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The Otakon 2023 Guest Request Thread

CocoFaerie

By CocoFaerie,
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Nate A.M.

Nate A.M. 1

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Can't hurt to dream, but I am curious what the process is like for Japanese guests. Like most things in the anime industry, it seems very much based on relationships. While Otacorp had a relationship with Pony Canyon, when Pony Canyon had a show to promote, they sent out the director. The con is friends with Yasuhiro Watanabe, so when Watanabe recommended his VR dev friends, they invited them. This has resulted in some pretty interesting guests in the past, but it does make me wonder how well Otacorp is able – or indeed willing – to reach out beyond that network. When Jim Vowles was on ANNCast a few times back in the early 2010s, the answer seemed to be "both willing and able." Looking at the last few years, I'm less sure about that. I'm not pointing fingers since I have no idea what's going on behind the scenes – just an idle observation.

Now, in my mind, I've got three criterion for my guest recommendations:

1. They'd be interesting
2. They're relevant and would have something to promote
3. Courting them would expand Otacorp's network of relationships

Two headliners immediately come to mind:

Science Saru: Eungyoung Choi, Naoko Yamada, Masaaki Yuasa

To me, these guys are the perfect candidates. Eunyoung Choi is the current president of Saru and the one to approach, both because she's the one who usually does their press tours, and because she speaks decent English. Saru is currently home to two fascinating and popular directors: Naoko Yamada (A Silent Voice, Sound! Euphonium, K-ON!) and Masaaki Yuasa (Eizouken, Devilman Crybaby, The Night is Short – Walk On Girl), who each have both recent and upcoming projects. Choi herself is an excellent director who had episodes of Space Dandy and, more recently, Star Wars: Visions. Moreover, Science Saru as a studio is…well, a bit cursed actually, but they're doing a lot of unusual and highly innovative things with digital toolchains to make anime production more efficient. I'd frankly have some tough questions for Choi, but that's part of what'd make them interesting guests. As studio president, Choi also has connections and friendships all over the industry, so she'd be a good person to have as a friend of the con. In particular, you might also want to look into grabbing composer Ushio Kensuke, who worked a bunch with Yamada while she was at KyoAni as well as Yuasa, and is currently composing the score to the already megapopular Chainsaw Man.

Shouta Umehara, Keisuke Shinohara (My Dress-Up Darling)

Now this one needs explaining. UmeP is an animation producer: he has Miyamori's job from Shirobako. He's super good at it. Everywhere he shows up, he brings along his army of amazing animator friends to work wonders, including on recent shows like My Dress-Up Darling and Wonder Egg Priority, as well as slightly less recent ones like DarliFra and F/GO Babylonia (ancient, I tell you!). Kevin Cirugeda at Sakugablog wrote a bit about him a few years ago. People like him aren't just necessary to make anime, they can also leave a distinct creative fingerprint just by dint of what sort of friends they have. All this means that not only has UmeP Seen Some ----™ that would be fascinating to hear about, he'd also be able to put you in touch with a bunch of other people if you form a good relationship. I suggested he could come with Keisuke Shinohara, director of My Dress-Up Darling, since it's a recent and very popular show, but his recent work at Cloverworks would probably put him in touch with anyone else from their many recent projects. For what it's worth, a friend of mine who works with him often says he's super nice too.

These are the two leads that I think would be the best to pursue, but here's a lightning round of some more guests I think would be interesting:

Mitsuo Iso (director: Dennou Coil, Orbital Children, iconic animator): Very intelligent and thoughtful director and animator whose way of thinking about animation influenced the whole industry, and who has a recent show on Netflix.
Shingo Yamashita (director: Pokemon: Twilight Wings, digital animation pioneer): Also a very intelligent thoughtful animator and director, albeit much newer to directing. Among the first people to come into the industry through the internet
Toshiyuki Inoue (iconic animator, friends with everyone): Like Iso, he's animated famous scenes in many famous anime movies, and has deep insight into all of them.
Yuki Kajiura (composer: SAO, Demon Slayer, Madoka Magica, formerly of Kalafina): Everyone likes Yuki Kajiura, right?
Tsutomu Mizushima (director: Girls und Panzer, Shirobako): ngl I haven't really read any interviews with him, but his insane research-oriented directorial style and sense of humor suggest that he'd be a great guy to have talk for an hour or two.
ZUN (creator, composer: Touhou Project): …yeah I know Touhou is irrelevant in Anno Domini 2022, but I have to list him.

Edited by Nate A.M.
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ultragoji

ultragoji 1

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How about for Japanese Guests ( I know they may be impossible to get)

1) Leiji Matsumoto

2) Hidecki Anno

3) Kenpachiro Satsuma (Godzilla suit actor from 1984 to 1995)

Jim “Kap” Kaposztas

Staff Lounge

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Nate A.M.

Nate A.M. 1

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If we're reaching for the stars, Hideaki Anno and Leiji Matsumoto would definitely be up there. Relatedly, it'd be sorta funny to bring Toshio Okada back over, since he visited Otakon during its first years up in Pennsylvania. Rintaro would be another good one, especially since he's getting up there in age and anime industry vets aren't known for living long into old age.

15 hours ago, Nate A.M. said:

Yasuhiro Watanabe

1. lmao good job dipshіt, it's "Yoshihiro."
2. Wait, why is there a timeout for editing posts? Has it always been like this?

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alabaster

alabaster 0

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You’re right in that Japanese guests in particular depend on relationships.  And these days we continue to reap benefits of lots of outreach and friendships made over the last few decades. I am happy that my successors continue to build on those, and make new ones.

But that is true of US based guests too — agents become much easier to deal with when the guests really want to come. 

I feel very privileged in the friends I’ve made, both on behalf of the con, and personally. And I help out where I can with connections and back door invites.  This year we got particularly and unexpectedly lucky with timing with Japan.  Not so lucky on the cost of flights, though. I hear it was painful and I’m glad I don’t have to manage that budget anymore! :)

This is where I’d begin to tease you, and selectively rain on your hopes.  I’ve been out of the loop for personal stuff, but feel a bit recharged.  But I’m not the guy calling the shots, so what can I tease with?  

Hmm.  There is at least one big guest that we came really close with a few times now — maybe this year will be the year?  I know we have quite a few people interested and in the works, but we are a long ways out right now. And a few old friends have already reached out to see if we want them back, both locals and internationals.  And there are two guests in particular I will be bending ears about.  Let’s just hope the pandemic is less an issue next year.

So don’t worry, things are in the works that should make folks quite happy.  But to say more would be telling.

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Nate A.M.

Nate A.M. 1

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Haha, I wrote that post before I realized that you're still involved and reading these boards – now I'm a bit embarrassed. That's interesting to hear though! Here's hoping for next year. I'm sure not being able to bring Shinichiro Watanabe over for an in-person appearance after the other Carole & Tuesday guests were able to take their encore must've been frustrating for you guys.

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Zeeba Neighba

Zeeba Neighba 22

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Welp, here goes!

Voice Actors/Actresses (Japanese):

Miyuki Sawashiro

Sayaka Ohara

Saori Hayami

Rina Satou

Satomi Arai

Haruka Tomatsu

Sora Amamiya

Nobuhiko Okamoto

Takehito Koyasu

Hikaru Midorikawa

Souichirou Hoshi

Kappei Yamaguchi

Daisuke Ono

Tomokazu Sugita

Voice Actors/Actresses (English):

Crispin Freeman

Colleen Clinkenbeard

Erica Mendez

Spike Spencer

Richard Epcar

Luci Christian

Michelle Ruff

Yuri Lowenthal

Monica Rial

Behind-the-Scenes People:

Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Koji Morimoto

Kazuki Akane

Gen Urobuchi

Mangaka:

Rei Hiroe

Pochi-Goya

Bowalia

Virtual YouTubers:

Kson

Ironmouse

Natsumi Moe

Ryugasaki Rene

Kanade Mimi

Calliope Mori

Kiara Takanashi

Pavolia Reine

Kureiji Ollie

Inugami Korone

Sakura Miko

Omaru Polka

Momosuzu Nene

Takane Lui

La+ Darkness

 

Annnnd there we go!  Do any of these folks (particularly the ones from Japan) have a snowball's chance in H.E. double toothpicks of getting here next year?  Probably not.  But hey, a guy can dream.

Edited by Zeeba Neighba
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Flymetothemoon

Flymetothemoon 0

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Gen Urobuchi is the dream for anime guests, but I think it would be cool to maybe have some Godzilla guests too as the con expands to being a general Asian pop culture con (In a really cool way might I add!) so maybe also people like Shusuke Kaneko for Japanese kaiju stuff and then on the American side TJ Storm has done anime cons before and I think Michael Dougherty would be really cool too.

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Nate A.M.

Nate A.M. 1

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I wouldn't count out Kawajiri, given his connections to not just one but two friends of the con. That's actually one I was thinking about too. He's certainly been to the US before.

Rei Hiroe you could probably bribe by driving him out to a range to go shooting with a historical firearms club lol

Grabbing some Nijisanji English folks would be fun, but the East Coast gang is mostly Leafs, which complicates things. Pomu is an American and low-key has almost certainly been to Otakon before. I think Nina might be US East Coast too? Uki definitely is, but most of the other lads aren't even on this continent unfortunately.

Edited by Nate A.M.
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Attendee7000

Attendee7000 18

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Hopefully Otakon can get Masao Murayama back again soon. I know he's in his 80's now, so his days traveling overseas to cons will probably be winding up soon.

 

Any manga creators. I know they're some of the hardest guests to get because they have the tightest schedules. Other cons have managed to get some in the past though.

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CocoFaerie

CocoFaerie 53

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The faerie's guest request list:

Domestic VAs:  Dani Chambers, Aniris Quinonez, Emi Lo, Sarah Weidenheft, Megan Shipman, Macy Anne Johnson, Lee George, Jordan Dash Cruz, Ciarán Strange, Justin Briner, Christopher Wekhamp, Alejandro Saab, Derrick Snow, Clifford Chapin, SungWon Cho (ProZD), Diana Garnet
Domestic non-VAs:  Kevin Penkin, Tyler Walker, Kuniko Kanawa, Gen Fukunga, Roland Kelts

Foreign VAs:  Daisuke Ono, Saori Hayami, Kana Hanazawa
Musical Acts:  CHAI, Joe Hisaishi

*This list is subject to change.*

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Aresef

Aresef 113

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Music: Yuki Kajiura, m-flo, Granrodeo, renewing my request for MONKEY MAJIK

Voice: Yuri Lowenthal, Johnny Yong Bosch, Monica Rial, Jamie Marchi

Other: Toshiki Inoue (who hasn't done a con to my knowledge), Yasuhiro Nightow

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Chillo

Chillo 2

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Echiiro Oda (One Piece creator)

EMC Monkeys (YouTubers/Stuntmen/Martial Artists)

The Samurider (Martial artist)

RDC World (YouTubers/actors)

Gabriel Picolo (Character concept artist @_picolo)

Rudy Reynon (Matial Artist/Stuntman @ru_areyou)

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paradisepriest

paradisepriest 0

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It would be fantastic to have an amateur orchestra that attendees can sign up for, even if it's past 2023. Katie Vedder used to run a Symphonic Anime Orchestra at some smaller cons and they were awesome. It's a labor-intensive proposition: the organizer has to buy sheet music, make musical arrangements, contact players several times before con and lead sessions during con, and the convention would have to help advertise sign-ups months in advance and provide space for multiple rehearsals and a performance. But because of all that, Otakon's size and experience means it's perhaps uniquely equipped to make it happen. I don't think there's any experience that can build a sense of community like playing "Cruel Angel's Thesis" with a bunch of other nerds you've just met. I used to trek to Katsucon on the waterfront in February every year solely because that's the con that had SAO, so I think it could generate even more attendee loyalty, too.

Thanks for considering!

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paradisepriest

paradisepriest 0

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This may be for a con past 2023, but it would be fantastic to have an amateur orchestra that plays anime, J-pop, video game or even K-pop music. Katie Vedder used to run a Symphonic Anime Orchestra, and it was so much fun. It's labor-intensive: the organizer has to get sheet music, make musical arrangements, talk to players in advance and lead sessions during con. The con would have to provide space for practices and a performance and advertise for sign-ups months in advance. But Otakon's size and experience makes it uniquely capable of pulling off such a feat. Plus, I think it could generate even more con loyalty -- I went to Katsucon on the waterfront in February for years even when I moved hours away solely because they had SAO at the time. 

Thanks for considering! 

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Jabroniman

Jabroniman 0

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If I had to request a few people, I would like to see for the first time or again!: 

Amber Lee Connors
Dawn Bennett 
Erika Harlacher 
Faye Mata and Arnie Pantoja (Faye tweeted this and she mentioned he is interested in going to some anime conventions!)
Some of the Chainsaw man dub cast:
Ryan Colt Levy
Regan Murdock 
Suzie Yeung
Sarah Wiedenheft 
Bryn Apprill
Katelyn Barr

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Raziel3193

Raziel3193 0

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My musical requests for this year are XG girls (Jpop group with Kpop flair) and SG5 (performed at Anime Expo and will be debuting soon- former Happiness members) would be a lot of fun. I also would love to see BRATS (Check out spider web and Unfair by them they're awesome for the jrock sector) and Purple Kiss for Kpop.

For Japanese Voice Actors I'd love to see are Miho Okasaki, Yuki Hanamori, Azumi Waki, Azusa Tadakoro, Reiji Kawashima, and Takuya Eguchi.

For Cosplayers I'd like to see Eriza Cosplay and CutiepieSensei

Hope this helps and thank you for considering!

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hollyjollypaca

hollyjollypaca 0

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Hello hello! First time posting here! But I have so many aspirations for the con, and cons on the east coast in general!! ❤️

I would LOVE and absolutely stay at the con for the whole weekend if Otakon worked things out with AnyColor and brought in NijiSanji EN's 4th wave Luxiem as guests! Many cons have brought on vtubers as guests and have used monitors and two way video communication for guests to have Q + A's, and to host panels. There are so many east coast fans that are jealous of the west coast conventions cause they can't travel that far due to distance and funds.

Nijisanji EN talents love their fans, and would be easy to work with staff!

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Louis Grant Louis

Louis Grant Louis 0

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On 8/10/2022 at 5:58 AM, CocoFaerie said:

Make your guest requests for 2023 here!

Can You Please Appeal Of The Kaho Shibuya @ Kaho-Shibuya.Com Being All In All Multi-Faceted Personality With Regard To Influencer, Public Writer, Anison DJ Trouper, Recording Artist Entertainer, Cosplayer, Twitch IRL Streamer, Anime Typical Judger, Modeling Performer As Well As Enterpriser Possessing Marvelous Inter\Outer Beauty To Come Back With Regard All In All "Guest Honor & Honor Guest" By The Otakon 2023 Being Held At The Walter E. Washington Convention Facility In The Washington, DC As Far As 07/28/23 – 07/30/23

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Syn

Syn 0

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Hey Otakon!  If you could please consider inviting the following English VAs that would be super amazing!

 

Alejandro Saab (please I beg)

Max Mittleman

Khoi Dao

Christina Vee

Keith Silverstein

Erika Harlacher

Zach Aguilar

Dante Basco

 

Thank you for your consideration <3

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Nate A.M.

Nate A.M. 1

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I feel like you can only make one effortpost in these threads before you start to really sound like an unhinged weirdo – before you start to sound too serious about the whole thing – but I do kinda want to go back and mention some stuff regarding my thoughts from a few months ago.

First of all, it turns out that Naoko Yamada is, in fact, directing a new movie that's coming out in Fall 2023 called Kimi no Iro (Your Color) alongside composer Kensuke Ushio. If that name sounds suspiciously similar to a certain Makoto Shinkai movie, it's because they're both produced by the same dude: Genki Kawamura. This would make Yamada simultaneously a timely guest and also probably a difficult one, since from the outside, it looks like a pretty short production timeline and I'd be surprised if the whole thing were done by late July – and I imagine her manager would figure what time she did have for PR would be most effectively spent domestically. But of course, that's just my idle speculation.

Second, Shouta Umehara has one more notable anime to his name: Bocchi the Rock! from last season. Bocchi isn't that popular here by objective standards compared to KiseKoi if "looking at the most popular page sorting on CR" is a valid measure of wide popularity, but it's made a pretty big impact within its niche, winning the popular vote in many categories of the r/anime awards. Of course after I made that post it was also announced that Aniplex is fast-tracking a sequel to KiseKoi, which is…aggressive and will probably be hell, and is probably preempting anything he and CloverWorks had planned after Bocchi, but otoh I'm sure he'd have been busy no matter what.

Third, Mitsuo Iso has one more show to his name as well: Do It Yourself!!, also from last season. You won't find him credited by name, but as I explain here, he's IMAGO. He created the concept rather than directed it. DIY!! continues many of Iso's thoughts about futurism and the relation mankind has to the materi- wait where are you going? I was just about to tell you about his concepts of "dynamic reasoning" versus "causal reasoning!" Come back!

-anyway, it's probably right on the border of being too late to take any of this into consideration even if one were so inclined, but my mind kept coming back to it.

Edited by Nate A.M.
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Pericles

Pericles 0

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Please request Yoh Yoshinari and Trigger again. Yoh Yoshinari specifically though, his live-drawing panels are the best. Also, the way he goes out of his way to give fans unique autographs is really nice. (Also trigger is on record for saying they’ll go to any con that pays their travel expenses!) 

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Gensnap-4

Gensnap-4 0

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Apologies for the late request, but please invite Patrick Pedraza as he would love to come to Otakon as a guest if you would be so kind! I recommend Patrick because of his hard work and dedication to his craft as well as the attention his stand would definitely give if he were to be a guest for Otakon.

 

Thus, this is my request for Patrick Pedraza (famous for his voice of ‘Lucky’ the Care Bear and ‘Scaramouche’ from Genshin Impact).

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Phe

Phe 0

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Would like to make a request for members of Holostars English, specifically Regis Altare and Axel Syrios!

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