The-O Network’s Jason Young and Theodore Mak had a chance to interview Japanese pop singer LiSA at Anime Expo 2012. LiSA, who is widely known for her work as the singing voice for Angel Beats!’s Yui and Fate/Zero’s opening “Oath/Sign” has released two Oricon-charting albums Letters to U and Lover"S"Mile to date, making her an up-and-coming J-pop sensation. We explore her love for Disney and her impressions of being in America for the first time in her career. Make sure to also check out her video shout out to The-O Network readers at the end!
This year's FanimeCon had an exciting line of guests and panels including Japanese designer Shigeto Koyama. He has worked on popular series such as Heroman, Panty & Stocking, Gurren Lagann, Evangelion, and Eureka Seven. Check out what he had to say as we discussed a little about his work on the popular mecha anime Star Driver along with some of his current works that he was unable to talk to us about during our previous interview!
Kia Asamiya is an unique artist who has worked on American comics such as Batman and X-Men. Back home in Japan, he has work on popular manga titles like Silent Mobius and Martian Successor Nadesico. While at this year's FanimeCon, we caught up with the man and discussed briefly about some of the differences between American and Japanese works and also a little about his current titles in Japan. Read also about his future projects such as the possible continuation on Silent Mobius!
Stereopony's been rocking the faces off of Japan since 2007 and we had the chance to be de-facificed ourselves at this years Sakura-Con. If you've enjoyed Mobile Suit Gundam 00 or Darker Than Black, you would probably recognize their music. These three girls have definitely made their mark in the J-Rock and anime world and there's no sign of them slowing down. Our very own Roger Lee sat down with them and talked a little bit about their career, their struggles, and the support they've received from fans friends and family alike.
Retsu Tateo (館尾冽) is a female Japanese mangaka best known for her illustrations in Full Metal Panic! She has followed the main story of series as closely as possible by collaborating with the author of the original light novels, Shoji Gatoh. Tateo-san is also the artist of her own manga, Endless Eden. At this year's Sakura-Con in Seattle, we had a chance to talk with Tateo-san discussing how she started working on Full Metal Panic!, her experience illustrating the series, and of course, her mascot frog.
Our very own Roger Lee was on the scene in Seattle last weekend at Sakura-Con 2012 for an exclusive roundtable interview with Nitroplus screenwriter Gen Urobuchi, producer Atsuhiro Iwakami and light novel publisher Katushi Ota. Given in a traditional round-robin interview format, we were joined by representatives from other press groups including SUTORAIKUanime, Radiant Dreamer, Within a Flash of Lightning, Japan-A-Radio, and Sankaku Complex.
We at T-ONO recently had a chance to interview NIS America producer Jack Niida at their annual press event in San Francisco. With the upcoming release of Atelier Meruru on the PlayStation 3 and Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention on the PlayStation Vita, a lot of fans are wondering what NISA has been up to these days. Here's what we found out.
Earlier this year, we had interviewed the creator of Cave Story, Daisuke Amaya at a press event hosted by NIS America. Amaya, who is also known as Pixel, had designed, programmed, and created the original game as a freeware PC game that featured classic 2D platforming mechanics.
With the new remake Cave Story 3D about to release just weeks away, hear what he had to say about the original game and the remake!
We here at T-ONO pride ourselves on covering unique and rare news items, and during my trip to San Diego Comic-Con 2011, I got the chance to do just that. After a weekend-long team effort, we finally landed an interview with the very awesome Shigeto Koyama. Koyama-san has worked in the Japanese animation industry as a designer, illustrator, and script writer. His most recognizable works include the mechanical designs for Star Driver and character designs for the 2010 anime series, Heroman created by Marvel Comics very own Stan Lee. Over the years, he has also worked on various series produced by Gainax studio including, Diebuster (Gunbuster 2), Gurren Lagann, and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.
Despite the communal sweat poured into making the interview happen, the entire process was a real treat. Koyama-san is a very easy-going guy and even with the impromptu circumstances our conversation was fun and informative. I hope you all enjoy the interview, and we definitely hope to catch him next time he's down in the U.S.A.!
Japanese artist Alpha made her first visit earlier this year to Anime Expo 2011 held in Los Angeles. Alpha is an illustrator for the visual novel company, Akabeisoft2 and has worked on the award winning game, G-Senjou no Maou (G線上の魔王). While some may have never heard of Alpha, a legion of American fans lined up to meet her at MangaGamer's booth.
Hear what Alpha had to say about her experience at Anime Expo, a little about how she got started into the industry, current projects she is working on, and a special message for all her American fans!
Japanese fashion designer, Gashicon was at FanimeCon 2011 which was held earlier this year at the San Jose Convention Center from May 27-30, 2011. Gashicon is also best known for her Hangry & Angry character brand which includes a comic published in the popular Cure Magazine and various merchandise such as clothes, plushies, and other accessories. See what she had to say in our video interview as she also gives us a quick tour of her booth at the show!
Japanese all female group Kalafina, made their second American appearance at Anime Expo from July 1-4, 2011. Consisting of vocalists, Keiko Kubota, Wakana Ōtaki, and Hikaru Masai, the group was originally formed to perform music for the anime adaptation of Kara no Kyokai (The Garden of Sinners), but their unique musical styling has lead them continue to this day. Their more recent music has appeared in the popular series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Hear what this trio had to say in our brief interview!
Ryusuke Hamamoto is a Japanese artist who is probably best known for his character design work on the Petit Eva: Evangelion@School series. Hamamoto-san has also adapted characters from popular anime series (To Love-Ru, K-ON!, Macross Frontier, etc.) for Bandai's figurine line, R-style named after himself.
In one of our most extensive interview, we discuss with Hamamoto-san at Kintoki-Con in Sacramento, some of the various aspects involved in designing characters, how he developed his own unique style, and his inspirations and American influences.
The new girl on the block, Japanese singer Maon Kurosaki made her first American debut in Los Angeles at Anime Expo 2011. Kurosaki-san started her career relatively recently in 2010, but she has provided her musical talents for some popular anime series such as High School of the Dead, and Toaru Majutsu no Index II. Kurosaki-san's growing popularity has landed her a spot this year at one of the world's largest anime themed concert, Animelo Summer Live held in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Hear about how Kurosaki-san started from working at an idol café, to her professional debut in our brief interview!