Press Release: Ai-Kon Announces First Round of Guests!
WINNIPEG, MB – February 19, 2010 – Ai-Kon is happy to announce it’s first round of guests, Monica Rial and Greg Ayres!
Monica Rial has been working in the anime voice over industry for 10 years. As an actress for ADV Films and Funimation Entertainment she has appeared in over 150 anime, some of which include; Tsubasa Chronicles (Sakura), Air TV (Misuzu), Air Gear (Simca), Azumanga Daioh (Nyamo), Burst Angel (Jo), DN Angel (Towa), Excel Saga (Hyatt), Full Metal Panic (Kyoko), Ghost Stories (Momoko), Gunslinger Girl (Angelica), Hello Kitty’s Animation Theater (Hello Kitty), Kiddy Grade (Lumiere), Negima (Konoka), Moon Phase (Hazuki), Nanaka 6/17 (Nanaka), Noir (Kirika), Princess Nine (Izumi), Rahxephon (Haruka), Macross (Misa), Speed Grapher (Kagura), Spiral (Rio), Steel Angel Kurumi (Saki) and Utawarerumono (Yuzuha). She can be heard on the Cartoon Network in Crayon Shinchan (Ai) and Fullmetal Alchemist (Lyra/Dante). She is also an ADR script adapter and director for FUNimation Entertainment.
Greg Ayres has been a guest at Ai-Kon for 2007, 2008 and will be returning this year for Ai-Kon 2010! The once “Fanboy” turned VA started working in anime a little over six years ago, and within the first two years managed to snag two of his favorite roles in all of anime. He was thrilled to voice the role of his favorite character Son Goku in Saiyuki. Then just one year later voiced Kaworu Nagisa in the Director’s Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Other roles include Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Negi Springfield in Negima, Heihachi in Samurai 7, Jr. in Xenosaga:The Animation, Satoshi Hiwatari in DNAngel, Pope Alessandro XVIII in Trinity Blood, Tsuyoshi in Kodocha, Leo in Ghost Stories , Tsujido in Speed Grapher, and Gau Ban in Shadow Skill. He can also be heard in other anime titles such as Super Gals, Spiral, Macross, Mythical Detective Loki, Burst Angel, Gravion, Godanner, Pretear, Full Metal Panic, E’s Otherwise and a whole lot more.
ABOUT AI-KON: Ai-Kon (http://www.ai-kon.org) is Manitoba’s largest anime convention. An all-ages event, the goal of Ai-Kon is the promotion of Japanese/Asian animation and culture to the public. Started in 2001 by a local anime club, Ai-Kon took a reorganizing hiatus in 2002. It returned in 2003 to become an autonomous event, run by an independent volunteer committee. “Ai” means “love” in Japanese, hence Ai-Kon’s slogan “For the Love of Anime”.
