verizon, Comcast, and promos for HBO International. Please visit his web site: http://www.itsamike.com

Wayne Grayson Wayne has provided voices for all three incarnations of "Yu-gi-Oh!"--Joey Wheeler in the first version, Syrus Truesdale in "GX" and Tanner in "5Ds". He's also behind the voice of Michelangelo on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". Other projects include "GaoGaiGar", "To Heart", "The Third", "Revolutionary Girl Utena", "Huntik", "Sadamitsu the Destroyer", "Ultimate Muscle", "Giant Robo", "Samurai Deeper Kyo", "Pokemon", "Patlabor", "Shaman King", "Animation Runner Kuromi", "The Winx Club", "Princess Natasha", "Kappa Mikey", various monsters and animals on "Chaotic" and "Viva Pinata", and most recently, "Gogoriki". On the commercial end of things, you can hear him touting the virtues of various products on television and radio spots. He's also been a fixture of the NY theatre scene for over 15 years, appearing in several productions with the NY Fringe Festival and other reputable companies. He's looking forward to another great time at AnimeNext!

Bill Timoney has adapted scripts and directed dubbing sessions for "Gravitation," "Genshiken" (and its' companion anime "Kujibiki Unbalance"), "Madara," "Jewel B.E.M. Hunter Lime" and the "Gokudo: Extraordinaire" series.  He also directed episodes of "Comic Party" and "Record of Lodoss War," for which he also voiced the leading role of Parn.  He reprised Parn for "Chronicles of the Heroic Knight," and has voiced lead roles in "E.Y.E.S. of Mars," "Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars," "Legend of the Overfiend," and "Here is Greenwood."  He can be heard in "Perfect Blue," "Legend of Black Heaven," "Trigun," "Cowboy Bebop," "Outlaw Star," "Digimon," "Legend of Himiko," Street Fighter II V," "Voltage Fighters Gowcaizer," "My My Mai," "Iria: Zeiram the Animation," and many others.  His voice work on the TV series "Pokemon" includes the roles of Conway, Harley and Nando.

Michael Perreca is the voice of Sasahara in GENSHIKEN and has provided voices for COMIC PARTY (Teacher), GRAVITATION (various), SHINGU (various) and GOKUDO (Soldier, Unicorn, others). He is a a stage director and actor, and has worked extensively throughout the
Northeast and Midwest, including Off Broadway and throughout New York City.

Tanuki Bujinkan Dojo: Ever wanted to learn the secret art of the Ninja? If so, please join us for a demonstration of this ancient art. Shihan Chris Carbonaro from the Tanuki Bujinkan Dojo located at 129 La France Ave, Bloomfield N.J. 07003, will show some of these ancient secret techniques. Shihan Chris Carbonaro was awarded his Judan (10th degree black belt) by Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi in Japan in December of 2007. Shihan Chris Carbonaro dreamed about moving to Japan and learning the ancient art of the ninja. In 1999 Shihan Carbonaro joined the United States Air force. He first was stationed in England, and later got an assignment to Tokyo Japan. It was then where he began his long time dream of learning ninjutsu. Come and join Shihan Carbonaro in this very rewarding experience of Ninpo. Shihan Carbonaro teaches out of a traditional Japanese dojo, just like the main dojo in Japan. Shihan Carbonaro also conducts his classes just like they are conducted in Japan. Training this way, not only allows you to learn self-defense, but it is a cultural experience as well. Please feel free to search our site, www.tanukidojo.com, to find out how you can start your journey today!