Madhouse Inc. « Omoshiroi Blog

Anime Midwest announced on Monday that the LeetStreet Boys will be performing at the convention next month. Other guest appearances will be voice actor Micah Solusod. Anime Midwest will be taking place from July 15th to the 17 at the Phesant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL. For more information visit animemidwest.com.

MADHOUSE’s Producer Masao Maruyama and director Sunao Katabuchi will be appearing at AM2 this year. AM2 will be taking place from July 1st to the 3rd at the Anaheim Convention Center. For more information visit am2con.org.

Anime Expo announced on Wednesday that it Stephanie Yanez and Dig Jelly will be performing at Club Nokia during the weekend of the convention. Taking place July 2nd it will take place from 9 PM to 2 AM and is open to all attendees. Anime Expo will be taking place from July 1st to the 4th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For more information visit anime-expo.org.

Wendee Lee will be appearing at Anime USA this November according to a press release that came out on Thursday. Known best for her role as Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop, her voice acting range has also led her to such as Konata from Lucky Star and Tina from Ai Yori Aoshi. Anime Usa will be taking place on November 18th to the 20th at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington VA. For more information visitanimeusa.org.

Kaos Studios, the developers behind Homefront has closed shop according to Gamasutra. THQ told the webzine that this was part of a “strategic realignment. THQ went on to say that they are actively hiring at the Montreal and Austin studios, which lended a hand in making Homefront, and employees from the shuttered studios will have an opportunity to interview for both.

A telecom employee from Shanghai named Wang Kang is apparently a very big Iron Man fan. According to The Telegraph, Mr. Kang went to work in a replica of the Mark 1 suit, and scarred the crap out of his fellow workers. The suit took three months to make and is made up of high density foam wires and tubes, and weighs around 112 lbs.

Today Otakon and Madhouse made two big announcements. First they announced that Director Masao Maruyama will be returning to Otakon this year, followed by the announcement that they will be featuring an original anime short that will premiere during opening ceremonies.

Since graduating from Hosei University in 1963. Mr. Maruyama has been involved in the anime industry for almost forty years. He helped establish Madhouse Ltd. in 1972, and about was later inducted into the board of directors in 1980. Being personally responsible for green lighting the projects at the studio, he has helped create titles such as Barefoot Gen, Vampire Hunter D, Trigun, Perfect Blue, and many more.

The studio and convention then sent out another press release officially stating that Madhouse will be releasing another animated short that will premiere at opening ceremonies. Although the short from last year was considered a hit, there were some legal issues the soon followed. This year the convention hoping to play it a bit more safe. Jim Vowles from Otakon’s Guest Relations had this to say:

Last year, we threw in everything but the kitchen sink, and somehow they put most of it in…

..The end result was loaded with in-jokes and geek references but the animators had a bit too much fun making it, and some of the parodies were a little close for comfort. We’re hoping to avoid some of that this time around, without sacrificing any of the fun.”

Although they are concerned about legal reprimands regarding using the likenesses of various characters, there is currently an effort to get the okay to make the short available.

The convention will be taking place at the Baltimore Convention Center. From July 17 – 19. For more information go to otakon.com.

Omoshiroi Blog

Covering J-Pop and Beyond!

Madhouse Inc.

Weekend Update June 18

Big News from Otakon and Madhouse Inc.