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L.A.'s AkibaFest to Host Director Ei Aoki, Designers Keigo Sasaki & Masayoshi Tanaka, Kizumonogatari II Premiere

posted on by Egan Loo
Aniplex USA to hold October 15-16 event in Little Tokyo

Aniplex of America announced that it will host director Ei Aoki, character designers Keigo Sasaki and Masayoshi Tanaka, Aniplex president and producer Atsuhiro Iwakami, and A-1 Pictures president and producer Hiroyuki Shimizu at the AkibaFest event in Los Angeles on October 15 and 16. In addition, the event will host the North American premiere of the Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu sequel anime film on October 15 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are now available on the official website. The convention will also soon launch a contest to name its mascot character (pictured at right).

Aoki debuted as a director in 2004, and has since directed such anime as Fate/Zero, Ga-Rei: Zero, Girls Bravo, and Wandering Son. In 2013, he co-founded the anime production studio TROYCA, where he directed Aldnoah.Zero.

Sasaki debuted as an animator on the Crayon Shin-chan series, and he has since worked as a character designer for both the Blue Exorcist movie and series, as well as on Night Raid 1931, The Seven Deadly Sins, World Conquest Zvezda Plot, and most recently, ERASED. He has also worked as an animation director or key animator on the anime series Reideen, Sengoku Basara - Samurai Kings, and xxxHOLiC. He is serving as both the character designer and animation director for the upcoming Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Impure King Arc anime.

Tanaka started at the anime studio Artland on the Princess Nine series in 1998 before going freelance as a character designer. His character design credits include Reborn!, Toradora!, Highschool of the Dead, anohana, and Waiting in the Summer. More recently he served as character designer and chief animation director for The Anthem of the Heart, and he served as the character designer for Makoto Shinkai's your name. film, which opened in Japan last week. Tanaka has also recently worked as an illustrator.

As the head of Aniplex, Iwakami's numerous credits include Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, The Garden of Sinners, and Oreimo.

In addition to running A-1 Pictures, Shimizu has been an animator on dozens of anime. His credits as a producer include WAGNARIA!!, the Black Butler series, both seasons of Magi, anohana, The Seven Deadly Sins, and The Anthem of the Heart. His credits as a key animator include A Certain Magical Index, Sword Art Online, Strike Witches, Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit, and Kaleido Star, among many others.

AkibaFest will also screen Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV and The Garden of Sinners Chapter 1: Thanatos at the Aratani Theater during the weekend, and will also screen the following films at the Downtown Independent Theater: One Piece Film Z, Blue Exorcist The Movie, The Anthem of the Heart, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (episodes I-III), and anohana The Movie. All film screenings will be ticketed.


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