FanCons.com Press Releases


December 6, 2007

News for AnimeNEXT 2008:

AnimeNEXT announces first guest for 2008 convention

Ayres' Appearance Only the First of Many Guest Announcements

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - December 5, 2007 - He's been a magician and a rock star, an enigmatic angel and an unrepentant devil. And starting on June 20, 2008 voice actor Greg Ayres will be making his Secaucus, New Jersey debut at the AnimeNEXT convention.

"I'm excited that Greg will be attending AnimeNEXT as a guest," said convention chairman Carlo Darcelin. "The attendees on our forums have been wanting to see him for years, and I'm glad that we're finally going to be able to make that happen."

In addition to signing autographs and participating in panels related to voice acting, Greg Ayres will also be showcasing his popular and controversial talks on the common myths and misconceptions behind fansubbing and the Japanese anime industry.

To find out more about Greg Ayres' anime voice over roles, you can go to his website (http://www.gregayres.com) or his MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/devil_monkey).

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ANIMENEXT ANNOUNCES FAN-FICTION AND FAN-COMIC CONTEST FOR FABULOUS PRIZES
Winners to Receive VIP Status at the 2008 Event

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - December 5, 2007 - Last year, they gave her a name. Now, this year, the AnimeNEXT attendees may also give its mascot Minae a life.

Universal Animation, Inc., the parent company of AnimeNEXT, is proud to sponsor a contest for all of its creative writing and/or artistic attendees by offering them the chance to tell Minae's story--in their own words and images.

Starting on January 1, 2008 interested attendees can either choose between writing a 1,000 word short original story or a single page of original comic sequential art with Minae in the leading role. The winners of the contest in each category will have their work published in the AnimeNEXT 2008 Program Guide as well as receive VIP status at the 2008 convention, held between June 20 and June 22.

"Many of our attendees are also writers or creators of fan-fic or dojinshi," stated director of publicity Trisha L. Sebastian. "Harnessing their creative talent to help promote our convention and flesh out Minae as a character seems like a win-win situation for everyone!"

The green-haired cyberninja was originally created by Meridith Mulroney for the 2001-2002 convention. Other artists such as Lisa Lahmut and current AnimeNEXT staff artist Ben Rodriguez have influenced her style in recent years, while Kelly Johnston provided her with a name in the 2007 contest.

Complete contest rules, deadlines, entry forms, and all stipulations will be available at http://www.animenext.org/contest starting January 1, 2008.

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ABOUT ANIMENEXT:
AnimeNEXT is the oldest-continuing New Jersey and New York City-area anime convention. Located at the Meadowlands Expo Center and the Holiday Inn in Secaucus, NJ, AnimeNEXT is only minutes from New York City. AnimeNEXT is June 20-22, 2008. Come out to see the latest anime titles in our 24-hour video rooms, check out the latest manga in our Manga Library, and see what's playing in the video game room. AnimeNEXT will also feature industry guests, voice actors, music videos, anime game shows, artist's alley, the art show, cosplay and a whole lot more. If you want to keep up-to-date with the latest in AnimeNEXT 2008 news, check out our website at www.animenext.org. It is that simple! We'll see you in June!

ABOUT UNIVERSAL ANIMATION:
Universal Animation is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting anime and manga in the United States. Founded in NYC in 2002, the company organizes the AnimeNEXT and MangaNEXT conventions to aid in its goals.

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