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Otakon Hosts Anime Director Sunao Katabuchi, Game Director Jirō Ishii
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Otakon announced on Wednesday that anime director Sunao Katabuchi and video game director Jirō Ishii will attend the August 8-10 convention in Baltimore.
Katabuchi worked with famed Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki on Sherlock Hound and Kiki's Delivery Service before directing his own series, Meiken Lassie. He went on to direct the Black Lagoon action anime series and its original video anime Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail, as well as the Mai Mai Miracle and Princess Arete anime films.
Otakon notes that Katabuchi is currently "hard at work on his new film." The director was most recently tied to the anime film of the manga To All The Corners Of The World (Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni) at the studio MAPPA.
Ishii is a video game director who has worked at both Chunsoft and LEVEL-5. He directed the 428: In a Blockaded Shibuya visual novel at Chunsoft which in turn inspired the CANAAN television anime. He worked as a producer on the Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors mystery visual novel, and the Imabikiso, and the 3-Nen B-Gumi Kinpachi Sensei video games.
Previously announced guests include musical group ALTIMA, Evangelion animation director Hidenori Matsubara, voice actress Saori Hayami, manga artist and character designer Yūsuke Kozaki (Donyatsu, Fire Emblem: Awakening) and Eminence Symphony Orchestra founder Hiroaki Yura.
