LOS ANGELES (June 9, 2011) -- Anime Expo, North America’s largest anime and manga celebration, has announced voice actors Toshiyuki Morikawa and Taliesin Jaffe at its latest Guests of Honor, when it returns to the LA Convention Center from July 1 - 4, 2011.  Fans will have an opportunity to see and hear from both of these prolific artists during a meet-and-greet, autograph signing and focus panel.  In addition, half-time at the Masquerade competition will feature Mr. Morikawa in a live voice-over demonstration.

During his career as a voice actor, Toshiyuki Morikawa has lent his talents to a long list of popular anime series and video games.  He has also been the Japanese voice of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves and Adam Sandler in feature films and most recently as Will Schuester from the popular TV show “Glee.”

Morikawa’s credits include roles in highly recognizable anime series including “After War Gundam X,” “Berserk,” “Black Lagoon,” “Bleach,” “Digimon Adventure 02,” “Last Exile,” “Naruto,” “Pokemon, “Star Wars: Clone Wars,” “ Yu-Gi-Yo!,” “X-MEN,” “One Piece,” “Super Robot Wars” and many, many  more.  He has also been featured in the world of electronic entertainment with roles such as the infamous Sephiroth of the “Final Fantasy”  video game franchise and Heishiro Mitsurugi in the “Soulcalibur” franchise.  In 2011, Mr. Morikawa expanded his involvement in the business founding the voice actor company Axlone.

Taliesin Jaffe started his career as a child actor appearing in films such as “Mr. Mom,” “2010” and “Explorers,” and television shows such as “She’s the Sheriff,” “Amazing Stories” and “The Facts of Life.”   After a brief adventure living in Japan, he began working in the world of anime and video games.   As a voice actor, Mr. Jaffe has portrayed characters such as Blanka and Adon (“Street Fighter IV”), Darion Mograine, Admiral Ripsnarl and the Devourer of Souls (“World of Warcraft”), Edge (“Final Fantasy IV”), The Flash (“Mortal Kombat vs. DC”), Takeya (“DearS”), Joe (“Speed Grapher”), Hatomura (“Paranoia Agent”), Hanasho (“Girls Bravo”), Kenkichi (“Kamichu!”), and Rufus (“Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria”) to name a few.

He is also known as a director and script adaptor and has been involved with the production of shows such as “Hellsing,” “ROD the TV,” “Hellgirl,” “The End of Evangelion,” and “Monster.” He has directed the English voice over for many games including the “Street Fighter IV” series, “Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes,” and “Marvel vs. Capcom 3.” Taliesin has won numerous awards for his efforts, and is currently working on no less then three secret projects about which he may not utter the slightest word.

In addition to these new guests, the roster of Anime Expo 2011 Guests of Honor includes Japanese pop trio Kalafina; singing sensation Maon Kurosaki; Japanese TV Host and blogger Danny Choo; voice actress and singer Miyuki Sawashiro; voice actors Vic Mignogna; electronic dance act Nirgilis; anime director Seiji Mizushima; video game developer Sohei Niikawa; Crypton Future Media CEO Hiroyuki Itoh and Producer Wataru Sasaki; Vocaloid songwriter Onyx Kobayashi and manga artists Izumi Matsumoto and Fred Gallagher. Anime Expo has also announced Hatsune Miku as its first ever Virtual Guest of Honor.  Themed the “Year of the Fan,” Anime Expo 2011 will fully immerse guests into the world of Japanese animation, manga (comic books), music and fashion. Anime Expo is a non-stop marathon of Japanese pop culture that’s been likened to Halloween in July.

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About Anime Expo

Held annually in Los Angeles, Anime Expo is North America’s largest anime and manga celebration. Anime Expo gives fans the rare opportunity to meet and hear from some of the most famous anime, manga and musical artists from Japan and get into the action through everything from costume play, karaoke and video competitions to exclusive screenings, non-stop video gaming competitions and the wildly popular Masquerade, in which fans transform themselves into their favorite characters through creative costuming, accessories and make-up and put on their own show before an audience of thousands.   AX 2011 will be held July 1 – July 4, 2011 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. To register or for more information, please visit www.anime-expo.org.

About the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation

The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is 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®.   For more information, please visit www.spja.org.