Veteran Producer Masao Maruyama to Appear at Otakon 2013

Baltimore, MD (January 17, 2013) – Otakon welcomes back to our 20th celebration award-winning producer Masao Maruyama, a longtime friend of the convention. This will be Maruyama's eleventh appearance at Otakon, making him our most frequent guest. Maruyama is also the first guest to be named an honorary staff member.

The founder and former creative director of Madhouse Studios, Masao Maruyama has had a hand in the Japanese animation industry for forty years. Maruyama was born in 1941 in the Miyagi Prefecture. After graduation from Hosei University, he went to work for Mushi Production. He later went on to help produce Unico, based on a story by Osamu Tezuka, of Astro Boy fame. In 1972, Maruyama had a direct hand in the establishment of the burgeoning new animation Studio Madhouse and led the team as a creative producer for many years.

Over the next three decades, Maruyama would oversee countless television, OAV, and theatrical releases, all noted for a high level of production quality. He would also develop a reputation for finding and nurturing talented directors; under his guidance, talents like Satoshi Kon and Atsuko Ishizuka have flourished. Maruyama has also engaged with overseas partners quite often, working with the Wachowskis on The Animatrix project, and overseeing anime takes on classic American comic book characters.

In 2011, Maruyama left Madhouse and formed MAPPA (Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association). MAPPA allows him greater creative freedom to pursue projects that may be less obviously commercial. The studio's first major project was the critically acclaimed Kids on the Slope, which reunited many of the creative team behind Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. He continues to consult with Madhouse on various projects.

Maruyama's list of credits has produced an amazing library of animation including Barefoot Gen, Dagger of Kamui, Record of Lodoss War, Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Cardcaptor Sakura, Trigun, Perfect Blue, X, Boogiepop Phantom, Chobits, Pita-Ten, Abenobashi Maho Shotengai, Gungrave, Gunslinger Girl, Black Lagoon, Kiba, NANA, Tokyo Tribe 2, Beck, Monster, Highlander: Search for Vengeance, Devil May Cry, Death Note, RAINBOW and Red Line.

Maruyama has also overseen production of critically acclaimed films such as Paprika, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Summer Wars.

Otakon 2013 will be held August 9-11 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twentieth 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 32,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 90,000 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 2013, see http://www.otakon.com/