Coming off the heels of CONvergence, Minneapolis gets an anime convention this week. While I wasn't at Anime Detour, and this is much smaller, I'm happy with the voice actor guest list. I think Minneapolis has been getting same old (Carrie Savage, Kyle Herbert, Tiffany Grant). I like them, but it will be cool to meet and listen to new people for a change.
Voice Actor Guest List
Quinton Flynn - Raiden (Metal Gear), Reno (Final Fantasy VII), Axel (Kingdom Hearts) Greg Ayres - Featured in over 75 shows, including FMA Brotherhood, Beck: MCS, Evangelion Redux, and the Wallflower Spike Spencer - Shinji (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Chris Cason - Featured in over 40 shows, including FMA, Shin Chan, Dragon Ball Z Kai, and Soul Eater Chris Rager - Featured in Dragonball Z and One Piece
The panels are a mixture of anime production, fandom, and RPG lovefests. There are Two separate KH panels, but one is led by Quinton. It will be interesting to see how involved he and the other actors get with different projects.
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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money
The Northland Inn hotel is a LOT smaller than the Sheraton from CONvergence last week. Even so, the intimacy of the setting made me feel at ease.
"Tales from the Script" Panel - It was supposed to be a solo panel by Chris Cason, but three other guests crashed the party. Here's the rundown of the panelists:
Chris Cason: Straight shooter, he screwed with an audience member, who asked "What's your favorite roll?" He started talking about sushi and other random crap, which set the tone for the rest of the craziness. He did get to talk about writing scripts for anime, and called it a pain in the ass.
Quinton Flynn: he reveled in referencing his roles, especially obscure ones. I thought it was funny how he shamelessly plugged a music CD of his. FLAME ON!
Chris Rager: He sounds like a big wrestling fan, which is always a plus in my book. He dismissed the rigors of being an actor. He made light of falling off a bridge in an accident last year. He did admit that he wouldn't want Cason's job of adapting scripts for Western audiences.
Spike Spencer: He stole the show. He's off the wall, immensely charismatic, and dynamic. I couldn't stay for his 18+ panel, but I can't wait to see his voice acting panel tomorrow afternoon.
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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money
Flynn got really negatively vocal about how he still hasn't been contacted on the status of Rising and his assumed role in it despite calling them up repeatedly not too long ago. I saw some online interview with him and the interviewer was definitely intentionally riling him up about it but he had some choice words about how aggravated he's felt over it.
I wouldn't count on him saying anything overly nice to that end until he hears more.
And no, this isn't just some rumor I overheard. I know it was on the Rising (PS3) board a couple of months back; I can't remember where the heck the link went to now though.
-- Sir Chris Police ~Ace Detective in Homicide~ http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png "Thanks Punny!"
Thanks to JZ for Flynn's comments (which are verbatim). My take on it is I never understand why actors who have become the "voice" of a character are never penciled in until they decide to quit. This occurs to me in the case of Evangelion. Spike Spencer and Tiffany Grant reprised their roles in the English redux, while Amanda Winn-Lee (who still does acting roles elsewhere) was replaced. I'm not saying Brina Palencia isn't a good replacement. It just seems that she doesn't need to be there. Flynn is in the same situation. The Raiden character is effective because Flynn is good at it. I doubt it's a money issue. These guys don't get dirt for money ($100 per hour in a sporadic job), so the holdup doesn't make sense.
Anyway, Flynn recited lines from KH, Zatch Bell, Fantastic Four, the new Speed Racer, and something so obscure it sounded like, "CODA KEPPY!"
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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money
I'm done with AniMinneapolis, and I'm exhausted as all ****. Days 2 and 3 bled into a haze so I'll just sum them up here.
Turning the Tables - Chris Cason asked us questions about random things. I mentioned the Q&A session with Bruce Campbell from a few years ago. A teenage girl mentioned this being her first con, which was good for her. I was annoyed near the end, because some guy who busted his leg about a year ago took 10 minutes to tell a 3 minute story.
Random **** Panel - Flynn, Cason, and Rager spent more time fielding questions (and reiterating things from Friday). They just tore into each other with glee.
Final Fantasy 7 FAQ - I wanted a change of pace, so I went to a FF7 fanservice panel instead. Sephrioth and Vincent cosplayer fangirls led the panel. I find it amazing some people don't understand the game came first...what morons. The major concepts (not shocking) was the mature essence of the game, including Cloud's well-documented sexual inadequacy and innuendo. Terror stories of Emerald Weapon also surfaced, much to my painful memory.
Voice Acting Panel - Spike Spencer led this one, and he went over voice acting hierarchy, secrets, and stories of some Funimation colleagues passing out during recording sessions. I can't stress this enough, Spike is awesome. If you get a chance to meet him one day, do it. You won't regret it. I also caught the tail end of Greg Ayres' panel. He's a staunch defender of buying and supporting anime. He has the right mindset, because it's a lifeline for him and all the guests.
I bought Flynn's mix CD from his band. The ATM at the hotel broke, so I had to run 20 minutes to and back from a gas station to pay for it. I haven't played it yet (or the CD I bought from Spike), but I intend to get around it after finish my errands today. I was intent on watching anime for some time (including One Piece and Persona 3: Trinity Soul), but after one episode of each, the player took a **** and I left. I found a mother and son playing Monopoly, so I acted as the banker to lend them a hand. It's nice to see such an awesome game continue to bring people together.
Spike's Dating Cookbook - In the first adult panel, Spike refrenced journeys Barcelona and Australia (including some ugly ass women). He's an avid cook, and he stated that men need to figure that **** out (among everything else) to impress women. Relationships and dating are games of cat and mouse, and he even admitted that there's no shame in people who look to conventions to find them.
Random ****, Drunk Version - Cason, Flynn, Rager, and Spike joined up again and this was insane. Stories from the Aristocrats and Green Jolly Rancher jokes, to ****jobs on airplanes, culminating in Cason's run-in with a chubby fangirl, and Flynn impersonating everyone else. It capped an intense day of panels.
I couldn't take a bus home at that point, so I spent the next eight hours in a haze of energy drinks, sleepwalking, and Apples to Apples. I loosened up like crazy, and even began randomly impersonating Flynn and Spike before falling asleep on a couch at 4 AM for an hour at a time.
Anime Directing Panel - the final panel I went to (after escaping the NOS haze) was Cason documenting issues with acting, directing, and auditions. I asked him about the "sub v. dub" argument, and he agreed in the sense that it's odd that it's mostly Americans who find English speaking to be evil, as opposed to the contrary.
I learned that all-nighters suck balls, but it was worth doing. I express gratitude to all the voice actors and staffers. This convention was much more initimate and intense than CONvergence, and i can't wait for more next year.
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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money
Oh, how I treasure the thought of droning on about Xenogears and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine impromptu when guests ask me about my roles in random anime some years down the road.
Thanks for posting all this, Strife.
-- Sir Chris Police ~Ace Detective in Homicide~ http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png "Thanks Punny!"
It's the least I can do. Besides, these guys deserve all the praise they get, because it's times like these people need to realize. Anime/video game voice actors don't get enough credit.
Sporadic work schedules (for $100/$200 per hour if/when they received calls) Limited to working in four cities (Vancouver, LA, Dallas, New York) Drive/fly on their own dime Are resepcted the least out of all voice acting professions (Spike's own words)
Cons are the only times they get interactions with fans, because the nature of their work keeps them anonymous to regular people. They don't take it for granted.
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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money
Yeah, it's rough going. I'm moving to Vancouver sometime around early 2013 to really get started. I don't expect anything remotely glamorous out of this choice. It's just something I know I'm good at and would enjoy at least trying.
-- Sir Chris Police ~Ace Detective in Homicide~ http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png "Thanks Punny!"
I've just listened to both Spike's "What happens at the Con" audio book and Flynn's "best of" rock album (the latter is just finishing).
At the Con - The stories told ranged from a bible thumper running into a cosplayer in an elevator, to a voice actor farting in a Coke bottle, finally with a fat girl with a "$5 Hentai" sign, Spike embellishes some things of horrid (or lustfully pornographic) nature. He even throws in some random things to liven it up. It was a good replacement for not seeing the actual panel. Then again, I don't think I could manage another all-nighter if I tried.
Flynn's album - I'm not into alternative rock, but I am pleasantly surprised by Flynn's output. Songs ranged from punkish to light rock (with some solid guitar solos mixed in). Flynn's voice translates to singing, but he's not as polished compared to Brina Palencia or Christine Auten, as there were moments that he trailed off into annoying bits. That criticism is small given the fact that all the songs are decent to good quality. The last one was a joke song called "The Yaoi Song," and it perfectly fits the nature of the title.
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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money