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Anime Expo to Host Satelight's Thomas Romain, LeSean Thomas
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Anime Expo announced on Friday that Japanese anime studio Satelight's Thomas Romain (pictured right) and LeSean Thomas (pictured below left) will attend this year's convention. They will host a panel about their Cannon Busters animation project and participate in autograph sessions.
The Cannon Busters project updated its Kickstarter page last month to confirm that production began at Satelight (Macross Frontier, Log Horizon, Basquash!). Thomas is creating, writing, and directing the project as an adaptation of his original Cannon Busters comic book series. Romain is providing mechanical designs. The project reached its US$120,000 Kickstarter goal last November.
Romain created the French animated series Code Lyoko and directed and provided character designs for the French-Japanese series Oban Star-Racers. The Tokyo-based French animator's work on Oban Star-Racers caught the attention of Satelight director Shōji Kawamori. Romain joined Satelight and co-created Basquash! with Kawamori. Romain then created a team of French animators to provide designs for anime including Aquarion Evol, Bodacious Space Pirates, Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth - The Animation , AKB0048, and Senki Zesshō Symphogear. He also provided main mechanical and spaceship designs for both seasons of the television anime series Space Dandy.
Thomas is a New York native and television animation producer, director, and illustrator based in Los Angeles. He plans to release a Cannon Busters pilot this fall or winter. While developing Cannon Busters, Thomas spent several years working in South Korea as an animation production and storyboard artist.
Anime Expo will also host light novel illustrator Luna Tsukigami, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni creator Ryukishi07, Guilty Gear game developer Daisuke Ishiwatari, Spice & Wolf light novel author Isuna Hasekura, and voice actors Ben Diskin and Kyle Hebert.
This year's Anime Expo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 2 to July 5.
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