New York Anime Festival Welcomes Kobun Shizuno And Aimee Major Steinberger

NYAF Announces Evangelion Co-Director Shizuno And American Animation Dynamo Steinberger As Guests of Honor

Norwalk, CT, July 31, 2007: The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) today announced that Kobun Shizuno and Aimee Major Steinberger will appear as Guests of Honor at its inaugural event December 7-9 in New York City. Mr. Shizuno is a rising star in the world of Japanese animation and will soon be globally known for his directorial role in the upcoming Neon Genesis Evangelion feature films. Aimee Major Steinberger is a veteran American animator who has worked on television series including The Simpsons and Futurama. Ms. Steinberger is now writing and illustrating a book of her adventures in the worlds of cosplay, doll collecting, and other otaku pursuits, Japan Ai: A Tall Girl's Adventures in Japan, to be published this winter by Go! Comi.

"The New York Anime Festival is honored to welcome Mr. Shizuno and Ms. Steinberger," NYAF Show Manager John McGeary said. "Their appearance at our festival will be a huge attraction and we are certainly grateful for their participation. Mr. Shizuno's works, from the classics that gave him his start, to the upcoming installments of the Evangelion saga, are enormously impressive. Meanwhile, Ms. Steinberger has been involved in the production of some of America's most-beloved cartoons while also becoming one of the leading American figures in the Japanese pop culture movement. We are certainly fortunate to have both these artists contribute their time and talent to our show."

ABOUT KOBUN SHIZUNO:
Born in 1972 in Tokyo, Japan, Kobun Shizuno studied at the Yoyogi Animation School and made his debut in the anime world as the Assistant Director of Giant Robo: The Animation. He has
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since served as Director or Co-Director of many of America's biggest anime series including Burst Angel and Elfen Lied as well as fan favorites such as Case Closed, Ai Yori Aoshi, Peacemaker, Princess Nine, and Final Fantasy: Unlimited. Fans of Saturday morning cartoons will recognize Mr. Shizuno as the Director of GI Joe: Sigma 6. His largest projects, though, are his current ones, as Mr. Shizuno is directing an upcoming Fist of the North Star motion picture and serving as Co-Director for the new Neon Genesis Evangelion feature films, the first of which -- Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone -- will premiere this September in theatres in Japan. Mr. Shizuno's appearance at the New York Anime Festival is presented by TenBu Productions.

ABOUT AIMEE MAJOR STEINBERGER:
Aimee Major Steinberger grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. She is a professional animator and layout artist whose work can be seen on The Simpsons and Futurama as well as in Disney's Three Caballeros ride at Epcot's Gran Fiesta Tour and the Warner Bros. film Looney Tunes Back in Action. She is well-known in the doll world as a staff writer for Haute Doll Magazine and an administrator for denofangels.com, the largest English-language Asian ball-jointed doll website and forum in the world. Her passion for costumes has earned her multiple cosplaying awards, including Best in Show at several of the world's largest conventions. She now lives in California and is directing her interest in Japanese classical and popular culture into the book Japan Ai: A Tall Girl's Adventures in Japan, to be published this winter by Go! Comi. For more information on Aimee Major Steinberger, visit aimeemajor.com. Aimee Major Steinberger is sponsored at the New York Anime Festival by Go! Comi.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL:
The New York Anime Festival takes place December 7-9, 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan and is organized by Reed Exhibitions, the creators of New York Comic Con. The New York Anime Festival will showcase the best of anime pop culture, including the latest anime, manga, Japanese cinema, music, and games, and anime-influenced comics, animation, and films from around the world. The festival will feature exclusive and extensive screenings, a gala cosplay masquerade, sessions with the some of the biggest names in anime from Japan, Asia, and America, and explore the Japanese cultural experience with displays of both traditional and cutting-edge Japanese life.

The New York Anime Festival is sponsored by ADV Films, Anime Insider Magazine, Anime Network, Anime News Network, AnimeNEXT, BookExpo, Diamond Book Distributors, ICv2, New York Comic Con, NEW YORK - TOKYO, Newtype USA Magazine, Publishers Weekly, TOKYOPOP, and Wedge Holdings.

The New York Anime Festival's current Guests of Honor include Peter Fernandez, Corinne Orr, Kobun Shizuno, and Aimee Major Steinberger.

Further information and tickets can be found at www.newyorkanimefestival.com.

ABOUT TENBU PRODUCTIONS:
TenBu Productions is a professional manga, film, music, production, and distribution company. Founded by artist and anime industry veteran Asu, TenBu Productions was formed to promote Asian entertainment and talents in the US market. TenBu also services many US events and conventions by booking and managing Japanese talents from all over the anime, film and music areas of the Japanese entertainment field. Popular in-house talents that TenBu Productions represents in the US include unicorn table, Yasuhiro Koshi, Yunmao Ayakawa and more. Visit tenbuproductions.om for more information about TenBu Productions.

ABOUT GO! COMI:
In less than two years Go! Comi has become renowned for the excellence of its manga series and top production values. Among its publications are the BookScan best-sellers Tenshi Ja Nai!! and Her Majesty's Dog, Cantarella (a 2007 YALSA "Great Graphic Novel for Teens"), and the Eisner Award-nominated After School Nightmare. For more information, please visit gocomi.com.

ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS:
The New York Anime Festival is operated by Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading events organizer. In 2006, Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today, Reed events are held in 34 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and organized by 37 fully staffed offices.

Reed organizes a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses, and meetings. Its portfolio of over 460 events serves 52 industry sectors, including aerospace and defense, building and construction, design, electronics, energy, oil and gas, entertainment, food and hospitality, gifts, healthcare, IT/telecoms, jewelry, manufacturing, marketing and business services, pharmaceuticals, property, publishing, security, sport and recreation, transport and logistics, and travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations, and government departments, Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2005, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profit before taxation of ??1,002 million on turnover of ??5,166 million.