Category Archives: Promote Yourself!

Anime-ZAP! announces Greg Ayres and Samurai Dan

Peoria, Illinois - October 24, 2014 – Anime-ZAP!, the longest-running three day anime convention in Central Illinois, is excited to announce that voice actor Greg Ayres and Samurai martial artists Samurai Dan and Lady Jillian will be appearing and performing at the fifth-annual Anime-ZAP! anime convention.

Greg Ayres can normally be found rockin’ out somewhere, whether animated or not. From the loud-mouthed Hideki in Nerima Daikon Brothers, to Koyuki, singing with the the band in Beck:Mongolian Chop Squad, he’s always glad to shake things up a bit. He is excited to be able to add the roles of Uesugi Kenshin in Sengoku Basara, Seikechi Tayama in Oh Edo Rocket, and Abe in Big Windup to his list of new roles. He can also be head as Son Goku in Saiyuki, Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host Club, Yuki in The Wallflower, Leo in Ghost Stories , Satoshi Hiwatari in DNAngel, Kaworu Nagisa in the Director’s Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Negi Springfield in Negima, Heihachi in Samurai 7, Jr. in Xenosaga:The Animation, Tsujido in Speed Grapher, Roan in Ragnorok The Animation, Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK, Nowy in Glass Fleet, Kouta Tsuchiya in Baka and Test, Gau Ban in Shadow Skill, Pope Alessandro XVIII in Trinity Blood, and a bunch of other titles he’ll probably forget to mention.

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 oppor- tunity of doing something else that he truly loves at conventions. 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.

Samurai Dan and his much prettier wife Lady Jillian are full-time martial arts instructors with their Dojo specializing in 16th century Samurai arts. When not teaching at the Kojokan dojo, they travel across the country performing and teaching the ancient ways of the most famous warriors in history. Their shows and demonstrations uniquely blend history, combative skill, and humor, in a way that will both educate and entertain audiences both large and small. The dynamic duo also collaborated to write, direct, host, and star in a 12 episode TV series entitled “The Way of the Samurai,” and Daniel is also an author with several martial arts articles published, and he is currently working on his second full-length novel.

Anime-ZAP! expects over 1,000 anime fans to come together to celebrate cosplay, anime, and Japanese culture, from January 3-5, 2014 at the Embassy Suites in East Peoria, Illinois. Attendees can book hotel rooms starting at $99 per night at http://animezapcon.com/location

Early registration costs only $20 until October 30th, and can be found at http://animezapcon.com/registration

San Francisco, California — October, 22nd 2013 — eigoMANGA announces that the game ‘Vanguard Princess’ has launched on Steam Greenlight. Fans have the ability to vote in ‘Vanguard Princess’ into Steam’s digital distribution marketplace.
‘Vanguard Princess’ is a 2D fighting game that features an all-female cast each with their own unique fighting styles. Players can choose from ten girls and pair them with an assistant partner which can be summoned to perform special attacks against their opponents. eigoMANGA initially launched the game on February 2013 on Amazon and since then ‘Vanguard Princess’ has become a five time #1 best selling action game in Amazon’s marketplace.
Upon the game’s success on Greenlight, an updated version of ‘Vanguard Princess’ will be available for Mac OS X, Linux, and PC. The game will also be formatted for Steam’s services such as Steamworks, SteamOS, and Steam-powered devices.

About The Game
Government experimentation on a young girl triggered a cosmic shock wave that gifted many young girls with mystical powers. The victim re-emerges into the world and vows to destroy all of mankind in an act of revenge. A brave group of girls who embraced their powers head to the battlefield to confront her; not just for the sake of the world, but to pursue their own personal motives and dreams.
– Choose from ten girls with unique fighting skills and pair them with a powerful partner to form an unstoppable team.
– Navigate the adventures of a Vanguard Princess in the Story Mode or engage in head-to-head battles in the Versus Mode.
About eigoMANGA:
eigoMANGA is a publishing company that specializes in creating and producing anime-genre digital media spanning comics, animation, and games. More information about eigoMANGA can be found at http://www.eigoMANGA.com orwww.VanguardPrincess.com

The Los Angeles Film School – Computer Animation Program present “The 1^st Annual LAFILM Animation “Smash” Festival

Two Days of Computer Animation Festival fun including Live Digital Sculpting & Modeling Demonstrations, Webinars, Screenings, Contests, Workshops and Much much more….All things Animation! Come out and join the Fun!!!

Some of the events listed are:

Chaos Group/VRAY webinar (Live) from Bulgaria

Peter Clarke presents “Mech Robot” from Legacy Studios along with the “Behind the Scenes: Making of the Robot”

• ·       Wired Magazine and YouTube commissioned Legacy Effects and The Stan Winston School of Character Arts to partner up and create this mech robot to celebrate practical effects and “geek culture”. Legacy created the 9’9″ tall, 400 lbs. cosplay robot in 24 days. It is an example of the mech designs they have created for blockbuster hits like Iron Man and Pacific Rim. The piece was featured at the 2013 Comic Con event and on the KTLA morning show. This robot is made of aluminum and polyurethane. It has a voice modulator and motion activated sound effects and lighting. One of the creators, Peter Clarke will be on site at LAFILM school to talk more about the robot’s awesome design and build.

• ·       Cinzia Angelini has worked as an animator in productions involving traditional as well as computer animation for more than twenty years. Her body of work includes features like “Spirit”, “Bolt” and “Spider-man 2”, the production of the Universal theme park ride for “Despicable Me”, and the role of story artist on the “Minions Movie” at Illumination Entertainment. She currently enjoys working as a story artist at Dreamworks Animation, and is also directing her own independent short film, “Mila”, due out in 2015

About “Mila”:

• ·       With little more than imagination, and a touch of humanity, a young girl manages to survive war, and discover hope.
• ·       The tragedy of War unfortunately did not end with the children of World War II. Even today, children continue to suffer from the ravages of conflict in many places around the world. It is their current plight that moves me to take action. To that end, I strive to produce “Mila”, an animated short that presents the most tragic collateral damage of War as its theme – the youngest civilians. Though often overlooked and rarely mentioned by the media, civilians are the first to be hit, and their children, the last to be remembered

The Animation Smash Festival will be Oct. 24^th – 25^th and will host various contests and (Live) demos, workshops, and Industry presentations (workshops and presentations are open to public).  *also we will be Raffling off – one of a kind “Animation Smash Festival” T-shirts.

A showing of various “Robot themed” movies, will also be shown throughout the event.

For any questions on this event please contact Lori Hammond, Program Director- ASCA & ASGP,lhammond@lafilm.edu

IRELAND’S FIRST ANIMATED SITCOM NEWSBAG LAUNCHES ON 3e

The first production from animation studio Icehouse premieres on 3e on Saturday 12 October at 22:00

Dublin, 09 October 2013 – Animation studio Icehouse’s first series, Newsbag, is an animated sitcom created by Gerard Barrett (Pilgrim Hill) produced in Dublin featuring an all-Irish voice cast. The 10 x 22 min series will air in a prime time slot on Saturday nights on 3e.
Newsbag follows the adventures of Lenny, Gig and Moss; three Irish lads who work for a dysfunctional online news website in Dublin run by a wealthy megalomaniac named Dundee. Together the trio pursue hot news trends such as the wave of Twitter-addiction spreading across the country, a spud shortage that brings Ireland closer to another famine, and a presidential visit to Ireland that goes drastically wrong.
Creator Gerard Barrett said, “Setting the series around three friends working in an online news website in Dublin had great potential for storylines set around all types of news stories.”
Icehouse is a new prime time animation studio that discovers and supports new and emerging writers, directors and artists. With headquarters in Dublin and Los Angeles, Icehouse encourages creative experimentation in the production of animated comedy and action.
Newsbag is a first for Irish television, where adult audiences are more used to animated sitcoms imported from America. The series is a homegrown production written by a team of Irish writers led by Gerard Barrett, directed by Maurice Joyce and animated in Dublin.
TV3 Director of Content, Jeff Ford, said: “We are excited to be teaming up with Icehouse Media to bring 3e viewers Ireland’s first animated adult comedy series. This unique animation is a fantastic addition to the many home-grown programming and talent that TV3 Group supports. It also highlights the importance of the BAI fund which contributes to the continuous relationship between TV3 and the independent sector.” Read More:

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I Fight Dragons performing at Anime Midwest

Rosemont, IL - October 9, 2013 – Anime Midwest is enthused to announce that Chicago-based video game rock band I Fight Dragons will be performing at Anime Midwest 2014. Anime Midwest will be held July 4-6, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois.

I Fight Dragons is a video-game rock band from Chicago. Their music flares with an epic combination of pop/rock with chiptune, featuring electronic sounds made using Nintendo Game Boys and Nintendo Entertainment Systems. To date they have released one full length album: 2011’s “KABOOM!” which came out on Photo Finish / Atlantic Records, in addition to two EPs: 2009’s Cool Is Just a Number and 2010’s Welcome to the Breakdown. They just finished a massive Kickstarter, raising over $100,000 for the latest upcoming album, Project Atma. Their music has been featured on Nintendo Video as well as on the WWE. They have toured the USA with acts such as mc chris, 3OH!3, Cobra Starship, The Protomen, and Travie McCoy.

I Fight Dragons joins Anime Midwest as part of a neverending epic concert series, headlined by Steam Powered Giraffe and also featuring Frenchy and the Punk and V is for Villains. The full guest list is online at http://animemidwest.com/guests

Anime Midwest expects over 8,000 fans to converge on the Hyatt Regency and the Stephens Convention Center to celebrate their mutual love of Japanese animation, video games, and music. Registration is currently $40 through November 20th, and can be purchased online at http://animemidwest.com/