Crispin Freeman
Voice Actor/ADR Director

Crispin Freeman has been portraying characters in animation, anime and video games for over 10 years. He got his start in anime playing Zelgadis Graywords in "The Slayers". Since then he's played such famous roles as: Alucard in "Hellsing" and "Hellsing Ultimate"; Itachi in "Naruto"; Rude in "Final Fantasy: Advent Children"; Prince Turnip in "Howl's Moving Castle"; Tsume in "Wolf's Rain"; Kyon in "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"; Alan Gabriel in "The Big O"; Duskmon/Koichi in "Digimon"; Holland in "Eureka 7"; Haji and Van Argeno in "Blood+"; Amon in "Witch Hunter Robin"; Alex Rowe in "Last Exile"; and Togusa in "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", "Innocence" and "Solid State Society".

He's currently portraying Jeremiah Gottwald in "Code Geass", Reishin in "Kurokami" and the cross-dressing Shinto priest, Genbatsu Edo in "Ghost Slayers Ayashi". He's also directed and starred in "Scrapped Princess", "I, My, Me, Strawberry Eggs" and "Space Travellers". He's worked as a script adaptor on the shows he's directed as well as for Pokemon, Witch Hunter Robin, Shamanic Princess, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Assemble Insert, Weather Report Girl and Boogie Pop Phantom.

In American Animation, he stars as Electro in the new "Spectacular Spider-Man" series, Multiple Man in "Wolverine and the X-men" and he also played Sylla and Mr. Riddle in the Disney show "W.I.T.C.H."

In video games he's played the voice of Doctor Manhattan in "Watchmen"; Superman in "Justice League: Heroes"; King Leonidas in "300"; Baldur in "Too Human"; Winter Soldier and Dark Colossus in "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance"; Albedo in the "Xenosaga" trilogy; and Will Turner in "Kingdom Hearts II" and all the Pirates of the Caribbean games.

Crispin has acted theatrically on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theater and Off-Broadway at the Blue Light Theater and Irish Repertory Theater in New York. He has also performed at numerous regional theaters such as The American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA, the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, the Alley Theater in Houston, TX and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

He originally hails from Chicago, Illinois and Livingston, Montana. He got his undergraduate degree from Williams College where he majored in Theater and minored in Computer Science. Afterwards he went to Columbia University's Graduate Theater School where he got his Masters of Fine Arts in Acting. He's watched anime since he was a child, growing up on Speed Racer, Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Voltron and Robotech and is so happy to be working on animation as an adult.

You can find out more about him on his website: http://www.crispinfreeman.com

Kikuko Inoue
Seiyuu

Inoue is perhaps best known for portraying goddess Belldandy in the perennially-popular Oh My Goddess. Indeed, she is so identified with that character that later chapters of the manga adapted the character’s speaking style to Inoue’s. The role is quite similar to one of her earlier roles, that of older sister Kasume Tendou in Ranma 1/2. Inoue’s voice lends itself to reserved, mature, domestic, and regal characters. Her characters are frequently islands of calm and sanity amidst the rampant chaos. Other prominent roles have included Rune Venus in El-Hazard and Kazami Mizuho in Onegai Teacher. In both cases, she played a strong but compassionate leader.

Occasionally, Inoue plays against type as a sultry, aggressive flirt: the dancer Corvette in Idol Project and sex-crazed nurse Ruko Tatase in the infamous hentai Ogenki Clinic are two such roles. She’s also taken villainous turns, such as Alv in Kiddy Grade and Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist.

As one of the industry’s more prolific actresses, the always-in-demand Inoue has had a role in many fan favorites over the years, including Electra in Nadia: Secret of Blue Water, Seira Mimori in Saint Tail, Inuyasha’s mother Izayoi in Inuyasha, Caridad Yamato in Gundam Seed, Cecile in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Sanae Furukawa in Clannad, Grace O’Connor in Macross Frontier, Panther in Saber Marionette J, and Miria in Claymore. She’s also featured in many video games, including Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and 4; Guilty Gear; Sakura Taisen 3 and 4, and the Super Robot Wars series.

Inoue has a thriving fanbase in Japan, where she is known as “Onee-chan” (big sister), thanks to her prominent roles of that sort. A shared joke among her fans is that when she is asked about her age, she always smiles and claims to be 17 years old – a claim she has made for many years.

Noboru Ishiguro
Director/Producer

Director, producer, and president of Artland, Noboru Ishiguro joins us for his first visit to Otakon. Ishiguro most notably formed a Hawaiian band in college and played the ukulele there. He in fact had offers to go pro, but thankfully, he chose an anime career instead. As director, some of his notable titles are Space Battleship Yamato (first series and first two movies), Macross (original TV series and Do You Remember Love), Megazone 23, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Tytania. Ishiguro wrote the story for Megazone 23 based on his personal experience of having seen how easily the government mechanism can make the public believe distorted truths and motivating them into war out of its own agenda.

Ishiguro founded his studio Artland and still runs it as president after its acquisition by Marvelous Entertainment.

Yukio Kikukawa
Producer

Producer Yukio Kikukawa has invested over a decade of his career producing the 162 episodes and 3 features of the epic Legend of the Galactic Heroes. His most recently producers the 26-episode series Tytania, another space opera based on the books by LoGH author Yoshiki Tanaka. As a rare member of the Japanese anime industry from an American style fandom background (a science fiction convention-goer), he achieved the status of alpha fan when he chaired Anime Expo Tokyo in 2004.

Masao Maruyama
Producer

The founder of Madhouse Studios, Masao Maruyama has had a hand in the Japanese animation industry for almost forty years. Maruyama-san was born in 1941 in the Miyagi Prefecture. After graduation from Hosei University in 1963, he went to work as an animator for Mushi Production. He later went on to help produce Unico, based on a story by Osamu Tezuka, of Astro Boy fame. In 1972, Maruyama-san had a direct hand in the establishment of the burgeoning new animation studio MADHOUSE, and in 1980 he was inducted into the board of directors.

No matter the wide range of mediums in which Madhouse Studios deals including television, OAV, and theatrical release, Maruyama brings the same level of quality to every production. Regardless of the subject matter, Madhouse always brings something new to the table, and he is internationally known for exceptional animation. Maruyama is also acknowledged for his eye in finding young talent to bring into Madhouse; under his creative guidance, talents like Satoshi Kon and Atsuko Ishizuka have flourished.

Since Madhouse's inception, Maruyama-san has produced an amazing library of animation including Barefoot Gen, Dagger of Kamui, Record of Lodoss Wars, Urusei Yatsura, Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Cardcaptor Sakura, Trigun, Perfect Blue, X, Boogiepop Phantom, Chobits, PitaTen, Abenobashi Maho Shotengai, Ninja Scroll, Dragon Drive, Gungrave, Gunslinger Girl, Black Lagoon, Kiba, Nana, Tokyo Tribe 2, Beck, Monster, Highlander: Search for Vengeance, Devil May Cry, Death Note, and the upcoming Red Line. Currently Madhouse is producing Stitch!, a project very close to Maruyama's heart.

As Madhouse continues to produce shows popular in Japan and overseas, Maruyama has also overseen production of critically acclaimed films such as Paprika and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

One of Otakon's few recurring guests, and a longtime friend of the convention, Masao Maruyama returns for his seventh visit to Baltimore.

Madhouse official website: http://www.madhouse.co.jp

Hidenori Matsubara
Animator

We're pleased to welcome character designer, illustrator and animator Hidenori Matsubara, perhaps best known for his character design work on the Oh My Goddess! OAV series and the Sakura Wars games.

As a young and hungry animator, Matsubara worked as an in-betweener on the Project A-Ko movies. From there, he served as an animator on Bubblegum Crisis and Gunbuster. Graduating to animation director for Nadia: Secret of Blue Water, he then completed the opening animation for Bubblegum Crash, and then served as animation director on Otaku no Video (the inspiration behind Otakon). Other credits in this period include work as an animator on Perfect Blue, Gunsmith Cats, and the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series. For the Oh My Goddess series (and later for the movie), Matsubara served as character designer and chief animation director; more recently, he was character designer for the Count of Monte Cristo. He also served as the character designer of the hit game series Sakura Wars.

Currently, Matsubara is working under Hideaki Anno as an animator and animation director on the new series of Evangelion movies.

Mike McFarland
ADR/Voice Director & Voice Actor

McFarland got his start in anime as one of the first voice actors in Texas to be hired by FUNimation Productions in 1997, and has since moved on to become a director, script writer, and line producer for numerous anime series.

Notable roles include Master Roshi, Yajirobe, Android #8 and Pui-Pui in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, Baby and Baby-Vegeta in Dragon Ball GT, Goemon in Lupin The Third (Movie Specials), Ritsu Sohma in Fruits Basket, Lt. Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Cain in Trinity Blood, Buggy the Clown in One Piece, “Ranka” Fujioka in Ouran High School Host Club, Tybalt in Romeo x Juliet, Leo in Burst Angel, Bruce J. Speed in Galaxy Railways, as well as various roles in Yu Yu Hakusho, Nerima Daikon Brothers, Kodocha, Desert Punk, Black Cat, Kiddy Grade, and many others.

As an ADR/Voice Director, McFarland has worked on such series and films as Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror Of Shamballa, Dragon Ball Z, Vexille, Yu Yu Hakusho, Mushi-Shi, Case Closed, Dragon Ball, Galaxy Railways, Trinity Blood, and Evangelion: You Are (Not) Alone. ADR scriptwriting credits include Fullmetal Alchemist, Kodocha, Trinity Blood, Solty Rei, Mushi-Shi, and the uncut versions of Dragon Ball Z.

McFarland is also an accomplished improv comedian, musician, and has appeared in numerous commercials and independent films, including The Rage Within, House Of The Generals, Placebo, and the award-winning Shtickmen. For more information, check out his web site: www.mikemcfarland.com.

Mike appears courtesy of FUNimation. Look for him at their booth and panels.

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Voice Actor/ADR Director

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn has been a staple involved in almost every aspect of the domestic Japanese animation and the gaming industries. Over the course of her eleven year career, she's been a voice actress, script writer, singer and voice director. As an actress, her most famous role is that of Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost In The Shell movies Innocence and Solid State Society and the television series Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. For her portrayal of the title character in Stand Alone Complex she won the American Anime Award for Best Actress. Some of her other popular roles include Cornelia in Code Geass, Kurenai in Naruto, Julia in Cowboy Bebop, Helba and Bordeaux from the .hack series, Lady Jagura from Wolf's Rain and Caroline from the original Vampire Hunter D film.

As a voice director, Mary Elizabeth has directed all 3 Naruto Movies as well as the Naruto series for which she received the 2008 SPJA Award for Best Director. Among her many other directing credits are the Cowboy Bebop series and the following movie Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Wolf's Rain, and the Appleseed film. She also served as a co-writer for the American adaptation of Metropolis.

For the gaming industry, Mary Elizabeth has had the great honor of singing to the music of composer Akira Yamaoka for the movie Silent Hill as well as many of the Silent Hill games, including: 3, 4, 5, Origins, and Homecoming. She also has directed the voice work for Ace Combat Zero and 6, Soul Calibur Legends, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Devil May Cry 3 and 4, Spyhunter, the Naruto: Clash of Ninja and Ultimate Ninja series, as well being second director for Kung Fu Panda game.

Currently, you can catch Mary Elizabeth's work as a voice director across a wide variety of titles and industries. She currently directing the Naruto: Shippuden series. She's done the voice direction for Capcom's Resident Evil: Degeneration film and soon-to-be released Resident Evil 5. Mary Elizabeth directed Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Perlman as well as the rest of the original cast in the recently released Afro Samurai game. She is also currently directing the original animated series Gormiti.

Misako Rocks!
Comic Artist

Misako Rocks! developed a love for comics and manga at an early age and drew her first comic at the age of 13. She moved to New York in 2001 and worked as a a puppeteer, face painter, animal balloon maker, and art teacher while still developing her own work.

Recently she scored a three-book deal with Henry Holt: Detective Jermain series. Detective Jermain vol1 was released in 2008. Her first book BIKER GIRL(2006) and second one Rock and Roll Love(2007) which was picked as one of best teens book lists by NY public library were published by Hyperion. Besides these books, she wrote scripts for Archie comics and ran stories for weekly kids comic magazine DFC in UK: Peach de Punch! Also she's drawn illustrations for now famous column "Savage Love" of THE ONION newspaper about 10 years.

She's often invited to schools,libraries and anime festivals to give a speech and do manga workshops in Japan, Europe and America!

She has been featured in many magazines and newspapers, including Elle Girl and the New York Times. The BBC also featured her in a documentary about comic book creators. On top of that, she has recently received the Venice Beach, LA Playwright award!

Misako currently lives in Brooklyn, New York and spends her free time riding her vintage bike, making hip hop, kissing babies, shaking hands, slam dunking and eating lots of Onigiri !!!

Check her websites for details: http://www.misakorocks.com

Tony Oliver
Voice Actor/ADR Director/Writer/Producer

For more than 25 years, Tony Oliver has acted on stage and on camera, but his real success has been in voiceover work -- starting with "The Sea Prince and the Fire Child", the first foreign-made animated feature to get wide release in the US. His resumé spans many diverse and well-loved roles and series from the past several years, and an increasing number of video games. Along the way, he's spent nearly as much time writing, directing, and producing as he's spent acting. For over 10 years he wrote and produced various series for Saban Entertainment, eventually producing (and writing, directing, and promoting) the hit sentai adaptation MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS.

From the title role in LUPIN THE 3RD: THE MOVIE - THE SECRET OF MAMO to ROBOTECH's Rick Hunter to Sorata Arisugawa in the X TV series, Mr. Oliver's career includes a part in just about every genre - including sentai (he was the voice of Saba, the White Ranger's talking saber in MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS)! In addition to those, however, Mr. Oliver can be heard in LAST EXILE, RUROUNI KENSHIN, BLEACH, LUCKY STAR, EYESHIELD 21, WOLF'S RAIN and MAHOROMATIC, among others.

More recent projects include GURREN LAGANN, .hack//GU, EUREKA SEVEN.

Mr. Oliver appears courtesy of BangZoom Entertainment.

Frederik L. Schodt
Translator/Author

Frederik L. Schodt is a writer, translator, and conference interpreter, based in the San Francisco Bay area. He has written widely on Japanese history, popular culture, and technology. Among his better known works are Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics (Kodansha International, 1983), Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia (Kodansha International, 1988), America and the Four Japans: Friend, Foe, Model, Mirror (Stone Bridge Press, 1993), and Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga (Stone Bridge Press, 1996).

His writings on manga, and his translations of them, helped trigger the current popularity of Japanese comics in the English-speaking world, and in 2000 resulted in his being awarded the Special Category of the Asahi Shimbun's prestigious Osamu Tezuka Culture Award. In the same year, his translation of Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama's 1931 pioneering graphic novel, The Four Immigrants Manga, was selected as a finalist for the Pen West USA translation award.

His latest book, The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution, was published by Stone Bridge Press in 2007.

In 2009, Fred was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, for his work in helping to promote Japan's popular culture overseas.

Fred's website is http://www.jai2.com

Travis Willingham
Voice Actor

We're pleased to welcome popular voice actor Travis Willingham to Otakon!

Willingham has worked in stage, TV, and film, but is best known in the anime world for his character Colonel Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist, one of his very first roles in anime. He has since gone on to work on many other popular titles in both Texas and Los Angeles.

His anime credits include Kanda (D. Gray~Man), Pierre (Aquarion), Badrick Serihan (Black Blood Brothers), Andreas Darlton (Code Geass), Iggy (Ergo Proxy), Kaiji (GunxSword), Cleo (Glass Fleet), Ginko (Mushishi), Portgas D. Ace (One Piece), Leon (Vexille), Takigawa (Ghost Hunt), Eustoma (Shuffle), Yanagisawa (Yu Yu Hakusho), as well as other roles in Hellsing Ultimate, Case Closed, Blue Gender, Dragonball Z, GT, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue, Mermaid Forrest, and The Melody of Oblivion.

After moving to Los Angeles in 2004, Willingham began working on numerous feature films, as well as continuing to work in ADR voice over. Some of his on-screen credits include Secondhand Lions, Ray, Friday Night Lights, Prison-A-Go-Go, The Guardian, and A Perfect Getaway, which will be in theatres nationwide this August. He has also worked on CBS' Cold Case, FX's Nip/Tuck, and Fox's Prison Break.

His video game credits include: Guile (Street Fighter 4), Nathan Hale (Resistance 2), Torgal (The Last Remnant), Clint (Tales of Vesperia), Zhang Liao/Zhou Tai (Dynasty Warriors 6), Evan Bernard (Time Crisis 4), Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist games: Dual Sympathy, Broken Angel, and Curse of the Crimson Elixir), Yodai Higashizawa (The World Ends With You), Gabriel Celeste (Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria), Stroud (Dawn of Mana), Portgas D. Ace (One Piece: Grand Battle), Armored Core: For Answer, Legendary, and Guitar Hero World Tour.

His newest role will be playing The Hulk and The Human Torch in Marvel's new animated series, Marvel Superhero Squad.

Yutaka Yamamoto
Director

Otakon is pleased to welcome innovative director Yutaka Yamamoto to Otakon 2009.

Director and animator Yutaka Yamamoto was born in Osaka, Japan in 1974. After graduating from Kyoto University's Literature Department, he worked for Kyoto Animation and then Animation Do, eventually starting his own independent studio, Ordet. He's known for his detailed direction, and his use of live-action film techniques.

Yamamoto has worked as an animator, storyboard artist, and episode director on several anime TV series including Hare+Guu, Atashinchi, Full Metal Panic?Fumoffu, and AIR. In 2006, Yamamoto served as series director and writer for the smash hit The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

After stepping up to full directorial duties with 2007's Lucky Star, his most recent work is Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens.