Guests of Honor

Monica Rial

Monica Rial has been working in the anime voice over industry for 13 years. As an actress for ADV Films and Funimation Entertainment has lent her voice to over 250 anime including: Baccano! (Chane), Black Butler (Mei Ren), Certain Magical Index (Index), E.F. a Tale of Memories (Chihiro), Fairy Tail (Mirajane), Hetalia (Flying Mint Bunny/Belarus), High School of the Dead (Shizuka), Mass Effect: Paragon Lost (Treeya), Negima (Konoka/Kazumi/Satsuki), One Piece (Tashigi/Carue/Kuina), Ouran Host Club (Renge), Panty and Stocking (Stocking), Princess Jellyfish (Mayaya), Sergeant Frog (Momoka), Shinchan (Ai), Soul Eater (Tsubaki), Towa No Quan (Tei), Tsubasa (Sakura), Witchblade (Maria) and many more. She can be heard on the Cartoon Network in Deadman Wonderland (Shiro), Casshern Sins (Ringo), Samurai 7 (Shino) and FMA Brotherhood (May Chang). You can also catch her on Nicktoons and the CW as Bulma in Dragonball Z Kai. She’s appeared in several video games including Ms. Splosion Man, Comic jumper, and Borderlands 2. Be sure to come by and say hello!

Todd Haberkorn

Todd provides voices for several of the most famous anime characters, including North Itality in Hetalia, Ling Yao in Fullmetal Alchemist, Natsu Dragneel in Fairy Tail, and Hikaru in Ouran High School Host Club, among many others. Todd Haberkorn is currently a proud member of the Anime community and continues to be its humble servant by way of english dubbing. Haberkorn received his BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University and continues to work professionally, primarily in Texas and surrounding states, as an actor, director, producer, and writer. And while the FUNimation Podcast is no more, you may have previously seen him star in it.

Catch Todd’s voice as lead roles in Sgt. Frog as Keroro, Suzuka as Yamato, Ghost Hunt as Naru, Claymore as Raki, Holic as Wataknuki, D. Gray Man as Allen Walker, Sands of Destruction as Kyrie, Soul Eater as Death the Kid, and some others he can’t say right now. A few supporting roles include Itsuki in Shuffle, Ichimoruken in Hell Girl, Firo in Baccano!, Kono in Darker Than Black, Hikaru in Ouran High School Host Club and Khoza in One Piece. Check out most of the shows listed above on Hulu.com or Funimation.com. When not in the booth, Todd is a producer with his company, Out of the Office Productions. Todd is represented by The Horne Agency.

Sonny Strait

sonnystrait.biz
Sonny Strait is a prolific voice actor, known for roles as Maes Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist, Krillin in DBZ, and Lupin III in, well, Lupin III. Sonny is also known as an illustrator for one of the most famous, independently published comic book series Elfquest. Sonny Strait has over 20 years of experience in the arts.

Besides Krillin, Hughes, and Lupin, Sonny has worked on many popular animated characters including Usopp from One Piece and Cartoon Network’s laid back, robot host Toonami Tom. He has also worked as a writer and director on several TV series including Dragonball Z, Case Closed and Lupin the Third.

LittleKuriboh

Martin Billany, more well known as LittleKuriboh, is the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged series and the godfather of the abridged age. He has thus far produced no less than 52 episodes, a spinoff, a prequel, a christmas special and two movies, creating a cultural phenomenon in the anime world. In addition to playing nearly every character in his own series, he has made cameos in the Death Note, Naruto, Sonic X, Trinity Blood, Pokemon, Fullmetal Alchemist and Sailor Moon abridged series. With a mission to revitalize interest in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise and make it more accessible to Joe Public, LittleKuriboh will continue the original abridged series providing us with priceless entertainment for many years to come. All-round nice guy and community fan-favourite, he is also associated with TeamFourStar (the group behind Dragon Ball Z Abridged, for which he also supplies voices) and has made guest appearances on comic-book video review series Atop the Fourth Wall.

Spike Spencer

www.worldospike.com
Spike Spencer has voiced hundreds of episodes of Anime including Evangelion, Bleach, Vampire Knight, Durarara!, Battle Angel, Suikoden, Orphen, Spriggan, Nadesico, Mar, PreTear, Buso Renkin, Gundam, Code Geass 2, and Kekkaishi. His video game credits include Bioshock:Infinite, Saints Row 3, World of Warcraft, Tales of Vesperia, BlazBlue, Dynasty and Samurai Warriors, Steambot Chronicles, Star Ocean 2, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, and many others. Spike has also lent his voice to numerous radio and TV commercials.

He has also worked as an actor with stars such as Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Frank Langella, Tia Carrere, and Scott Glenn. Spike is also an author, including "How to Be A Frickin Genius Voice Actor, Step One," "What Happens At The Con, Stays At The Con?," And "Don't Kill Your Date (And Other Cooking Tips)"-(Coming soon). Spike is also a screenwriter with several projects in various stages. Spike is soon to begin production on his first feature film that he scripted, "Dwindle Down." Spike is also an avid sailor, cook, traveler, and enjoys a good bit of dancing from time to time.

Marianne Miller

Marianne very rarely stops talking, so when she realized that she could make money off of it, she immediately leapt at the chance to do so. Of course, just talking wasn't enough to get work in the voiceover industry, so after many years in theatre (both musical andotherwise), Marianne got her first role in Fullmetal Alchemist and the Conquerer of Shamballa. Since then she has also received work as Kyosuke in Madoka Magica, Leta, Tula and Lido in Dragon Age: Warden's fall, Yuuno Scrya in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (and Lyrical Nanoha A's), Yuuta in Squid Girl, Anwar in Avalon code, as well as many others. One of her biggest projects coming out is a CGI adaptation of The Snow Queen, being released in theaters this Christmas--she voices Kai, the male lead.

Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug

Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug has had the misfortune of being cursed to review comic books on the internet. Somehow this has made him popular on the website That Guy With the Glasses, though many suspect it’s more so people can stare and laugh at the weirdo. On his show, Atop the Fourth Wall, he regularly contends with the surreal, the stupid, and the senseless books that the comic industry has produced over the last eighty years. If that wasn’t sad enough, he also has done a retrospective on Power Rangers (released on the schedule of when a blue moon rises on the 13th hour of the 13th day of the 13th month), actually attempting to grant serious analysis to a series about guys in spandex punching rubber-suited monsters. It’s best not to make direct eye contact with him.

Airship O'Reilly

Long ago a young, or perhaps freshly painted, airship christened the Brazen Beauty set off her first journey from the far-away city of Tennesbury. After years of adventures too far-fetched to repeat, she found herself and her crew lost in a much stranger land... this one. Now renamed Airship O'Reilly, she and her crew come to the con to... well... probably steal something.

Started back in 2007 as the Brazen Beauty, the Champaign, IL based Airship O'Reilly has since evolved beyond just a group of kids who wanted to make movies and have fun. Bringing together several slightly insane individuals, O'Reilly has become a force of entertainment, hosting events in their hometown, making costumes and accessories, and bringing the madness and chaos with them wherever they go.

Music Guests

Dr. Awkward

www.drawkward.com
Dr. Awkward is a Nerdcore rapper with several hit songs and performances at Nerdapalooza and after parties at Comic Con, Florida's Nerd Invasion, and Texas' Comicpalooza. In 2009, Dr. Awkward released his first solo project "Next Gen," in which Doc proclaims that he is the future of Nerdcore Hip Hop. The EP was hailed as an instant classic, with hits like "Geekquilibrium" and "Imposter." Dr. Awkward release his latest album, "Unlimited" in April 2010, which features an amazing fusion of Nerdcore, Hip Hop, and R&B.

YTCracker

www.ytcracker.com
YTCracker is a rapper, former cracker, and Internet entrepreneur. YTCracker began producing rap music in 1998 in the genre that has since become known as nerdcore hip hop. YTCracker is a self-proclaimed “jack of all trades”, also making a name for himself as a professional disc jockey, computer programmer, graphics designer and webmaster.

V is for Villains (In Hiding)

According to the Chicago Post Times, rumors suggest that Mr. Agitator deliberately injured himself during a previous performance to buy time for a Villains squad to steal over nine hundred thousand dollars from allegedly corrupt law firm, Sterns and Hallman. Allegedly, the injury delayed police dispatch for exactly fourteen additional seconds, giving them enough time to escape without any concrete evidence. Rumors hinted that Sterns and Hallman were involved in numerous political embezzlement schemes. The Villains must ensure that any evidence against them is destroyed before appearing live again, and so they can not join us this year. We expect they will return on the scene within a year.

StarF

StarF is an amateur hip hop artist from Maple Grove, Minnesota who primarily functions within the nerdcore community. He occasionally yells at a microphone and calls the results music. Once in awhile he likes to go out in public and shout at groups of people much to their confusion, calling it a performance of this aforementioned music. If you've ever wanted to experience the excitement of some guy who likes to LARP as a rockstar yelling words at you in rapid succession over wonderfully bass-laden instrumentals it would be in your best interest to see StarF perform.

Mattari 2600

Mattari is a nerdcore hip-hop artist who makes music for the love of music. Mattari is proud to stand by making free music that will always be free. Mattari started making music after listening to a bunch of old-school and nerdcore hip-hop for years, and realizing a natural talent for decent writing and hip-hop flow. Mattari will perform anywhere or collaborate with anyone for the love of making music.

Music Guests

Past Music Guests

StarF (2012 Guest)

www.scrubclubrecords.com
Submerged in the Minneapolis, Minnesota music scene (yes, it exists!), StarF is as much of an artist as he is a fan of Hip Hop. After writing lyrics for years and realizing he needed to find a way to transmute his words into song, he began his journey into rapping around April of 2006. After years of hard work and improvement, he finally found his way to Scrub Club, which was not just another record label, but a collection of people who he could relate to and call his family. Raised by internet culture and obsessed with music, StarF blends a mixture of poetics and edgy humor into everything he produces. Every new project is approached as the beginning of something that will better himself rather than a means to an end, and as so, StarF is consistently progressing and leveling up within the Nerdcore community. While socially awkward to a noticeable degree, StarF still loves everyone in the community he meets. Despite any awkwardness, he will never hesitate to grab a mic and rock it for a crowd.

Mattari 2600 (2012 Guest)

Soup or Villainz (2012 Guest)

Formed in 2009, the Soup Or Villainz base their operations out of South Bend, IN. This group of high class villains consists of Remi-son and Viet Vu with a slew of henchmen and henchwomen. These Soup Or Villainz are out for world domination...not for power but because its just something to do. Along with their hypnotizing beats and lyrical mysticism, they use their strong intellects to turn the youth into mindless zombies one song at a time.

Fuzzy Machete (2012 Guest)

www.fuzzymachete.com
With cerebral (often snarky) lyrics and a very straightforward "garage rock" aesthetic, Fuzzy Machete is a staple of the nascent "nerdpunk" scene in the Twin Cities. Formed in 2009, Fuzzy Machete consists of Krissandra on Vocals and Bass, Tara on Guitar, and Jonny on drums. Believing that great music and nerd culture pair like Langres and a fine champagne, these three brew an auditory frisson of AC/DC, The Cure, Bowie, and Rush with Dr. Who, Star Trek, Firefly, and MS3TK. Merciless and gritty like the writings of George R.R. Martin and sweet as Nana, this trio powerhouse has performed at Twin Cities Pride Festival, The Zombie Pub Crawl, Warped Tour Send off with Sick of Sarah, Girls Rock and Roll Retreat, and The Sister’s of Camelot Asylum Benefit.

Independent/Fan Guests

Rob "Vash" Lewis (2012 Guest)

Rob "Vash" Lewis is a well known costumer and con entertainer across the Midwest. Since first attending Sugoicon in 2005, Rob has been dedicating his time and effort to bringing Master class costumes and well loved entertainment to the many conventions he attends. Not only is Rob dedicated to providing quality entertainment to the attendees of the conventions he frequents, but he also teaches survival skills on his favorite genre – zombies. As a laboratory professional, Rob gives insight to the pathological side of the undead, educating the masses for the future. Rob currently resides in Omaha, Nebraska with his girlfriend and two pesky cats.

Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug (2012 Guest)

www.thatguywiththeglasses.com Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug has had the misfortune of being cursed to review comic books on the internet. Somehow this has made him popular on the website That Guy With the Glasses, though many suspect it’s more so people can stare and laugh at the weirdo. On his show, Atop the Fourth Wall, he regularly contends with the surreal, the stupid, and the senseless books that the comic industry has produced over the last eighty years. If that wasn’t sad enough, he also has done a retrospective on Power Rangers (released on the schedule of when a blue moon rises on the 13th hour of the 13th day of the 13th month), actually attempting to grant serious analysis to a series about guys in spandex punching rubber-suited monsters. It’s best not to make direct eye contact with him.

Guests From 2012

Quinton Flynn (2012 Guest)

www.quintonflynn.com
Quinton’s voice has been burning up film and television since he first arrived in Los Angeles from his native Cleveland. He is an A-list voice actor, having played such famous animated characters as Jonny Quest, Spiderman, Speed Racer, The Human Torch, Timon, Snowbell in Stuart Little, just to name a few. His television and film appearances include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, King of Queens, Animaniacs, Woody Woodpecker, Robot Chicken, and many more.

His best known roles in video game franchises have been his work providing the english voices of Raiden in the Metal Gear Solid series, Axel in Kingdom Hearts II, and Reno in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children the motion picture. If you’re hip to the anime scene you’ll know him as Iruka-sensei and Deidara in Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, Marcus Damon in Digimon Data Squad, and Carl in Blood+, to name a few.

Vic Mignogna (2012 Guest)

Vic has been acting since he was 8 years old. Since then Vic has been in over 150 shows and video games, known for such roles as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Tamaki Suou in Ouran High School Host Club, Fai in Tsubasa Chronicle, Dark in DN Angel, Kurz in Full Metal Panic, Broly in Dragonball Z, Kougaijji in Saiyuki, Ikkaku in Bleach, Yukito in Air, Takanaga in Wallflower, Tatsu in Peacemaker, Luciano in Code Geass, Virgil Walsh in Trinity Blood, Hikaru in Macross and many more. Currently Vic is playing roles in the new Wolverine and Iron Man series on G4. He's also playing Zero in Vampire Knight, and Yoshimori in Adult Swim's Kekkaishi. He is also back in the role of Edward for Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, playing Death Scythe in Soul Eater, as well as Pokemon, Naruto, Bleach and several others. Vic has also voiced roles in a large number of video games including Soul Calibur, Disgaea, Persona III, Sonic Colours, Project Sylpheed, DBZ, Bleach, FMA and more. Vic is also a professional music composer / singer / producer who has written and produced hundreds of pieces for TV, radio and CD. He sings the themes for shows like One Piece & DBGT, and has produced several CDs of his own original music, all available on iTunes. Finally, in addition to anime and music, Vic has a degree in film and is deeply involved as an actor and director in several web series like "Nuka Break", "Starship Farragut", and is executive producing a brand new TOS based series "Star Trek Continues". Vic works regularly writing, producing and directing video and film productions of all kinds.

Wendy Powell (2012 Guest)

Wendy Powell has been a professional voice actress for FUNimation Entertainment and Okratron 5000 for over 10 years. Most well known as the Homunculus named Envy in Fullmetal Alchemist, she's also starred in Yu Yu Hakusho as Mukuro, D. Gray-Man as Hevlaska, Shirguri as Iku, and Claymore as Ilene.

Wendy is also often known for smaller parts, in which she usually dies a most painful death. Some of her credits include: Katsuko Momose in Chaos Head, Emi in Baki The Grappler, Amick in Blue Gender, The Fever Demon in Shin Chan, Kyo’s Mother in Fruits Basket, Kasuga in Negima and Paula "Lady Death" in Trinity Blood. She has also voiced characters in: Baka & Test, Soul Eater, School Rumble, Kiddy Grade, Case Closed, Sgt. Frog, Peach Girl, xxxHolic, One Piece, Galaxy Railways, Tsubasa, Gunslinger Girl, Moon Phase, Glass Fleet, and many others.

As a teacher by day, evil villain by night (same job, right?), Wendy most loves the Theatre, with anime coming up as a close second.

Shinichi "Nabeshin" Watanabe (2012 Guest)

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 AniMinneapolis, including "Friday Night in Tokyo (18+)", "Q&A with Nabeshin's Afro," and more!

Greg Ayres (2012 Guest)

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 DNAngel, 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.

When he’s not in a booth with headphones on, you can usually find him sporting headphones of another variety behind “the decks”. A veteran nightclub DJ of many years, Greg has really enjoyed the oppor- tunity of doing something else that he truly loves at conventions. From packed rooms at anime conventions, to the legendary stage of The Knitting Factory (NYC), Greg never misses an opportunity to share his love of music with anyone who will listen.