Anime Expo® Announces Trigun Manga Creator Yasuhiro Nightow And Trigun Movie Director Satoshi Nishimura As 2009 Guests Of Honor

Shigeru Kitayama and Noriyuki Jinguji to Also Join Famed Manga-Ka and Director as Industry Guests at Nation¹s Largest Anime and Manga Convention for an Exclusive First Look Premiere of the Highly Anticipated TRIGUN Film

Anaheim, California (May 11, 2009) ‹ The staff that created the TRIGUN anime, over 10 years ago, are reuniting at Anime Expo®! Anime Expo® is proud to announce Mr. Yasuhiro Nightow and Mr. Satoshi Nishimura as an official Guests of Honor of the nation's largest anime and manga convention held July 2-5, 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. More information can be found on the website www.anime-expo.org.

Mr. Nightow and Mr. Nishimura will be joined by two (2) additional members of the highly anticipated 2009 slated TRIGUN movie team, Mr. Shigeru Kitayama and Mr. Noriyuki Jinguji, for a TRIGUN movie panel in which they will talk a bout the various behind-the-scene episodes, from days way back when, and about the experiences they had while in the production stages of the newest TRIGUN movie as well as key points regarding the upcoming film.

Mr. Yasuhiro Nightow has loved to draw manga since childhood. He continued his creative passion well into his adult years in order to fill the "holes" of his life (i.e. what he wanted and couldn't get, what he wanted yet no one had yet to create it, etc.). He debuted as a manga artist in 1994 with "CALL XXXX" published by Shueisha in Super Jump. Since then he has also created the manga "Samurai Spirits" which appeared in Tokuma Shoten¹s Family Computer Magazine. In 1995, the manga "Trigun" begain its serialization in the Tokuma Shoten Shonen Captain magazine. The "Trigun" manga title inspired the television anime series of the same title and became highly popular in the U.S.

Mr. Satoshi Nishimura is the director of the highly anticipated 2009 TRIGUN movie and has worked on many huge and popular titles including ALIEN NINE, BLACK LAGOON, CARDCAPTOR SAKURA, DRAGON BALL Z MOVIE 1: THE DEADZONE, FIGHTING SPIRIT, FUTURE GPX CYBER FORMULA, GOKU: MIDNIGHT EYE, GUYVER: OUT OF CONTROL, HAND MAID MAY, MASHIN EIYUDEN WATARU 2, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED, PARADIS KISS, REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA, RUROUNI KENSHIN, SAMURAI SHODOWN: THE MOTION PICTURE, SHIN CHO BAKUMATSU SHONEN SEIKI TAKAMARU, STREET FIGHTER ALPHA, TRIGUN and much more!

Mr. Nightow and Mr. Nishimura join Daisuke Ishiwatari, Toshimichi Mori, Morning Musume and Kari Wahlgren as official Anime Expo® 2009 Guests of Honor.

Attendees, Press and Industry Members are also encouraged to view the video coverage site of the 2008 convention at www.AXBackstage.org.

Red & Black Sponsors include: FUNimation, Silver Sponsors include: Anime News Network and Digital Manga Press, Patron Sponsors include: COPIC, Central Park Media and The Right Stuf, Media Sponsors include: ImaginAsian TV, Animation Magazine, Anime Insider Magazine and Anime News Network.

About Anime Expo®
Located in Los Angeles, California - Anime Expo®, the nation¹s largest anime/manga convention, serves to foster trade, commerce and the interests of the general public and animation/ comics industry. This event serves as a key meeting place for the general public to express their interest and explore various aspects of anime/manga, as well as for members of the industry to conduct business. AX 2009 will be held July 2 ­ July 5, 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Southern California. More information can be found at its website (www.anime-expo.org).

About Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit organization with a mission to popularize and educate the American public about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more popularly known by its entertainment property ­ Anime Expo®. More information can be found at its website (www.spja.org).