Anime Festival Orlando 12

So, Anime Festival Orlando is coming soon, folks, and if you haven't pre-registered, I'd recommend you get a pass anyway. The convention is arguably my favorite because of the fact that A) it isn't cluttered, and B) the focus is 100% on anime. Granted, Megacon is great for the DC half of me, and their venue is fantastic considering the amount of people coming in. Anime Sushi (one of the best clubs in Orlando) are also great guys to work with, and their experience definitely shines through. 

But Anime Festival Orlando just fits the perfect convention for me, as a staff member. Let me tell you guys something: I HATE International Drive. Now, for those of you who have never been in Orlando, you shouldn't be concerned too much. But for those of us who have lived here, I thinks it's safe to say that I-Drive (as it's called) is both fun and annoying to drive in. Or maybe it's just small-town Jean-Louis talking again. But since I'm the one writing this article, I will say that I do not want to drive after a hard day's work to another hotel, all the while dealing with assholes on beeping their horns at me when I'm clearly going the speed limit. Conventions like AFO and Jacon (Okay, I didn't exactly like that convention, but..) both run their convention inside of a hotel, so if you're like me, and you've had a long day, you can simply go to your room on a separate block. Awesome.

I know what you're thinking guys. Shut up you condescending ass, and get on with what we care about:  the guests, and you're right to think that. The guests for this year's edition of Anime Festival Orlando will be...

Johnny Yong Bosch

For the Power Rangers fans who are reading this right now, yes, this is the black ranger. And if you're an anime fan, you are probably confused as to what this guy has to do with anything anime. Well, after working with the Power Rangers show, he made a career out of voice acting for various anime, his first role being Vash the Stampede of Trigun fame. His other roles include He later went on to play the voices of Kaneda in Akira, Renton in Eureka Seven, Claus in Last Exile, Clair in Heat Guy J, Sakaki in Witch Hunter Robin, Mike in Please Twins, Albert in The Count of Monte Cristo, Kiba in Wolf’s Rain, Itsuki in The Melancholy of Haurhi Suzumiya, Ichigo Kurosaki in Bleach and Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass. Hell of a portfolio there.

Quinton Flynn

Next up is Quinton Flynn. He voiced characters as famous as Jonny Quest, Spiderman, Speed Racer, The Human Torch, and Timon. His film and TV experience includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, King of Queens, Animaniacs, Woody Woodpecker, and Robot Chicken.

His list of credentials don't just include TV and film, as he's also done video game voice acting as well. He's voiced as Raiden from Metal Gear Solid series, Axel in Kingdom Hearts II, and Reno in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (I know, movie, but still, he's a FF character). 

His anime roles include Iruka-sensei in Naruto Shippuden, Marcus Damon in Digimon Data Squad (I watch that, so what?) and Carl in Blood+.

Blake Foster

Next up is another Power Rangers alum, Blake Foster. He's worked in the industry since he was a kid, working with guys like Chuck Norris, Christopher Reeves, and William M. Macy. His list of credits include Family Album, Brady Bunch in the White House, Kids World, Above Suspicion, Beverly Hills: 90210, Casper Meets Wendy, Two Of A Kind, Boy Meets World, and of course, TURBO: A Power Rangers Movie.

Jason David Frank

Another guest is Jason David Frank, who has played as Mighty Morphin Green and White, Red Zeo, Red Turbo, and then returned as the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. He has appeared in more episodes than any other actor (225 total), and has appeared in both full-length movies, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie, and TURBO. And according to the site, he is also an accomplished martial artist.

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A highly accomplished and respected martial artist with 33 years experience, Kyoshi Frank currently holds a seventh degree black belt in American Karate and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He is the owner/operator of Rising Sun Karate and MMA, with two schools in Texas and one in California. He is also the founder/CEO of Jesus Didn’t Tap, the first Christian-based line of MMA clothing and fight gear. Inducted into the World Karate Union Hall of Fame in 2003 as the American Karate Master of the Year, he is the founder of Toso Kune Do, his own style.

---Animefestivalorlando.com

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The fifth guest is Reuben Langdon, who's probably most famous for voicing (and motion capturing) the role of Dante in Devil May Cry 3&4, as well as Marvel vs. Capcom 3. But he has also voiced as Date Masamune in Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, Ken Masters in Street Fighter IV, and Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5, and has had roles in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness and Dead Rising. 

He has also starred as Detective Kanada in Monster, so that pretty much qualifies him as awesome.

Wendee Lee

Then of course, you have Wendee Lee. If you don't know her voice work, I'll be happy to list them for you. 

• Faye in Cowboy Bebop
• Konata in Lucky Star
• Moegi in Naruto
• Rumi in Perfect Blue
• Sprocket in Viewtiful Joe
• Mitsuka in DearS
• Loretta in Wild Arms
• Umi and Princess Emeraude in Magic Knight Rayearth
• Ryoko in Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School
• Ruriko in Gatekeeper
• Sakura in Sakura Wars
• Yoko in Bastard
• Mika in Angel Tales
• Takao in Chobits
• Kero in Cardcaptor Sakura: Movie 2
• Maetel in Cosmic Warrior Zero
• Yuri (Streamline) in Dirty Pair
• Mako in Digimon Tamers
• Urd in Adventures of the Mini Goddesses
• Ouri in Gestalt
• Mitsuki in Dual! Parallel Adventures
• Mai in Duel Masters
• Isa in Gad Guard
• Nadia in Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
• Kaolla Su in Love Hina
• Kiyone in Tenchi Universe - on

And she has a ton more roles. She is one of the more respectable people in this industry, and having her in this convention is a great honor.

Dan Southworth

Yet another Power Rangers actor, he played as Quantum Ranger in Power Ranger: Time Force. Like Johnny Yong Bosch, he moved on to other things like video games. His roles included Vergil in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Devil May Cry 3, Credo in Devil May Cry 4. He also deals with stunts and motion capture in video games like Halo 3, Resident Evil 5, and Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

John Swasey

Like Wendee Lee, this man has performed a ton of roles in anime (first role being in Goldenboy), including...

• Area 88 - Mickey Simon
• Aura Battler Dunbine - Bann Burning
• Baccano! - Van Dyke
• BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad - Kamejima
• Beet the Vandel Buster - Zenon
• Best Student Council - Ryuheita Iwazakura, Narrator
• Big Windup! - Tosei Coach
• Birdy the Mighty: Decode - Geega
• Black Butler - Undertaker, Mr. Damiano (Ep.1)
• Blade of the Phantom Master - Fuan-Bo
• Blassreiter - Shido Kasugi
• Blue Drop - Headmaster Fukamachi
• Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 - Dr. Stingray, Quincy Rosenkroitz
• Burst Angel - Professor
• Case Closed - Booker Kudo (After Randy Tallman)
• Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street - Booker Kudo
• Casshern Sins - Gido
• Le Chevalier D'Eon - Teillagory
• Chrono Crusade - Edward "Elder" Hamilton
• Claymore - Isley
• Coyote Ragtime Show - Mister
• D.Gray-man - Dr. Director
• D.N.Angel - Daiki Niwa
• Dragon Ball Z Kai - Dodoria
• Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies - Narrator
• Dragonaut - The Resonance - Eiji Kamishina
• Darker than BLACK - Huang
• Detective Loki - Fenrir
• Devil May Cry: The Animated Series - Fredi
• E's Otherwise - Kyou
• Elfen Lied - Professor Kakuzawa
• Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone - Gendo Ikari
• Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance - Gendo Ikari
• Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid - Gates
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Van Hohenheim
• Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa - Karl Haushofer
• Gantz - Muso Tokugawa, Naozumi Saito, Yoshioka
• Ghost Hound - Mayor Motoi Yazaki
• Glass Fleet - Conrad
• Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino - Christiano Savonarola
• The Guin Saga - Casslon, Count Rickard
• Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor - Fumio Fukamachi
• Halo Legends - Sergeant Hauser (Homecoming), Captain (Odd One Out)
• Hell Girl - Ryousuke Sekine
• Innocent Venus - Maximas Drake
• Jinki:Extend - Genta Ogawara
• Kaleido Star - Ken Robbins
• Kaze no Stigma - Bernhardt Rhodes
• Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple - Mototsugu Shirahama
• Kurau: Phantom Memory - Ichise
• Legends of the Dark King - Ryuga, Jirai
• Linebarrels of Iron - Dr. Amagatsu Kizaki
• Martian Successor Nadesico - Seiya Uribatake
• Moonlight Mile - Robert
• Murder Princess - King Forland
• Mushishi - Saishu (Ep. 9)
• My Bride is a Mermaid - Gozaburo Seto
• Nanaka 6/17 - Taizo Kirisato
• Neon Genesis Evangelion - Gendo Ikari (Director's Cut)
• One Piece - Sir Crocodile, Gan Fall
• Orphen - Volkan
• Ouran High School Host Club - Chairman Yuzuru Suou
• Pani Poni Dash! - Michael
• Peacemaker - Isami Kondo
• Princess Nine - Principal Mita
• Project Blue Earth SOS - Secretary General Freeman
• Puni Puni Poemy - Narrator
• RahXephon - Shougo Rikudoh
• Red Garden - Claude
• Rin ~Daughters of Mnemosyne - Tajimamori
• Saiyuki - Zenon
• School Rumble - Captain Genkai Goto (2nd Season) (After Randy Tallman)
• Sengoku Basara - Oda Nobunaga
• Sgt. Frog - Kogoro (556)
• Shigurui: Death Frenzy - Kengyou Shizuhata
• Shin-Chan - Yoshiji Koyama
• Sorcerer on the Rocks - Count Cuttlefish
• Soul Eater - Lord Death (Shinigami)
• Steel Angel Kurumi - The General
• Summer Wars - Mansuke Jinnouchi
• Tears to Tiara - Drwc, Tempesta, Ogam
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross - Captain Bruno J. Global
• The Wallflower - Hanayashiki Hiromi
• Tokyo Majin - Koni Fernandez, Mikuriya, Togo Narutaki
• Trigun: Badlands Rumble - Gasback
• Trinity Blood - Archbishop Alphonso D'Este
• Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle - Mr. Glosum
• Utawarerumono - Sasante
• Venus Versus Virus - Soichiro Nahashi
• Xenosaga: The Animation - Andrew Cherenkov

Yeah, I got some of that from Wikipedia, but that's the anime he's been associated with. He's a powershouse.

Christina Vee

And lastly, we have Christina Vee, whose portfolio includes roles such as Nanoha in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Kanaria in Rozen Maiden, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Aika in Aika R-16, and Mio in K-ON. Other anime she was involved in include Hare+Guu (great show), Hannazuki no Miko,  and The Blade of the Immortal.

Not only does she work on anime voice acting, but she also provides voices for video game characters, such as Sylphy in Luminous Arc 2, Noel, Mu-12, Nu-13, and Lambda-11 in the Blazblue series, Cinnamon in Rune Factory Frontier, Kluke in Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadows, Anri in Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, Lian Shi in Dynasty Warriors 7, Compa in Hyperdimension Neptunia, and Saki, Sakia, Sarapatra, and Filament in Ar Tonelico: Qoga.

She also hosted AnimeTV and Funimation On Demand with Johnny Yong Bosch and Jonathon Meza, and helped promote Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 as Haruhi.

While there will also be your usual anime convention events like the AMV contest, Cosplay Contest, and Costume Contest, there are also great panels in AFO. The one notable difference between, lets say Megacon, is that panelists can host panels of a more hardcore or adult nature, since the event runs longer. For example, Orange Anime would normally run the Hentai Game Show panel, and FJ this year will run a Hardcore panel that is everything that you're thinking it is. A buddy of mine mentioned that Anime World Order will run the always-awesome Panel of Doom panel in AFO as well. If that's the case, go if you're not squeamish, or easily offended, haha.

So, yeah, I will be on staff for this event, dealing with and helping people like you readers. Like I said, it's always fun to help out and work in these conventions, and I wouldn't trade that much of anything.

..

Well, maybe a well-financed career in graphic design, a popular podcast with a solid fanbase, or an employment with Media Blasters and Funimation, but other than that, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. 

Now I will pose a question to you, the reader. What convention is YOUR favorite to stop by and have fun in, and what are some funny/awkward experiences have you had in said convention?