Anime/Manga Guests

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Todd Haberkorn

Best known for: Natsu in Fairy Tail, Khoza, Hikaru and more

Todd Haberkorn is a proud member of the anime community and continues to be its humble servant by way of English dubbing. Todd received his BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University and currently works as a professional actor, on & off the camera in Texas and the surrounding states.

Todd is most recognizable as the lead voice talent in Sgt. Frog as Keroro, Suzuka as Yamato, Hetalia as Italy, XXXholic as Wataknuki, D. Grayman as Allen Walker, and Soul Eater as Death the Kid. Most recently, Fairy Tail was announced with Todd as the lead role of Natsu. A few supporting roles to catch Todd in are Shuffle as Itsuki, Hell Girl as Ichimoruken, Baccano! as Firo, Darker than Black as Kono, Ouran High School Host Club as Hikaru and One Piece as Khoza. When he isn't in the voice booth for anime and video games, he's a producer for Out of the Office Productions which is gearing up for a feature film starring Todd alongside Vic Mignogna.

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Cherami Leigh

Best known for: Lucy in Fairy Tail, One Piece, xxxHolic and Ouran Host Club

Cherami Leigh is an on camera and voice actor. Cherami began her work in the “Anime World” voicing Sae in “Peach Girl”, and has since played Aisa, Pepper, and Miss Golden Week in “One Piece,” Yaz in “Shin Chan,” Primula in “Shuffle,” Setsuna and Akira in “Negima,” Naomi in “Witchblade,” Himawari in “xxxHolic,” Makoto in “Sasami: Magical Girls Club,” Mai in “Ghost Hunt,” Ayano in “Stigma,” Road in “D. Grayman,” Shijima in “Nabari,” Shinooka in “Big Windup,” Honoka in “Kenichi,” Kirimi in “Ouran Host Club,” and recently released “Bamboo Blade” as Tamaki, “Sergeant Frog” as Natsumi, and “Soul Eater” as Patty.  She has voiced many video games including Lux Pain as Nami.

Cherami began acting at 6 and has worked with LeAnn Rimes, Bernadette Peters, Paul Dano, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Wilmer Valderamma, Marcia Gay Harden, Thomas Jane, Avril Lavigne and many others. She has worked on “Fast Food Nation” (directed by: Richard Linklater), “The Hottest State”(directed by: Ethan Hawke), and “The Mist” (directed by: Frank Darabont), she recently appeared as the overachieving “Ginnie Warwick” on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” , you can also recognize Cherami working alongside Claire Danes in HBO’s film “Temple Grandin”. She has also appeared on NBC’s “CHASE” & ABC’s “The Deep End”.

Cherami is currently working on several projects, on and off camera, that she is anxious to share with her fans.

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Colleen Clickenbeard

Best known for: Ezra in Fairy Tail, Fullmetal Alchemist, Dragonball Z and Evalgelion 1.0

Colleen Clinkenbeard is a voice actor/ADR director/ADR scriptwriter/ Line Producer for FUNimation Productions.

Her voice acting credits include: Dragonball Z Kai (Gohan, Android 18, Baby Trunks), Fullmetal Alchemist (Rose Thomas and Riza Hawkeye), One Piece (Luffy in the new FUNimation dub), Evangelion 1.0 and 2.22 (Ritsuko), Shin Chan (Himawari and Maso), Soul Eater (Marie), Evangelion: 1.0 movie (Ritsuko Akagi), Romeo x Juliet (Cordelia), D-Grayman (Miranda), Darker Than Black (Chiaki), Baccano (Nice), RIN-Daughters of Mnemosyne (Rin), Ouran High School Host Club (Éclair), Vexille(Vexille), Trinity Blood (Sister Esther), xxxHolic (Yuko), Solty Rei (Rose), Witchblade (Reina), Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Yuko), Kiddy Grade (Éclair), Case Closed (Rachel Moore), Baccano (Nice), Nabari No O (Yae Oda), Claymore(Galatea), Burst Angel (Maria), Samurai 7 (Kirara), Kodocha (Mama), Negima (Sakurako, Shizuna), Origin (Jessica), Murder Princess (Alita/Falis), Heroic Age (Nilval), Aquarion (Reika), Rumbling Hearts (Mitsuki), Basilisk (Hotorubi), School Rumble (Anegasaki), Shuffle! (Kareha), My Santa (MaiMai), Dragonaut  (Toa), Lupin III: Dead or Alive (Oleander), Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus (Mary), and Diamond Daydreams (Nurse Yuuki) and Ghost Train for ADV Films.

She has also been featured in the video games: Borderlands, Aeon Flux, Ghostbusters, Spike Out, Battle Zone, Blood Rayne II, Stuntman:Ignition, Guitar Hero III, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist II, Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai, and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. Colleen's ADR directing credits include Fullmetal Alchemist, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Kiddy Grade, Kodocha, Negima, Moon Phase, Sakura Teisen: Ecole de Paris, Case Closed, Kenichi, and Aquarion.

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Newton Pittman

Best known for: Gray in Fairy Tail, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, Eden of the East and Bamboo Blade

Newton Pittman is an American actor, musician and voice actor working for Funimation Entertainment. He has lived in New York for 8 years, before returning to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area.  He is best known for playing Zwei in Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom and Panties in Eden of the East.  His Anime credits also include; Bamboo Blade - Toyama, Birdy the Mighty Decode - Gomez, Black Butler - Harold West, Chrome Shelled Regios - Dinn Dee, Eden of the East - Yutaka "Panties" Itazu, Hero Tales - Taito Shirei, Oh! Edo Rocket - Heels, The Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk - Specula Ex Machina (Half).  Newton is represented by the Mary Collins Agency for his work as a voice, commercial, television, and film actor.

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Chris Castagnetto

Best known for: DJ Helsing and Senior Community Manager at Gaia Interactive

Chris Castagnetto, also known as "DJ Helsing", has been an active industry professional for over five years. He has worked for various gaming companies and conventions in Chairman and other Director roles. As Gaia Interactive's Senior Community Marketing Manager, Chris currently manages all Community activities, some of which include Convention Tours and Social Meet-ups. Chris is a judge at the NYCC Masquerade.

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Junko Takeuchi

Best known for: Naruto Uzumaki's Seiyuu, Gon Freecss in Hunter x Hunter and Gomamon in Digimon

Junko Takeuchi is one of the most respected voice actors in the Japanese anime industry. Her most notable role is Naruto Uzumaki, in NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN. She has also portrayed Gon Freecss in HUNTER x HUNTER, Mamoru Endo in INAZUMA ELEVEN and many more captivating characters. Over the years, as a result of her passion for her profession, Takeuchi's career has expanded from voice acting in anime, to voiceover roles in live-action shows and other international productions. Her appearance will culminate in the introduction to the US premiere of the feature film Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds. Junko Takeuchi is co-presented by VIZ Media. Her travel is provided by American Airlines.

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Uncle Yo

Best known for: Otaku Stand Up comedian

For the 5th year in a row, Uncle Yo is back in his hometown. The geek-specific stand-up comedian has toured video game, anime and comic book conventions since the fall of 2007. He has hosted cosplay events, game shows and panels from D.C. to Denver, Milwaukee to Manhattan. This year, the comedian in the silver tie returns with more goodies for the nerdiest city in America. He has released three CD's, a DVD, and now a convention survival guide of his work. Follow the reign of the geeks at www.uncleyo.com.

Uncle Yo will be hosting the NYCC Masquerade.

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Mario Bueno

Best known for: Cosplayer, vocalist and actor

Marking a decade of adventures in the convention community at this year's NYAF/NYCC, Mario is a New York City-based cosplayer, vocalist, and actor whose performances have reached out across the world thanks to the power of the internet. He has appeared on Anime News Network in their 2007-2008 news webisodes, and his web video production/appearance credits include his 2005 fan film "Final Fantasy vs Kaiju Big Battel", "Doujinopolis," and numerous promotional spots for FUNimation Entertainment and Aniplex of America. In 2010, he also became the first male AX Idol Singing Winner at Anime Expo. Mario invites you to check out his website (www.mariobueno.com) where you can keep up to date on his latest projects and find links to archives of past performances!

Mario is performing as part of the halftime show at the NYCC Masquerade.

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Hiro Mashima

Best known for: Fairy Tail and Rave Master

Hiro Mashima is a Japanese manga author and artist most known for his fantasy titles Rave Master, published in Japan from 1999 to 2005, and Fairy Tail, ongoing since 2006 and adapted into an anime since 2009.  In the world of Fairy Tail, sorcerers band together in Guilds to take on paying assignments, including hunting monsters, finding lost items, and running odd errands, for non-magic users. In this fun-packed action-fantasy manga, the main characters are Natsu, a dragon slayer who can control fire at will; Happy, a cat who magically flies; and Lucy, a rookie wizard. They belong to the Fairy Tail Guild, whose members tend to overdo everything and often cause a lot of trouble. The Fairy Tail manga is published in the US by KUP. The Fairy Tail anime is available through FUNimation Entertainment.   

Mashima and Kodansha will be bringing boxes of limited-edition Fairy Tail items with them all the way from Japan! Giveaways include figures, notebooks, and stickers — and they'll be given away at Mashima's panel and public and VIP signing. Learn how to sign up!

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Makoto Shinkai

Best known for: 5 Centimeters per Second, Hoshi O Ou Kodomo: Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below and The Voices of a Distant Star

Makoto Shinkai was born in Nagano, Japan in 1973. He majored in Japanese Literature and spent five years in the video game industry. His first animated works were She and Her Cat in 2000 and The Voices of a Distant Star in 2002.  Both animations were solo works — drawn and directed single-handedly by Shinkai. The Voices of a Distant Star won a number of awards in Japan and attracted international attention. Shinkai's first animated feature film, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, was released in 2004, and it was followed by 5 Centimeters per Second in 2007.  This works spread Shinkai's name in further in Japan and around the world.  After 5 Centimeters per Second, Shinkai spent a year in London, returning then to Japan to create his latest film — Hoshi O Ou Kodomo: Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below.  Shinkai is co-presented by Crunchyroll.  His travel is provided by American Airlines.

Travel is provided by American Airlines.

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Misako Rocks!

Best known for: Japanese Graphic Novelist, Savage Love Illustrator, Archie Comics Writer

Misako Rocks! is a Japanese graphic novelist from Brooklyn, NY. 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.

Misako has been featured in many magazines and newspapers. The BBC and NHK also featured her in a documentary about her comic book life. Recently, Misako was chosen as one of Nikkei Woman Magazine's 15 Women of the year.

Misako published her first Japanese children's manga with a Japanese publisher Meijishoin. Also, she is now running a monthly comic column in AERA English Magazine in Japan!"

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Hideo Katsumata

Best known for: Rurouni Kenshin, Tokyo Pig and Fullmetal Alchemist

President & Executive Vice President,of the #1 Planning & Production Group, Aniplex Inc.

Katsumata is President and Executive VP of the #1 Planning & Production Group of Aniplex Inc. After producing the hit anime series “Rurouni Kenshin” and “Tokyo Pig (Hare Tokidoki Buta)” (his producer debut title), Katsumata established the foundation of Sony Music Entertainment – Visual Works (the former name of Aniplex). Katsumata also brought Aniplex’s brand name to worldwide recognition by producing the popular anime, “Fullmetal Alchemist”. When Aniplex founded its production studio A-1 Pictures in 2006, Katsumata was assigned to be President and CEO of the studio where he produced “Big Windup (Ookiku Furikabutte)”, “Black Butler (Kuroshitusji)” and many other titles. Currently, he is back in Aniplex to lead production teams and bring more hit anime series to the fans including “Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist)”. He is appearing on the Aniplex panel and at the "Madoka" screening.

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Koichiro Natsume

Best known for: Gurren Lagann, Black Butler and Fullmetal Alchemist

President, Aniplex Inc.

Chief Operation Officer,Visual Business Group, Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

As President of Aniplex Inc. and Chief Operation Officer of Visual Business Group at Sony Music Entertainment, Aniplex’s parent company, Koichiro Natsume has been a powerhouse of many anime series and movies including hit properties as ”Gurren Lagann”, “Black Butler” and “Fullmetal Alchemist“ just to name a few. Most recently, Natsume introduced the highly popular series “Madoka Magica” and “Blue Exorcist” to the public. He is appearing on the Aniplex panel and at the "Madoka" screening.

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Masayuki Ozaki

Best known for: Mobile Suit Z, Inuyasha-The Final Act, Gintama the Movie and TIGER & BUNNY

Until 2003, Masayuki Ozaki worked for GAGA COMMUNICATIONS, INC where he was involved in acquisitions of Hollywood titles and distribution & promotion of domestic titles. In 2004, he began his career at Sunrise Inc. where he was a planning manager for Mobile Suit Z GUNDAM series. 2005 saw Ozaki launching anime projects such as Sergent Keroro, Zorori the Naughty Hero and other titles that are based on popular manga or novels as a producer and a planning manager. His credits include Dinosaur King, Inuyasha-The Final Act, Gintama the Movie and TIGER & BUNNY . He also served as a board member for the founding of a music and live entertainment company in 2010. He takes his producer role beyond the realm of anime and is involved in producing music events, musicals, and other areas of show business.

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Kevin McKeever

Best known for: Robotech, Jackass and For Love of the Game

A graduate of the lighting design program from Emerson College, Kevin has been working in the entertainment industry for nearly 15 years. He has worked in theater production at world class venues such as the Goodspeed Opera House, the Emerson Majestic Theater, Foxwoods Casino, and the Mohegan Sun Resort which he helped open in 1996.

His television production credits include Jackass, Kids Say the Darnedest Things, Guinness Book of World Records, Krypton Factor, Farmclub.com, The 60's as well as various television commercials. His film credits include Mystery Men, For Love of the Game, and Billy Frankenstein. Kevin has also served as Assistant VP of Production for feature film producer and New York Times best-selling author Lynda Obst.

Kevin's first official assignment in the Robotech universe was as an audit of Robotech's television ratings and viewer demographics during its original run in the 1980s. Kevin's analysis of the ratings in a cost effective manner along with his years of production experience made him a natural candidate for the Robotech team.

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Dai Sato

Best known for: Eternal Family, Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell

Dai Sato started his career at 19, writing song lyrics. After that, he made his way into the video game industry. Now, he is focused on writing scenarios for anime and various other forms of media. In 2007, he founded his own company named Storyriders. His major works as a script writer include anime series Eternal Family, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, Eureka Seven, Ergo Proxy, and Eden of the East, and PlayStation game Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere.  He wrote Tekken: Blood Vengeance and will be speaking at its screening.

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Hiroyuki Itoh

Best known for: MIKUNOPOLIS 2011

CEO Crypton Future Media, Inc. and Meta-Creator. As CEO of Crypton Future Media, Mr. Ito has established himself as a visionary "meta-creator" - one who creates various products and services to assist the creations of other people. Soon after creating a new category of Vocaloid entertainers with the introduction of Hatsune Miku in 2007, he launched PIAPRO (www.piapro.jp), the Vocaloid info, music and artwork-sharing CGM site. In 2010, he started the music aggregation service ROUTER.FM, which has started to transmit more than 1,000 independent labels to the world. He is now creating new works in his hometown, Sapporo. He was the executive producer of MIKUNOPOLIS 2011. He's on Twitter at @itohh.

He is appearing at the New York Anime Festival at New York Comic Con thanks to the generosity of Japan Foundation.

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Katsuhiro Harada

Best known for: Tekken series, Tekken Project and Tekken X Street Fighter

Game Director/Producer of the Tekken series, Harada has worked on Tekken for the past 16 years. Currently, he's the leader of the Tekken Project, and also the Chief Producer working on the Soul Calibur series and Tekken X Street Fighter and various other titles.

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Masataka P

Best known for: Miku Miku Dance, Shiningray and Chaining Intention

Masataka P is a producer who makes videos using the 3D PV software Miku Miku Dance (MMD). He made his sensational debut by making "Shiningray" in just one week, and since then he has been the leading creator of the MMD. His "Chaining Intention" has hit a record of viewers, and becoming the 4th MMD Cup champion. He's appearing on behalf of Japan Foundation and American Airlines.

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Toshihiro Fukuoka

Best known for: editor, ASCII Weekly Magazine and Tokyo Kawaii Magazine

Toshihiro Fukuoka is the Chief Executive Editor of "ASCII Weekly Magazine" and an Editor at "Tokyo Kawaii Magazine," both from the ASCII Media Works publishing company. Mr. Fukuoka has played an active role in introducing Japanese anime and pop trends through these magazines including publishing a major feature on Hatsune Miku in "Tokyo Kawaii Magazine." He is the director of MIKUNOPOLIS 2011. In addition, he is now writing "World Otaku Report" with Danny Choo. He is appearing at the New York Anime Festival at New York Comic Con thanks to the generosity of Japan Foundation.

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Mandy Bonhomme

Best known for: Revolutionary Girl Utena, Kujibiki Unbalance/Genshiken and Comic Party

Mandy Bonhomme is an American actor and voice actor based in New York who has worked on various anime series. Best known as Juri Arisugawa in Revolutionary Girl Utena (TV & Movie), she also voiced Keiko Sonoda, Shadow Girl A and F plus additional voices in it. Other anime includes Kujibiki Unbalance/Genshiken (Komaki), Comic Party (Shiho, Multi, Miho, and Asahi Sakurai), The World of Narue (Yuki), Boogiepop Phantom (Rie Takai, Atsuko Abe), His & Her Circumstances (Yurika), Gravitation (TV Reporter), The Slayers-Next (Mimi & Nene), Pokemon (Sue), Ping Pong Club (Tachibana), Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (Mizuki) and more. Non-anime includes the machinima This Spartan Life (Amber). She's also done audiobooks, commercial print ads, ESL audio v.o., and improv theater. You can follow her on Twitter- @BonBiniBonhomme

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Tyler Walker

Best known for: Fairy Tail, Dragon Ball Z Movie Eight: Broly, The Legendary Super Saiyan and Baccano!

Tyler Walker is an ADR director, line producer, script writer and voice actor for FUNimation Entertainment.   A native of East Texas, he grew up spending equal time playing in the woods, playing video games, and watching cartoons like Scooby Doo, Superfriends, Star Blazers, and Battle of the Planets.

After graduating from the University of North Texas with a BA in Radio, Television,  and Film, he spent time playing in bands and eventually started working as an ADR engineer and production assistant at Funimation in 2002.    A bit of trivia: His former band, The Pointy Shoe Factory, had three songs featured in Dragon Ball Z Movie Eight: Broly, The Legendary Super Saiyan.

Since then, he has ADR directed more than three hundred episodes of such series as Baccano!, Ghost Hunt, Basilisk, Black Cat, Blassreiter, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, Hell Girl, and most recently finished directing the first season of Fairy Tail. In addition to directing and producing, he has also written close to fifty scripts for titles such as Bamboo Blade, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, Hero Tales, and Fairy Tail.  
When he's not at the FUNimation studios, Tyler plays drums in Raised By Tigers and he and his wife still find time to play in the woods with their three dogs.  

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Chris Sabat

Best known for: Dragonaball Z and owner of Okratron 5000

Christopher R. Sabat has lived on a diet of Senzu Beans for nearly 15 years. As the Voice Director for Dragonaball Z as well as the actor behind Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Mr. Popo, Kami, Jeice, Recoome, Korin, Burter, Shenron, Zarbon, Guru, Porunga, and countless others, you could possibly say he is the voice of Dragonball Z. Christopher currently owns Okratron 5000, a game audio and voice-over production studio in Dallas, Texas.

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Justin Cook

Best known for: Dragonball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece

Justin Cook has been working in the world of anime exclusively for FUNimation since the beginning of 2000.  Beginning as an ADR engineer and Production Assistant then Voice Director, Line Producer, Production Manager, and currently he is the Director of Production. He has voiced a number of characters including, Raditz and Super Buu from Dragon Ball Z; Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho, Chiba in Mongolian Chop Squad; Hatsuhara Soma in Fruits Basket and Capt. Bellamy in One Piece.  He has voice directed episodes from the series Fruits Basket, Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball and Kiddy Grade.

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Sean Schemmel

Best known for: Dragonball Z, Zoroark: Master of Illusions and Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's Bonds Beyond Time

Sean Schemmel gets paid to stand in a sound proof padded room and make wacky voices all day with good reason.  He's good at it.  Ever since he was discovered doing so at an undisclosed mental institution (read Marionette Theatre) Sean has been gainfully employed as a voice actor for some of the most popular titles in Anime history.  He is best known as the voices of Goku, King Kai and Nail in the internationally acclaimed anime series, Dragonball Z Dragonball Z Kai, and Dragonball GT.   Other notable roles include, Amidamaru, and Rio in Shaman King, Constable Biggles, Sh'Okanabo, Master Kahn (and many others) in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Onsokumaru in Ninja Nonsense, about 12 different thumbs in Thumb Wrestling Federation and Gonard in Kappa Mikey.   In addition to Dragonball Z Kai Sean can currently be heard as Paradox in the feature film,  Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's Bonds Beyond Time and as Grings Kodai in (Pokemon) Zoroark: Master of Illusions. 

In the realm of audiobooks, Sean won a 2010 Earphones Award for his work in The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo and has been nominated for a 2011 Audie Award in the category of humor for his work in Shit My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern

Sean has also adapted for English and directed the following anime series:  Space Pirate Mito,  Sadamitsu: The Destroyer, Midori Days, and Ah! My Goddess.  Sean currently resides in New Jersey, and in his spare time enjoys playing the French Horn, writing parodies, playing guitar and bass and moving heavy objects with his mind. 

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Veronica Taylor

Best known for: Pokémon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Yu-Gi-Oh!5D's

Veronica Taylor has been a part of Saturday morni

For a sweet treat, have a listen to Scholastic’s “I Love You Through and Through” on your iPad.

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Roland Kelts

Best known for: Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US andAccess

Roland Kelts is a half-Japanese American writer, editor and lecturer who divides his time between New York and Tokyo. He is the author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US and the forthcoming novel, Access. He has presented on contemporary Japanese culture worldwide and has taught at numerous universities in Japan and the US, including New York University and the University of Tokyo. His fiction and nonfiction appear in such publications as Zoetrope: All Story, Psychology Today, Playboy, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Vogue Japan, Adbusters magazine, The Millions, The Japan Times, Animation Magazine, CNNgo, Bookforum, and The Village Voice. He is the Editor in Chief of the Anime Masterpieces screening and discussion program, the commentator for National Public Radio's series, "Pacific Rim Diary", and the author of a monthly column for The Daily Yomiuri newspaper. His latest project is the English edition of the Japanese literary culture magazine, Monkey Business, and his blog is:http://japanamerica.blogspot.com/