Anime Expo announced on Wednesday that Japanese seiyuus, voice actresses, Yui Horie and Eri Kitamura will be joining as Guests of Honor this year to promote the American release of Toradora! Horie has worked on the anime adaptation of Love Hina as Naru Narusegawa, and more recently as Tsubasa Hanekawa from Bakemonogatari. Kitamura has voiced Saya Otonashi from Blood+, Rin Kokonoe from Kodomo no Jikan, and more recently, Yachiyo Todoroki from Working!! We had somewhat hinted both guests' attendance previously. With already an impressive lineup, we can promise you that Anime Expo still has a few surprise guests up their sleeves. Stay tuned... Press release inside.
Anaheim, CA – May 26, 2010 – Anime Expo® is pleased to announce today that Japanese voice actresses Yui Horie and Eri Kitamura will be official Guests of Honor at its July convention. Anime Expo, North America’s largest anime and manga convention, is scheduled for July 1 – 4, 2010, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Yui Horie and Eri Kitamura will participate in attendee panels, meet-and-greets and autograph sessions.
Yui Horie and Eri Kitamura come to Anime Expo in a joint appearance to promote their work in the upcoming North American release of Toradora!, an anime published by NIS America, Inc. Ms. Horie and Ms. Kitamura voice the roles of Minori Kushieda and Ami Kawashima, respectively.
Yui Horie has been an integral part of the voice acting industry since her debut. She has been featured in more than 125 popular anime titles, including Love Hina (Naru Narusegawa), Fruits Basket (Toru Honda), School Rumble (Eri Sawachika) and Negima! (Makie Sasaki). Also an accomplished singer, Ms. Horie has performed the theme song for anime titles such as Toradora!, Love Hina Again and Otoboku.
Eri Kitamura found success in her first major role as Saya Otonashi in the anime Blood+. Soon after, her list of credits grew to include several well-known anime titles, most notably Minami-ke (Yuka Uchida), Ga-Rei -Zero- (Natsuki Kasuga), Queen’s Blade (Alleyne) and Kodomo no Jikan (Rin Kokonoe).