Zenkaikon is happy to welcome the following guests for Zenkaikon 2013:

The Slants (Band)

What originated as a side project for Simon Young (of The Stivs) in 2007 proved to be one of the most energetic and contagious movements of music in our time. In case you haven’t heard, The Slants are the first and only all Asian synth-pop band in the North America and they have been melting faces off all over the globe.

Kicking off the band’s career at a tiny dive bar in Portland, OR, The Slants soon found themselves on tour and in demand worldwide performing at music halls, colleges, and anime conventions. Within months, they released their debut album “Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts” winning multiple awards from the likes of Willamette Week, Rockwired, AsiaXpress, and the Portland Music Awards. Since that first iconic show in 2007, The Slants have been cited as the “Hardest Working Asian American Band” (slanteyefortheroundeye.com), toured North America ten times, rejected a million dollar recording contract, were the first and only Asian band to be a Fender Music artist, and according to U.S Congress, the first rock band to play inside a state library.

The Willamette Week, summarizes The Slants’ history perfectly: “It’s a great story: All-Asian synthcore troupe lands anime festival, achieves instantaneous notoriety from overpacked fireball-laden maelstrom, inspires John Woo and Dragon Ball Z fans toward aggro electro and—just months after its first practice—books gigs across the globe. As shadow-warriory as the Slants’ rise has been, it’s still all about the tunes, and the band’s debut—floor-filling synth pop bristling with all the menace and grandeur of its oft name-checked cultural icons—is propulsive, cinematic and impossible to ignore.”

By the end of 2008, the band had been featured in over 1,200 magazines, radio stations, websites, and television shows for their self-proclaimed “Chinatown Dance Rock,” including a feature on NPR’s “All Things Considered” that blasted across 700 FM stations across the country for months.

The following year, The Slants headlined a SXSW showcase (other acts at the festival included Katy Perry, Metallica, and Devo), launched several more tours spanning North America, and released a dance remix album entitled “Slants! Slants! Revolution,” while donating 100% of the proceeds to benefit cancer research affecting Asian American women.

2010 saw the release of The Slants’ third album, “Pageantry.” Pageantry featured a number of local icons including Cory Gray (The Decemberists), Krista Herring, Mic Crenshaw, and Gabe Kniffin (Silversafe). The harder hitting, guitar driven songs still featured The Slants’ signature dance rock flavor and again, massive touring throughout the country continued.

The Slants have shared the stage with acts such as Apl.de.Ap (Black Eyed Peas), Vampire Weekend, Girl Talk, Girugamesh, M.O.V.E and Boom Boom Satellites.

Website: http://www.theslants.com/

Richard Epcar (Voice Actor)

Richard Epcar is known as one of the hardest working men in show business, having voiced over 300 characters. He is well known to animation, game, and anime fans beginning with Robotech, where he voiced Ben Dixon, Lunk, Grel, and Captain Grant. He is Batou in Ghost in the Shell and Captain Saikhan in the new series from Nickelodeon Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Some of you know him from Bleach (Zangetsu), Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo), Lupin the Third (Daisuke Jigen), Fushigi Yuugi (Mistukake), Noein (Kyouji Kooriyama, Noein), X-Men (Gladiator), Naruto (Manda, Hanzo), Lucky Star (Tadao Hiiragi), Monster,  Outlaw Star, Macross Plus, Rurouni Kenshin, Samurai Champloo, Digimon, Great Teacher Onizuka, Cyber Soldier 009, and Ninja Scroll to name a few. He also performed numerous voices in the Power Rangers.

Just some of the games you’ve heard him in include Kingdom Hearts (Ansem/Terra-Xehanort), Transformers (Skywarp), Skyrim: Elder Scrolls V, Star Wars, Mortal Kombat (Raiden-Fighting), Catherine, Modnation Racers, Mortal Kombat vs. D.C. Universe (Raiden, The Joker), Call of Duty-Black Ops, Dead Space 2, Star Craft 2, Red Faction Guerilla, Command & Conquer 4, Xenosaga (Ziggy), Guilty Gears 2, Ghost Recon 3, .Hack, Dynasty Warriors (Dong Zhuo), and World of Warcraft.

He is also a sought-after game, animation, and ADR director, and has directed such games as Star Ocean, Blue Dragon, Unreal Tournament, Smackdown vs. Raw, and Jackass. He’s directed such live action films as Oldboy, Azumi, Fearless, and Iron Monkey. Some animations he’s directed include Lupin the Third, Ghost in the Shell 2, Noein, Fighting Spirit, and Robotech: Shadow Chronicles.

On camera, Richard has appeared in many films and television shows including John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Columbo, Diagnosis Murder, Guns of Paradise, Beverly Hills 90210, Matlock, Cheers, Days of our Lives, and General Hospital. You will soon see him as the lead in the feature film Broken Spirits, and you can hear him as Buck the big gorilla in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

He’s very excited about his new audio book – White Eyes – a Doc Savage Novel – in which he plays 40 characters and is the narrator for this fantastic pulp fiction book.

Website: http://www.richardepcar.com/

Ellyn Stern (Voice Actress)

Ellyn began acting at the age of 12, and is a classically trained actress known for both her dramatic and comedic roles. Her career spans from film to television to stage, with her voice acting career beginning 30 years ago. She is also a director.

Her career in anime began with the original Robotech series, in which she played several characters. Most recently she can be heard in True Crimes: Hong Kong, Gundam Unicorn (Martha), Noein (Miyuki Goto), Mar (Jack’s Mom), and Bleach (Masaki Kurosaki). She voiced Haraway in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Rosalind in Armitage III, Himeno in Fight: Spirit of the Sword, Sayaka in Mental Fighter Miku, Moru in Vampire Princess Miyu, Parome in Genma Wars,  Hiroshi’s Mom in Zenki, all the female characters in The Little Punk, Aunt Polly in Tom Sawyer, and the cunning frog in Captain Schnauzer. She has also done voices in Zentrix, Mini Pato, Digimon, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Samurai X, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Movie Trilogy, Bushido Blade 2, Lupin the Third, Patlabor 3, Fighting Spirit, Abby, Macross I/II/III, Honey Bee Hutch, Wisdom of Gnomes, Gigi, Wings of Honneamise, and Inherit the Wind, to name just a few. You’ve also heard her as Veronica Vera in Shadow Hearts II.

Animated projects she has directed include Samurai X, Jade Cocoon, Super Magnetic Neo, Aerowings 1&2, and Galerians.

She has voiced lead characters in many live action feature films that have been adapted into English including Academy Award winners Cinema Paradiso, Belle Epoque, Eat Drink Man Woman, Kika, Mostly Martha, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Fencing Master, Widow of St. Pierre, Amores Perros, Mission Kashmir, Iron Monkey, The Emperor and the Assassin, Onmyoji-Ying-Yang Masters, Le Femme Nikita, Tae Guk Gi, Babette’s Feast, and Shiri, to name a few. Other past films include Jessie’s Girls (co-starred), Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (co-starred), Fatal Charm (co-starred), and Prisoner in the Middle aka Warhead (co-starred). A few of her television shows include American Carrot, Charlie’s Angels, and recurring characters on General Hospital, Santa Barbara, and Days of our Lives.

Currently on camera, she is a series regular with Debbie Allen and Idris Elba on Milk and Honey. She is a lead in Blood on Canvas coming out later this year, and the lead in a Disney pilot and feature that is soon to be shot.

Ellyn recently starred in the award-winning play Apple at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, where she received rave reviews. Immediately following Apple, Ellyn starred in Mrs. Warren’s Profession, playing the role of Mrs. Warren at the famed Bistro Gardens to much acclaim.

Ellyn is married to Richard Epcar, and they have two children who are also performers. Jon Epcar is a drummer. His band Carney is with Interscope Records. They are currently on Broadway doing Spiderman, Turn Off The Dark. Jacqueline Epcar is a jazz/blues singer who recently opened at The House Of Blues.

Website: http://www.ellynstern.com/

Greg “Greggo” Wicker (Game Show Host)

Greggo’s coming back for his second Zenkaikon! Greg Wicker (or “Greggo” as he’s fondly known) has been producing and hosting game shows at anime conventions since 1999, when he premiered Anime Match Game at Project A-Kon in Dallas. Since then, Greggo has done anime-themed versions of several classic game shows, created a few games of his own, and even had an original project that very nearly turned into an actual television show on Anime Network. These days Greggo is concentrating on perfecting his craft and making game shows available for conventions everywhere, bringing his rapier wit and friendly personality with him wherever he goes. You can see some of Greggo’s past game show efforts on his YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/gregdasgo.

Website: http://www.facebook.com/greggosgameshows

Stay tuned for plenty more guest announcements to come, and we’ll see you in March!

From the ground up, every Final Fantasy would be discussed in detail and demoed in various videos that the host had ready to present. For those unfamiliar to the series it was very educating and interesting, while those that were familiar with the content were pleased to travel back in time to relive their love for the franchise; perhaps learning something new! Sequels and spin-offs were also included at the end of presentation and were equally as informative as the previous.

Final Fantasy 2.0 was a refreshing panel to unwind the day to from the excitement previous. For some others the excitement had yet to begin (considering the rave was still some time away), for fans like me that would be leaving the convention early found it to be an excellent closer for the day.

The first episode shown was of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” television series that aired for two seasons on ABC from September 1993 until December 1994. Following the episode, one of the presenters arose up and selected a handful of people from the audience for a small game where the contestants would be presented with video game related questions. In order to “ring in” for an answer, the contestant had to perform a video game maneuver before the rest (for example, a Falcon Punch in the form of a punch motion was acceptable). When the presenter put on his shades, you knew the game was on (he looked much like the character known as “Muscles Glasses” from an internet series called “Epic Meal Time.” My inner “troll” felt the urge to come out and shout up on that, but I held back.) As the game passed on, many of the contestants would successfully answer the questions and given candy to keep score. A female contestant would prevail over all the rest and pick a wrapped up Gamecube game as her prize. The fun was finding out what she had picked and either is disappointed or satisfied with the choice (but with the humor of the presenters, the games were laughable choices.)

The next episode was an excerpt from “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show”, more specifically an episode within the series itself from “The Legend of Zelda”. The episode would follow the misadventures of Link having to clean the castle for Princess Zelda since, well, what else was he going to do with her not being in Ganon’s captivity? Soon a competition was made in the audience over how many times the main antagonist would utter the famous line “Well excuuuuuse me Princess!” in which four times were counted throughout the course of the 10 minute episode.

To end the panel, two more games were played. The first game was more of an improvisation segment where select contestants had to choose a reaction to a scenario (for example, how Tails might react to being drowned by Sonic for a millionth time.) The second game was also of the improvisation genre where two people were paired together, given two random characters and a scenario in which they were put in. They were given roughly 30 seconds to prepare, then they had to go for it! The winners of that competition had been the unlikely pair at the end who had Wario and Zelda as their choices and given a scenario that one contestant at first deemed “made no sense.” In the end, that very same contestant stole the show by stealing most of the cookies on the presenter table and throwing his hand into the air saying “I am Wario! Imma gonna win!” with some various other Wario lines before going to sit back in his seat.

“Ahh! Video Game Cartoons!” might have presented some laughable cartoon segments; but in the end proved fun just by hearing the audience get verbal with all aspects of the show. It was a fun escape from the convention while it lasted.

The battery life on your flashing bracelets and hair accessories will have an extra hour of life.

Tonight’s rave, originally scheduled for 10PM, has been pushed back to 11PM. The 2AM end time remains the same.

“I started training in martial arts about 22 years ago and just…fell in love with the science behind it, behind the techniques,” Dan said. Coming from a teaching background, he discovered that the only way to realize his love of martial arts as a full-time career was to open a dojo.

His ultimate goal is simple: to pass the rich heritage of the ancient Japanese onto future generations. “I think there is great value in this, and I think it is important to keep that going in a world that is otherwise short-sighted and faddish.” A violent attack on a friend during his freshman year in college was what prompted him to place a high emphasis on the importance of self-defense. While such attacks are sadly not extinct, Colgan is proud to report that former students of his, when faced with them, are able to apply the techniques used in his class to defend themselves.

However, the disciplinary techniques are not limited to situations featuring violent combat. In fact, as Colgan’s own life proves, the techniques can be applied to almost any given life situation. “Having this systematic approach helps in every aspect,” he explains. “When my son was in college, he was the online editor of his campus paper. Helping him with that reminded me that I really enjoyed that sort of thing; I wanted to be an author ever since high school. By implementing plans, setting goals, and just plotting out everything, I was able to eventually release my own novel.”

This novel, The Pack, is the first of two planned novels of Colgan’s.

Dan and his wife agreed that their first Zenkaikon experience was pleasant and hope to return in 2013.

According to geek-specific stand-up comedian Uncle Yo, the monster and its henchmen whiled away the time getting together their Starbucks orders.

Uncle Yo is an unparalleled staple at anime conventions up and down the east coast. It was Zenkaikon, however, that hosted his first-ever stand-up gig. Referring to the con as his “home convention,” he spent an hour on Saturday afternoon sending a packed audience into hysterics.

More animated than even the most seizure-inducing anime, Uncle Yo’s rapid pace covered a wide variety of topics, including:

-Black Butler and how his decision to give it a chance robbed him of his manhood;
-Restaurants in Japan that allow customers to eat food off of naked bodies;
-A device that, when activated by a voice on the phone, actually hugs the recipient;
-His love for “The Expendables” and how to make it even better (one improvement would be a car named the “Ecto Kitt-lorean” (combining Ecto-1 from “Ghostbusters,” KITT from “Knight Rider,” and the “Back to the Future DeLorean”) which fires an arrow played by Bruce Campbell, his chin acting as the tip)

Uncle Yo finished his set with an homage to the “Pokemon” on which he grew up: the first edition that introduced Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and company. Instead of a sappy diatribe, he accomplished this love letter via a song entitled “It’s the Pokemon World as I know It,” set to the melody of R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.”

“Dealer’s room is now closed!”

While this may appear to signal the end of your streak, stranding you for the rest of the week on Level 39, don’t despair! Your exile is not from the con…but simply from the gaming area in the dealer’s room.

Instead, you and the other tabletop gamers will be moved to the Video Room. There, you can continue to play all of the tabletop offerings until the convention’s official last call at 2AM.

You roll a 20.

Maes Hughes may be dead, but that didn’t stop the man who brought him to life, Sonny Strait, from livening up a packed audience gathered to see his Q&A.

Powering such characters as “FullMetal Alchemist’s” Hughes and Krillin from “Dragon Ball Z,” Strait is also an accomplished director, writer, and artist. He has paired with Wendy Pini to create numerous volumes of “Elfquest” and also is the mind behind “We Shadows,” a webcomic that had its start as a manga released by TokyoPop.

Of the two series he is the best known for, he prefers “Dragon Ball Z” due to the simple fact he was afforded the opportunity to work on it longer. “My favorite line to yell is ‘Goku, where are you?!’” he stated, his perfect recreation of Krillin’s famous line eliciting a round of applause from the audience. “Krillin is basically Popeye on helium,” he revealed when a question arose about the character’s origin.

His favorite line of all time, however, stems from “FullMetal Alchemist”: “Don’t follow Daddy!” While Hughes’ death left him feeling, simply, “unemployed,” he did reveal that the episode resulted in many additional convention invites, often from very tearful con chairs.

While grateful for his employment as a voice actor, Strait’s true love is his creation of comics. Preferring the role of “cartoonist” (as such people draw AND write the work), he stresses the importance of synopsis. “Dave Sim told me that every cartoonist has 200 bad pages in them and that it’s best to get those out of the way immediately.” He went on to narrate one of his life’s most embarrassing moments that turned out to be a blessing in disguise: at his first comic book convention, a friend literally shoved him into Will Eisner. When asked if the papers he was holding acted as his portfolio, a sheepish Strait nodded yes and handed them over. A man whose influence in comics has resulted in a major award being named in his honor, Eisner stated “These are really good. I teach a class in New York and if you were in that class, you’d be one of my best students.”

In his free time, Strait enjoys reading manga and other comics, as well as playing in a band with his wife. When asked what the strangest thing he has ever been asked to autograph, he replied “It was like a clay model of the entire FMA cast that looked to be coated in red paint, but after closer inspection, it kind of looked like blood.”

You CAN follow Daddy on his website at sonnystrait.biz

No matter what your dancing skills may or may not be, head on down to the Rave in the Main Events Hall. Starting at 10PM and lasting for the next 4 hours, DJ Kurono will spin techno Japanese music for everyone. Additionally, an amazing light show will accompany the music, giving everyone a firsthand account of how exactly Mario feels when he touches a Starman.

If you can’t make tonight’s Rave, don’t despair: tomorrow night will see a continuation of the dance, starting at the same time in the same location.

Still in the thick of the game’s recent resurgence in widespread popularity, D&D is on the cusp of realizing its fifth edition. While the common man may point to one’s age to figure out which of the previous four editions one prefers over all others, in reality, many many more factors go into it. In fact, as per a Friday afternoon panel entitled “D&D: Past, Present, and Fifth Edition,” a healthy number of factors go into merely the pros and cons regarding Edition 4.

Hosted by four members of Friday Knights, the panel’s introductions were almost immediately followed by an intense interaction with audience members. All in all, a number of conclusions were aired:

–While the transition from the second to third editions was smooth, the transition from third to fourth editions was anything but. The Wizards of the Coast attempted to capitalize on the then-popular commodity of World of Warcraft by bringing a MMORPG to a table. As it turns out, fans wished to have these two worlds separate; who wants to see the intricacies of WoW’s endless lands and options translated to an offline format?

–In addition to the countless books required to play the fourth edition, storytellers felt that it failed to capitalize on the story as much as its predecessors did. While the presenters and a few audience members alike agreed that the combat in the fourth edition was indeed amazing, it soon became apparent that this was ALL there was to it.

–It is the hope of the company that the fifth edition will bring back all of the gamers who felt alienated.

A quote from Mike Mearls, a lead developer of the game’s fourth edition, summed up almost every incarnation nicely and was offered by the presenters:

“Fourth edition is a lame tabletop MMO. Third edition is for number-crunching losers. Second edition is for setting junkies. First edition is for people obsessed with polearms. Let’s not even talk about basic D&D. Who plays that?”

Hopefully, Wizards of the Coast will not roll a one when it comes to satisfying fans with the fifth edition. The damage taken could be irreversible.