July 9, 2008
News for Otakon 2008:
Kazuko Tadano and Hiromi Matsushita to Appear at Otakon 2008
Baltimore, Maryland (9 July 2008) – Husband and wife are known for work on Sailor Moon and other classics.
Joining us for their first visit to the land of blue crabs and otaku is the husband-and-wife team of Kazuko Tadano and Hiromi Matsushita. They are known primarily for their work on Sailor Moon, which remains a touchstone for anime fans in Japan and the US alike, with broad mainstream appeal. But their resumes read like a hit parade of classic shows.
Kazuko Tadano designed the characters for the Sailor Moon anime, drawing on creator Naoko Takeuchi's original manga. Tadano also served as animation director and project manager for the series at various points. She got her start working as an animator on City Hunter, but it was as character designer and sometimes director for the long-running Sailor Moon and its various spinoffs that she really hit her stride. She also served as animation director for Wedding Peach, and more recently was character designer for Puchi puri Yuushi.
Hiromi Matsushita got his start as an animator on the beloved classic series Astroboy. Matsushita has a wide variety of animation credits to his name, having worked on such iconic hit shows as Project A-Ko, City Hunter, and Dragonball Z. As animation director for several episodes of Sailor Moon, including the first one, he helped set the tone for the series. These days he's the animation director on Keroro Guns_ (Sgt Frog).
Interested fans can spot a rare cameo of both of them in an early episode of the Sailor Moon TV show, when the girls visit an anime studio.
ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its fifteenth 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 22,000 individual members for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 60,000 "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.
For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see http://www.otakon.com/otakorp/index.asp
For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2008, see http://www.otakon.com/
###
