FanCons.ca Press Releases


October 29, 2007

News for FanimeCon 2008:

FanimeCon 2008 announces Hidenobu Kiuchi as first guest of honor

San Jose, CA (October 16, 2007) – FanimeCon is extremely proud and honorred to announce Hidenobu Kiuchi as the first Guest of Honor for this year's FanimeCon 2008.

Hidenobu Kiuchi is the voice behind a multitude of well-known anime characters, such as Ren in Nana, Dr. Tenma in Monster, and Nero in One Piece. As a seiyuu ("Japanese voice actor"), he is known most notably in his role as Yuushi Oshitari from The Prince of Tennis. Hidenobu, like many American voice actors, first began as a stage actor and even took stage training. It wasn't until one of his sempais ("older, senior actor") enlisted him for a voice acting job that set his career in motion for principal roles, such as Joze in Gunslinger Girl and Ramsbeckite Hematite in Cluster Edge. A role that Hidenobu currently holds as his favorite is Li Shenshung/Hei in the Sci-Fi production Darker Than Black from BONES. Also included amongst Hidenobu's numerous credits are the anime series Pocket Monster, YuGiOh, Hunter x Hunter, Rurouni Kenshin, and physiological thriller Death Note.

Hidenobu is the solo host for an online radio show, Seishun Radio, and hosts Chiraizumu no Yoru, a weekly Internet radio show, together with Kenjiro Tsuda, a fellow Prince of Tennis voice actor. The pair also teaches voice acting at the Human Academy Performing Arts College. This will be Hidenobu's second anime convention in the United States, after Sugoicon 2006.

About FanimeCon – FanimeCon is a matsuri ("cellebration") of Anime, Manga, and related arts and cultures. Held annually over Memorial Day Weekend in the heart of Downtown San Jose, approximately 11,000 people joined the fun in 2007. FanimeCon is "by fans, for fans," and offers innovative, interactive events that explore cultures, showcases the arts, and creates opportunities to be a part of the festivities. FanimeCon 2008 will be held from May 22nd - 26th at the San Jose Convention Center, the San Jose Marriott, and the San Jose Hilton and Towers.

To find out what other things are going on and learn more about FanimeCon, please visit: http://www.fanime.com (official website).

About Anime Resource Group – Anime Resource Group (ARG) is the parent organizatiion behind FanimeCon, providing organizational vision and direction, as well as a financial and legal infrastructure. ARG is a privately-held S Corporation located in San Jose, California and as with FanimeCon, ARG is completely volunteer-based.

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