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AniMinneapolis Announces Greg Ayres & Shinichi Watanabe (Nabeshin)

Bloomington, MN - May 26, 2012 - AniMinneapolis is very happy to welcome voice actor Greg Ayres and director Shinichi Watanabe (Nabeshin) to the 2012 Minneapolis anime convention, happening June 29 - July 1, 2012. Guests for AniMinneapolis now include Quinton Flynn, Sonny Strait, Vic Mignogna, Wendy Powell, Nabeshin, Greg Ayres, Rob "Vash" Lewis, Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug, Fuzzy Machete, Soup or Villainz, Mattari 2600, StarF, Dr. Awkward, and YTCracker. AniMinneapolis happens at the Ramada Mall of America in Minneapolis.

Greg Ayres can usually be found rockin' out somewhere, whether animated or not. From the loud-mouthed Hideki in Nerima Daikon Brothers, to Koyuki, singing with the the band in BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, he's always glad to shake things up a bit. He is thrilled to be able to add the roles of Uesugi Kenshin in Sengoku Basara, Seikechi Tayama in Oh! Edo Rocket, and Abe in Big Windup! to his list of new roles. He can also be head as Son Goku in Saiyuki, Chrono in Chrono Crusade, Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host Club, Yuki in The Wallflower, Leo in Ghost Stories, Satoshi Hiwatari in D.N.Angel, Kaworu Nagisa in the Director's Cut of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Negi Springfield in Negima!, Heihachi in Samurai 7, Jr. in Xenosaga: The Animation, Tsujido in Speed Grapher, Roan in Ragnorok The Animation, Yamazaki in Welcome to the NHK, Nowy in Glass Fleet, Gau Ban in Shadow Skill, Pope Alessandro XVIII in Trinity Blood, and a bunch of other titles he'll probably forget to mention. Funimation has recently announced that Greg will voice the role of Kouta Tsuchiya in it's upcoming release of Baka and Test.

Shinichi Watanabe (aka "Nabeshin") is known to anime fans as a larger-than-life, iconic figure with an outrageous sense of humor. He directed the comedy anime series Excel Saga, Nerima Daikon Brothers, and Puni Puni Poemy, which feature frenetic pacing and appearances by his animated alter ego, a mysterious, recurring character with an afro and distinctive outfit who is tangential to the story. Nabeshin has also served as series director for The Wallflower and Tenchi Muyo GXP, and he can be found in these series as well, in cameo or supporting roles.

Nabeshin has been quoted as saying that he places great importance in making viewers laugh. Stating that he values laughter as much as tears, his preference is to motivate viewers to have fun and enjoy a show. He reasons that his success stems from provoking the same, strong emotional investment—in a humorous way—as a traditional, sentimental story does.

Nabeshin has also written lyrics for the opening songs of Excel Saga and Tenchi Muyo GXP, and has served as storyboarder and episode director for a variety of other anime series.

Nabeshin will be doing numerous panels at the convention, including Q&A sessions, an 18+ panel, and more! Both Greg & Nabeshin will appear in panels together, as Greg has been a voice actor in many shows directed by Nabeshin.

AniMinneapolis features over 100 different panels and events, with featured events including a Nerdcore concert, the NOS high-performance gaming lounge, and tons of panels and discussions with the convention's guests of honor. Attendees can register online for only $30 at http://animinneapolis.com/registration

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