[Anime Cons] ANIME EXPO® 2008 ANNOUNCES FIRST JAPANESE GUEST OF HONOR
- 12th March , 2008 by KNDY in Anime Related News
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ANIME EXPO® 2008 ANNOUNCES FIRST JAPANESE GUEST OF HONOR
Nation¹s Largest Convention Welcomes Famed Pokemon Director
Anaheim, California (March 12, 2008) ‹ Famed director Masamitsu Hidaka is
the first addition to the hottest line up of Anime Expo® 2008 Guests of
Honor for the highly anticipated 2008 convention July 3-6, 2008 at the Los
Angeles Convention Center. More information can be found on the website
www.anime-expo.org <http://www.anime-expo.org> .
Mr. Hidaka was led to the world of animation during his job search efforts
after unfortunately loosing his job at an architecture design office in
Fukuoka. Upon discovering his new career path, Mr. Hidaka moved to Tokyo
and began his career as a production runner for an animation studio. Soon
after, Mr. Hidaka made his debut as assistant director in DIRTY PAIR then
later as the action director and storyboard artist in the OVA KIKO SENKI
DRAGONAR. Mr. Hidaka was also in charge of action choreography and
storyboards for the notable title MASHIN EIYUUDEN WATARU 2. Mr. Hidaka made
his directorial debut with the animated television series JUU SENSHI
GARUKIBA. Since then Mr. Hidaka has worked on other highly acclaimed titles
including the POKEMON television and theatrical franchise, MOBILE SUIT
GAUNDAM WING (TV), AFTER WAR GUNDAM X (TV) and BRAVE KING GAOGAIGAR (TV).
Currently, Mr. Hidaka is working as the Director for the highly anticipated
GONZO television series LINEBARRELS OF IRON.
³I feel very lucky that GONZO offered me (the opportunity) to direct
LINEBARRELS OF IRON(,) because when they came to me with this title, I was
just looking for a mecha-anime to work on² states Mr. Hidaka. Upon
reflection of his career in animation, Mr. Hidaka states ³I was one of those
lucky souls who (was) involved in the production of mecha-anime in the 80¹s
and 90¹s when (the) genre was at its prime. Although the trend in today¹s
anime is character-oriented, I had been asking myself how I would be able to
reassert mecha-anime without compromising marketability. I agreed to work
on LINEBARRELS OF IRON because I saw it as the perfect chance to try doing
just that. I hope to make a cool mecha-anime but add somewhat cute elements
too.²
Attendees, Press and Industry Members are also encouraged to view the video
coverage site of the 2007 convention at www.AXBackstage.org.
About Anime Expo®
Located in Los Angeles, California - Anime Expo®, the nation¹s largest
anime/manga convention, serves to foster trade, commerce and the interests
of the general public and animation/ comics industry. This event serves as
a key meeting place for the general public to express their interest and
explore various aspects of anime/manga, as well as for members of the
industry to conduct business. AX 2008 will be held July 3 July 6, 2008 at
the Los Angeles Convention Center in Southern California. More information
can be found at its website (www.anime-expo.org).
About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit
organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public
about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate
communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more
popularly known by its entertainment property Anime Expo®. More
information can be found at its website (www.spja.org <http://www.spja.org>
).
