Eyeshield Manga-ka Inagaki to Appear at Otakon Vegas; Kenshin Manga-ka Watsuki Forced to Cancel Due to New Project
Las Vegas, NV (November 21, 2013) - We are saddened to report that Watsuki-sensei has had
to cancel his appearance at Otakon Vegas. Changes to his production schedule have required
him to forgo his planned time off, and he is no longer able to attend. This is extremely
disappointing to everyone (not least Watsuki-sensei himself), but guest appearances are always
subject to professional commitments, and there is a lot of activity happening on the Kenshin front.
However his wife and novelist, Kurosaki-san, will still be attending Otakon Vegas. In addition,
their good friend, a writer and manga creator, has agreed to attend the inaugural Otakon Vegas
2014.
Watsuki-sensei asked that we relay this message, which includes his personal introduction to our
new guest:
“Due to a new Rurouni Kenshin project that just came in, my work schedule now forbids me from
attending Otakon Vegas. I am terribly sorry...please accept my sincere apologies.
ln lieu of my attendance, l would like to introduce a wonderful new guest for Otakon Vegas:
His name is Riichiro lnagaki, the writer of the popular SHONEN JUMP manga Eyeshield 21.
lnagaki-sensei was in charge of writing the story and storyboards (nemu) for the American
football manga.
His attendance at Otakon provides a unique and special chance to know the secrets of how to
build a strong backbone for a fun and exciting manga. l would suggest to those who are curious
to listen carefully to what he has to say. He can definitely offer you some insights into what makes
manga so interesting.”
While we are sorry that Watsuki-sensei cannot make it, we are delighted to welcome Inagaki-
sensei, and very appreciative of the assistance in bringing us a new guest.
Born on June 20, 1976, Riichiro lnagaki is a manga Writer After winning the Weekly Shonen
Jump magazine's 7th Story King award for the nemu (storyboard) section in 2001, the
serialization of Eyeshield 21 started in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2002 (illustrated by Mr. Yusuke
Murata). In Japan, the American football manga ran until 2009, spanning 37 manga volumes. lts
anime series ran on TV from 2005 to 2008.
Mr. Inagaki originally started his professional career as a manga artist in Big Comic Spirits with
his debut work Nando demo 6.13 (June 13). His other works include Square Freeze, Love Love
Santa, Kiba & Kiba, and Shinpai Kaito No Face.
Otakon Vegas 2014 will be held January 3-5 at the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
ABOUT OTAKON VEGAS AND OTAKORP, INC.: Otakon Vegas is the first annual Celebration of
Japanese and East Asian popular culture presented by Otakorp in Las Vegas, Nevada. Otakon
Vegas celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture. Otakon
Vegas is a ticket 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 Vegas 2014, see
http://www.otakonvegas.com/
