English Cast of Kill La Kill to Be Featured at Otakon

Baltimore, MD (June 30, 2014) – In a move that's sure to please anime fans, Otakorp Inc. is adding the voice actors of the English dub of Kill la Kill to the guest list for Otakon 2014. Erica Mendez, Carrie Keranen, Christine Cabanos and David Vincent were recently announced by Aniplex as the dub cast, and this will be the first time fans can see them together to talk about their roles in the series.

Mendez, who was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, plays vagrant schoolgirl, Ryuko Matoi, in Kill la Kill. She became interested in voice-over during her early teen years through anime and video games. Making up and imitating voices from her favorite shows and games as a hobby quickly turned into long-term goal to get into the voice-over industry. Several years and one giant move across the country later, she is working as a professional voice-over artist. Like the rest of the cast, she works in Los Angeles. In the anime world, she is best known for her roles as Aladdin in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic; and Jasmine, young Staz, and Angry in Blood Lad. Her video game works include Pac in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Fran in Demon Gaze, Eryn in Fairy Fencer F, Micie in Atelier Escha & Logy, Lucchini in The Witch and the Hundred Knight, Corbin in Dust: An Elysian Tail, Pearl in Heroes of Newerth, and Esmy in Cryamore.

Keranen plays Ryuko's rival, Satsuki, in Kill la Kill. She's also known for her role of Mami in Madoka Magica. Last summer she reprised her role as Caska in Berserk for the movie trilogy. In 2012 she went to San Diego ComicCon to premiere Tekken: Blood Vengeance as Ling Xiaoyu. She has previously given voice to Mokuba for the later seasons of YuGiOh as well as Kisara in YuGiOh Millenium. She has had lead roles as Cutie Honey in the live action Cutie Honey, Kumiko in Gokusen, Hinaku in Phoenix (Hi no Tori) and as Sheena in Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life. Her voice also appears in recurring roles on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ah! My Goddess, Slayers, Let's go Tamgotchi, Pat and Stan, and Huntik. Her favorite video game role was Annie in Red Dead Revolver, though you can hear her on League of Legends, Viva Pinata, as well as several to be released soon.

Cabanos plays Ryuko's friend Mako Mankanshoku in Kill la Kill. Some of her most notable roles include Azusa Nakano of K-ON!, Madoka Kaname in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Shiemi Moriyama in Blue Exorcist, Silica in Sword Art Online, minori Kushieda in Toradora!, Haruka in Oblivion Island, the titular character of Squid Girl in Squid Girl, Minawa Ando in Mahoromatic: I'm Home!, General Pisti in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Michi Kondo in Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne, Ruka Asato in Accel World, Reina and Mew in Pokémon Origins, Filia in Skullgirls, Marie Rose in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, Chiaki Nanami in Dangan Ronpa 2, Nepgear in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, Keina Sawaya in Atelier Meruru, and roles in video games such as Time and Eternity, Ragnarok Online 2, Witch and the Hundred Knight and Mugen Souls Z.

Vincent, who is both a professional voice actor and a television producer, lends his voice to an unusual role in Kill la Kill, playing Senketsu, the living sailor uniform Ryuko finds beneath her house. He was nominated Best Voice Actor in an Anime by the American Anime Awards for his work as Van in GUN x SWORD. Some of his best known animation credits include: Grimmjow Jeagerjaques & Kouga Kuchiki in Bleach; Li Xingke in Code Geass; Archer/Gilgamesh in Fate/Zero; Assassin in Fate/stay night; Seiji in Durarara!!; Arthur August Angel in Blue Exorcist; Daisuke Nagase in Persona 4; Sakon in Kekkaish; Chester Barklight in Tales of Phantasia; General Logi in Blue Dragon; and Giichi in Blade of the Immortal. Some of his more recent video game credits include: Jin Kisaragi & Hakumen in the BlazBlue game series; Richard in Tales Of Graces F; Raymond Vester in Resident Evil: Revelations; Marshall Law & Forest Law in the Tekken franchise; Shin Kamiya in Tekken: Blood Vengance; Eliot in Dead Or Alive 5; Keiss in Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers; THawk in Super Street Fighter IV; Morgan in Medal Of Honor; Blocter in The Last Remnant; Edward in Infinite Undiscovery; and Richter in Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles. Other titles include HALO 4, Soul Calibur V, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Spec Ops: The line, Alpha Protocol, plus many more new titles to be released this year. in addition to voice acting, Vincent has also appeared in front of the camera in guest and costarring roles on primetime television shows NCIS, Criminal Minds and The Mentalist, among others.

Otakon 2014 will be held August 8-10 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twenty first year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore's few large, city-wide events, drawing over 34,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 100,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.