News
Anime Expo to Host Kick-Heart Director Masaaki Yuasa
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Anime Expo announced on Tuesday that it will host Kick-Heart director Masaaki Yuasa as a Guest of Honor at the July 4-7 event in Los Angeles.
Yuasa brought his distinctive style to such anime productions as Kemonozume, Mind Game, Kaiba, and The Tatami Galaxy before launching a Kickstarter campaign for his 10-minute anime short, Kick-Heart, last year. After topping its initial US$150,000 goal, the anime continued to meet stretch goals to add an English dub, a backer dub, and two more minutes of run time. The short, which centers on two wrestlers in love, has been selected to compete in the short films category at France's Annecy, the world's largest animation festival, in June.
Anime Expo will host the Kick-Heart film's North American premiere.
Previously announced guests of Anime Expo include voice actress Megumi Han, animation director and character designer Keigo Sasaki, voice actor Kazuhiko Inoue, screenwriter Mari Okada, character designer Noizi Ito, visual kei musical acts Kaya and Moon Stream, and director Kazuhiro Furuhashi. Host Danny Choo, DJ RAM RIDER, cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao, and voice actors Eric Vale, Christopher R. Sabat, Kyle Hebert, and Johnny Yong Bosch will also attend.
