The Otakon 2019 Guest Request Thread

[RevInstant 32]

On 8/21/2018 at 5:44 PM, alabaster said:

You and me both, buddy.

We have come fairly close once or twice -- but that's a VERY tough nut to crack for many reasons.

Closest I got personally was a direct conversation with her manager while she was performing twenty feet away.

This would be a huge one for me. Almost anything Bebop related is an immediate "must" on my radar.

[RevInstant 32]

I'd also like to suggest Shu Takami, Motohide Eshiro, Takeshi Yamazaki, Ayumu Watanabe or Atsuhiro Tomioka.

All of these have had a hand in the Phoenix Wright game series or anime.

[Chris Peterson 0]

I would like to request AmaLee/LeeandLie (Amanda Lee). She is a vocalist and voice actress. One of her bigger works is doing vocals for both the Japanese & English versions of Tokyo Ghoul:Re OST "Parabellum":

https://youtu.be/Vv6gnmI_8Mo

Voice Actress Dub roles: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card as Akiho Shinomoto, Overlord II as Crusch Lulu, Grimoire of Zero as Zero, Hinamatsuri as Anzu, Magical Girl Raising Project as Nemurin, and One Piece as Queen Otohime.

It would be great because she hasn't been up to the North Eastern part of the US so none of the fans around Otakon have been able to meet her without a plane ticket and what not. Whether she's here as a musical act or Voice Actress, either would be amazing and she could easily be in either category. I really really hope we can get her out here. Thanks for considering this post.

Her official site:

https://www.leeandlieofficial.com/

Her Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AmaAmaLeeLee?s=09

Edited September 30, 2018 by Chris Peterson
Forgot to include her actual name

[alabaster 0]

On 9/30/2018 at 8:49 AM, Chris Peterson said:

I would like to request AmaLee/LeeandLie (Amanda Lee). She is a vocalist and voice actress. One of her bigger works is doing vocals for both the Japanese & English versions of Tokyo Ghoul:Re OST "Parabellum":

https://youtu.be/Vv6gnmI_8Mo

Voice Actress Dub roles: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card as Akiho Shinomoto, Overlord II as Crusch Lulu, Grimoire of Zero as Zero, Hinamatsuri as Anzu, Magical Girl Raising Project as Nemurin, and One Piece as Queen Otohime.

It would be great because she hasn't been up to the North Eastern part of the US so none of the fans around Otakon have been able to meet her without a plane ticket and what not. Whether she's here as a musical act or Voice Actress, either would be amazing and she could easily be in either category. I really really hope we can get her out here. Thanks for considering this post.

Her official site:

https://www.leeandlieofficial.com/

Her Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AmaAmaLeeLee?s=09

I know her. One reason her travel was limited for a while was the age of her kid.

[eablack 0]

Stella Chuu, Taemin, Stella Chuu, Dreamcatcher, Stella Chuu, Hyolyn, Stella Chuu, EXO-K (or a sub-unit like CBX), AOA, or debut a J/K-pop act altogether like when VIXX debuted in 2012, BoA(?), I will second Utada Hikaru, Super Junior, GOT7, SEVENTEEN, probably will have other suggestions in another post...

[Chris Peterson 0]

On 10/3/2018 at 2:56 PM, alabaster said:

I know her. One reason her travel was limited for a while was the age of her kid.

Hi,

I don't mean to be rude but I believe you are thinking of a different Amanda. The one I'm talking about does not have a kid as far as everyone in her fanbase goes, as well as her moderators are concerned. I'm not sure what other information I can really provide you with but if you go to the official site I know she has her email there so you could clarify for yourself.

Thanks

Edited October 14, 2018 by Chris Peterson
Grammatical error

[eablack 0]

Would also like to request list Yaya Han

[eablack 0]

Also recommending Tina Guo

[eablack 0]

Also suggesting Bindi Smalls, KARD, VIXX or again debut a new act altogether

[GasparAKAShiggitay 161]

On 8/20/2018 at 9:29 PM, w-deremer said:

Seiyuu

------------------

Hayashibara Megumi (eternal wish list member #001)

Hirano Aya (yeah, her career is pretty low-key now, but Haruhism still runs strong)

any of the original 5 Inner Senshi (especially Fukami Rica or Mitsuishi Kotono)

Hidaka Noriko (Akane-chan forever!)

^ ^ ^ ^  ALL OF MY YES!!!

On 8/21/2018 at 6:56 PM, otoxo said:

Here are my Japanese guest suggestions, including links for how to contact them or their agent.

• Kappei Yamaguchi: Inuyasha (Inuyasha), L (Death Note), Usopp (One Piece), Shinichi Kudo (Case Closed)

• Satsuki Yukino: Kagome (Inuyasha), Yoruichi (Bleach), Kaname Chidori (Full Metal Panic), Mion/Shion Sonozaki (When They Cry)
   
• Junko Takeuchi: Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto), Gon (Hunter x Hunter, original), Takuya Kanbara (Digimon Frontier), Gomamon (Digimon Adventure tri)

^ ^ ^ ^  ALL OF MY YES!!!

On 8/28/2018 at 11:31 AM, razisgosu said:

I'll keep my requests straight forward enough, any major current female seiyuu. My biggest one being Hana Kana. 

Others include -

Kugimiya Rie

Takekatsu Ayana

^ ^ ^ ^  ALL OF MY YES!!!

In terms of musical guests/acts I'd like to request my annual request for none other than Do As Infinity! Please @alabaster make it happen haha (I know what you're gonna say, but try).

Edited October 18, 2018 by GasparAKAShiggitay
Spacing

[lp309 1]

Would love to see.......these people in the future....

Monica Rial 

Tia Ballard 

Yuri Lowethal 

Steve Blum 

Andrew Love 

Justin Briner 

Dani Chambers 

Brian Mathis 

Vic Mignogna 

J. Michael Tatum 

Brandon McCinnis 

Sean Schemmel 

Christopher Sabat 

Laura Bailey 

Travis Willingham 

Colleen Clikenbeard 

Luci Christian 

Michelle Ruff 

Christine Marie Cabanos 

Stephanie Sheh 

Patrick Seitz 

Trina Nishimura 

Bryce Papenbrook (again!) 

Josh Grelle (again!!! Please) 

Cherami Leigh (Again!) 

Todd Haberkorn (again!) 

Max Mittleman (again!) 

Erika Harlacher 

Erica Mendez 

Crispin Freeman 

Jerry Jewell 

Joel McDonald 

Ian Sinclair 

Cassandra Lee Morris 

Kari Walgren 

Christina Vee 

Michael Sinterniklaas 

Carrie Keranen 

Wendee Lee 

Greg Ayres 

and bring back Johnny Yong Bosch 

 

[Tachibana 15]

On 10/14/2018 at 6:41 AM, Chris Peterson said:

Hi,

I don't mean to be rude but I believe you are thinking of a different Amanda. The one I'm talking about does not have a kid as far as everyone in her fanbase goes, as well as her moderators are concerned. I'm not sure what other information I can really provide you with but if you go to the official site I know she has her email there so you could clarify for yourself.

Thanks

I believe alabaster got her confused with Amanda Winn-Lee, who would, incidentally, ALSO be a cool guest! 

EDIT: I'd also like to put forward Kira Buckland. She was at AUSA this past weekend and had a really cool assortment of fandom-based panels for Pokemon and JJBA in addition to her Q&A panel, so I think she'd be a good asset to filling out the schedule. She's said before that Otakon is her dream con, and she has several big roles now in the form of 2B from Nier Automata and Talim in Soulcalibur VI. So, just a thought there!

Edited October 23, 2018 by Tachibana

[windseeker 51]

Christopher Sabat 

[alabaster 0]

You’re quite right, brain fart on Amandas.  

 

And while i appreciate the vote of confidence, I am not the one booking guests these days...

[UzumakiWarlord 5]

Since one of Otakon's missions is to spread knowledge about east Asian culture beyond anime, what if we had a guest or two that was involved with a different style of animation?  Like stop-motion.  It's kind of to come mind recently that stop-motion animation isn't really an animation style you hear about coming from Japan.  Like what if there could be a guest who was involved with stop-motion?  Like anyone who's worked on the holiday specials released by Rankin/Bass?

Not too many people know about this but the animation for practically every stop-motion tv holiday special released by Rankin/Bass (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, Santa Claus is comin' to Town, etc.) WERE ALL ANIMATED IN JAPAN.  That's just an example, of course, and I was just thinking that having someone who was involved with stop-motion would be a nice guest to have, and we could all learn how in any sort of stop-motion production, how the many figures and puppets are made, and setting the frames to the flow naturally in every little shot.

Unless if it's already been done before, what if we could have a guest whose works involve stop-motion animation?

[eablack 0]

Hyuna, Daoko, Alan Dawa Dolma, an 18+ panel with any gravure models or hentai writers/voice actors available (autographs afterward hopefully?). In that same vein, also suggesting Marica Hase (first Japanese Penthouse Pet)

[alabaster 0]

On 11/1/2018 at 5:21 PM, eablack said:

Hyuna, Daoko, Alan Dawa Dolma, an 18+ panel with any gravure models or hentai writers/voice actors available (autographs afterward hopefully?). In that same vein, also suggesting Marica Hase (first Japanese Penthouse Pet)

One challenge there is that our contacts are primarily in the animation, gaming, and music industries, and not so much in the world of modeling.  The other is that they’re going to have very little motivation to come.

When evaluating guests, it’s fairly routine to break down the non-adjustable costs (flights, hotel, etc.) and the negotiable ones. Appearance fees have become more of s thing in recent years, despite the complexities of taxes, payments to overseas agencies, etc.

Given the same baseline costs (it costs thousands of dollars to bring a guest from Japan, regardless of status), and limited budget, the first question is whether you spend that on someone with broad appeal, or someone with narrower appeal, and the other question is how relevant  that guest is to our mission.  A guest with broad appeal and fantastic relevancy is going to win, but one particularly appealing, or super relevant, would also be a prime selection. 

There’s really not much particularly unique about scantily dressed girls posing for magazines, honestly, and little to no crossover appeal. The management and business involved isn’t pushing to broaden the audience, as is the case for music, and there isn’t really a compelling cultural argument here.

And to switch hats, if I were such a model, I can’t see much sense in flying 13 hours each way to be stared at in person by foreigners who don’t buy the magazines I am paid to appear in. Not when I can make bank in Tokyo for personal appearances, during the relatively short window when I am still young and sexy.  (And that’s before you consider the unsavory types  that tend to be involved in those businesses. There are musical acts I was advised to avoid because of Yakuza involvement, and I am certain that would be an issue in the world of adult magazines.)

If this really interests you, and you think it has broader appeal and something to teach us, start with a panel.  It’s  rare to see a well presented panel covering such content, though I’m sure someone out there could make a good one.  Until then , I don’t see anyone making it a priority, at any broad anime con.

 

[CocoFaerie 41]

The faerie is making another guest request--Juliet Simmons.  She's prolly one of the hottest VAs of late, and would be great to have her over for the 25th Anniversary con.

[TomDent 10]

Went to an idol panel at a local con this weekend and it dawned on me that it'd be pretty neat to have an idol group perform. Has Otakon had that before? I can't think of any specific group to ask for since I'm not too familiar with the idol group scene, but thought it'd be fun.

[Animu_Sushi 0]

A guest I would LOVE to see is a voice actor named Imari Williams. Imari works in California and has worked on  JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Megalobox, Transformers Reacue Bots, HunterxHunter, Fortnite, and many more I can’t remeber at the moment. Imari is very talented and I have been wanting to meet him for some time now and I think he would be a great choice as guest for Otakon. 

[onsenmark 82]

Update to my previous list: Franchouchou. XD

[Hainiryuun 25]

Annual request for Shimizu Ai

[Peter L.W. 1]

Hi, Hi,

     Is this the proper area to make a request?  She lived in JP, was in an idol group, moved to Germany, is a cosplayer and will be transferring back to JP later in 2019.  She is outside of the States.

keekimogumogu@gmail.com 

https://www.instagram.com/keekihime/

https://www.youtube.com/user/keekihime

https://www.instagram.com/keekicosplay/

 

[Peter L.W. 1]

Cont from above:
 

Also:   www.facebook.com/keekihime

[DCtheOtaku 0]

Here are some guests I’d love to see at Otakon this year:

Yuri Lowenthal

Tara Platt

Justin Briner 

Clifford Chapin

David Matranga

Chris Sabat

Sean Schemmel

Monica Rial

Colleen Clinkenbeard

Eric Vale

Chuck Huber

[Kewshi 10]

I'd like to see sakuraflorr invited her and team deathstrike cosplay

[Otaku4Life 0]

I would like to request having voiceover talents Brittany Lauda & Matt Shipman as anime guests.

I have been a fan of their work for years & they were amazing in DARLING in the FRANXX (2018).

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=19850

They currently do voice work for Funimation, Media Blasters & other studios.

Here is their Anime News Network listings of their voiceover roles.

 

Brittany Lauda:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=124358

 

Matt Shipman:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=134957

 

 

 

Edited January 4 by Otaku4Life

[Thwazhere1 0]

Kaho Shibuya(@Shibukaho)

Bunny Ayumi(@BunnyAyu)

Susu(@SSSuccubus) 

[UzumakiWarlord 5]

What if we had some other former Power Ranger actors as guests?  Like Austin St. John, David Yost, Walter Emanuel Jones, and Amy Jo Johnson? (Original red, blue, black, and pink rangers respectively)

Because if Otakon has hosted former ranger actors like Johnny Yong Bosch and Jason David Frank, then why not?

And while on this topic, what if we had some guests from Japan who are heavily involved in Tokusatsu works?  For those that don't know, Tokusatsu are live action tv and movies that have a heavy use in practical effects.  Super Sentai (The source material for Power Rangers) is a primary example.  Other than former ranger actors from our own country in the US, maybe the staff could at some point in time get in touch with an actor who worked on any previous Super Sentai series.

 

Although given that tokusatsu is live action, getting someone who has worked on any kind of show of that medium would have to be more difficult to get in touch with than a popular seiyuu.

 

And does anyone remember the show VR Troopers?  One of the actors on that show, Brad Hawkins was one of the troopers, and later in his life and career would do some voice acting.  Like recently, he's been playing the titular Goblin Slayer.

Also, I wonder if acting in a tokusatsu show, and then moving on to voice acting is a thing over in Japan, too.  Since it was the case here in America with JYB, Walter, and Brad.

[onsenmark 82]

On 1/7/2019 at 4:49 PM, UzumakiWarlord said:

What if we had some other former Power Ranger actors as guests?  Like Austin St. John, David Yost, Walter Emanuel Jones, and Amy Jo Johnson? (Original red, blue, black, and pink rangers respectively)

Because if Otakon has hosted former ranger actors like Johnny Yong Bosch and Jason David Frank, then why not?

And while on this topic, what if we had some guests from Japan who are heavily involved in Tokusatsu works?  For those that don't know, Tokusatsu are live action tv and movies that have a heavy use in practical effects.  Super Sentai (The source material for Power Rangers) is a primary example.  Other than former ranger actors from our own country in the US, maybe the staff could at some point in time get in touch with an actor who worked on any previous Super Sentai series.

 

Although given that tokusatsu is live action, getting someone who has worked on any kind of show of that medium would have to be more difficult to get in touch with than a popular seiyuu.

 

And does anyone remember the show VR Troopers?  One of the actors on that show, Brad Hawkins was one of the troopers, and later in his life and career would do some voice acting.  Like recently, he's been playing the titular Goblin Slayer.

Also, I wonder if acting in a tokusatsu show, and then moving on to voice acting is a thing over in Japan, too.  Since it was the case here in America with JYB, Walter, and Brad.

Oh God, yes. HIROSHI FUJIOKA, plz.

And your question re: toku actors moving to voice acting? Yes; Mao Ichimichi did voice work after doing Gokaiger, then came back to Super Sentai to voice Washi Pink in Kyuranger. I think Junya Ikeda(Gokai Silver) did some voice work in anime, too. So, it  happens.

[ramenman64 5]

I'd like to request Nick Landis, Corinne Sudberg, Scott Frerichs, and Curtis Arnott please

[alabaster 0]

On 1/15/2019 at 3:38 PM, ramenman64 said:

I'd like to request Nick Landis, Corinne Sudberg, Scott Frerichs, and Curtis Arnott please

I'm going out on a limb here and say there is still a distinction between "guest" and "panelist", which isn't always clear at some smaller events, but which has been pretty consistent at Otakon for many years.  Guests are guests of honor, the names that draw folks to your con, and typically are professionals who have some direct connection to the mission or the industry; panelists typically are fans first, and are not here to support or promote their work or that of their employers. Guests get official status and their travel costs are paid (including fees, where applicable), panelists generally do not get much more than a badge and a place to chill in their downtime.  

Team Four Star exists in a weird place, because the work they produce is unlicensed parodies of licensed works.  I'm not sure how Ethan feels about it, but I shied away from bringing them as guests because it creates unwanted tension with industry.  Most of their con appearances tend to be "under the radar" -- they're panelists or have a booth someplace. We have had them at Otakon before as panelists, but spotlighting unlicensed works with full "guest of honor" status can be problematic. IIRC, Funi basically ignores the parody works (because they're clearly parody, even if they use enough content to be legally tricky to deal with), but .... 

The nearest analogy I can come up with is when you pack more than the allowed occupancy in a hotel room.  The hotel really doesn't care too much if you have 6 people in a 4-person room so long as you don't create more work for them with endless towel demands or noise complaints.  But if you draw too much attention, they have to act to protect their bread & butter.

[ramenman64 5]

17 hours ago, alabaster said:

I'm going out on a limb here and say there is still a distinction between "guest" and "panelist", which isn't always clear at some smaller events, but which has been pretty consistent at Otakon for many years.  Guests are guests of honor, the names that draw folks to your con, and typically are professionals who have some direct connection to the mission or the industry; panelists typically are fans first, and are not here to support or promote their work or that of their employers. Guests get official status and their travel costs are paid (including fees, where applicable), panelists generally do not get much more than a badge and a place to chill in their downtime.  

Team Four Star exists in a weird place, because the work they produce is unlicensed parodies of licensed works.  I'm not sure how Ethan feels about it, but I shied away from bringing them as guests because it creates unwanted tension with industry.  Most of their con appearances tend to be "under the radar" -- they're panelists or have a booth someplace. We have had them at Otakon before as panelists, but spotlighting unlicensed works with full "guest of honor" status can be problematic. IIRC, Funi basically ignores the parody works (because they're clearly parody, even if they use enough content to be legally tricky to deal with), but .... 

The nearest analogy I can come up with is when you pack more than the allowed occupancy in a hotel room.  The hotel really doesn't care too much if you have 6 people in a 4-person room so long as you don't create more work for them with endless towel demands or noise complaints.  But if you draw too much attention, they have to act to protect their bread & butter.

I totally understand this, but I wanted them there as guests to talk about how they're doing there own stuff now, including Hells. How they're moving on from just parody creators to working as legit voice actors. But again I totally understand the grey area here.

[alabaster 0]

With again the caveat that I'm not running things these days and the Ethan may have a different take....

That muddy ground is one reason I actively avoided giving "fan guests" the GOH (guest of honor) nod for many years.  There are some fantastic folks out there doing excellent work, but there is definitely a distinction between folks who have "official" status within the industry, and those who don't. The challenge is to honor what they do without causing confusion or trouble with the pros.  (And quite a few of them have crossed into pro status, at which point we might change their listed status.)  It's just a cleaner distinction to make: did you go pro and legit with this? Once you have, then it's a much simpler call to make, because you're adding something significant to the whole deal.  This industry has a LOT of folks in it who started in the grey area and cowboy days, but now are legit, so it's not an unassailable wall.

If you're running a smaller con, you want a larger list of guests and drawing Big Name Fans can make a big difference, and just as importantly, non-GOH level guests *tend* to only get badges and similar low-cost considerations.

The questions we typically ask about any potential guest are:

1. How does this guest advance our mission?  Remember, our mission is about cultural exchange, fundamentally, but certainly with a focus on pop culture. For people already actively involved in professional creation, localization, or distribution, either as production or talent, that's an easy one. For people in academic circles, pro speakers and authors like Roland Kelts and Fred Schodt, it's also an easy call to make.  Because we're a nonprofit, we need to be able to justify what we spend on our guests.
2. What's their likely draw/appeal?  I've received requests for youtubers with a following in the dozens; that's an easy call. But we've also brought major voice actors and directors from Japan who draw a couple dozen folks at best.  Prestige and name value really kick in here. 
3. How much content are they bringing?  I've never been a fan of "guests" who do nothing but sit in the dealer or artist halls and sell and sign stuff. That's why we typically require 2 panels or the equivalent from all our GOH guests.
4. What's the cost of bringing and supporting them?  Japanese guests need bilingual interpreters to handle them, and cost a fair penny to bring. US guests (especially actors) typically have fees these days that range from bargains to tens of thousands of dollars.  Each of them needs a room and food, and that all adds up disturbingly fast.  OTOH, industry support can help mitigate those costs. About a third to half of all our guests come with some help from industry (not always financial); the rest are existing relationships, personal contacts, or direct offers. 
5. What special challenges do they bring?  Are they known for being "difficult"?  Is their management bad at responding and providing info? Do they miss their at-con obligations? Are there troubling accusations against them? Do they have annoying significant others? Have they pissed off their employer somehow?

Cost is a big deal, because all things considered, if you're spending $2k minimum on travel/room/board for a guest, you'd rather spend it on a guest who has a draw, who have mission relevance, and who doesn't have a ton of "baggage" to deal with.    

Just a little insight.

[ramenman64 5]

That makes a lot of sense, I really appreciate the info there.