Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. July 24-26, 2009.

Reporter(s): Drake, T3k, Atomis

During Day 2 of MechaCon 5.0, Anime Secrets was able to attend a panel put on by Chris Ayres, Greg Ayres, Samantha Inoue Harte, Wendy Powell, and Vic Mignogna, about the current state of voice acting and the anime industry in Texas. Below is the interview:

About Chris Ayres : Chris is well known for voice acting in many animes such as Trinity Blood, A Tree of Palme, and Devil May Cry. He is also known for directing Xenosaga and Magikano, and giving a workshop on combat cosplay at conventions he attends.

About Greg Ayres:Greg is well known for voice acting in many animes such as Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, D.N. Angel, Black Cat, Heroic Age, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Ouran High School Club. He is also known for djing at anime conventions for raves and other events.

About Samantha Inoue Harte: In addition to being an anime voice actress, Samantha is also an animation instructor, President of her own animation studio called Saiko Studios, and also an avid zombie special effects technician. Most notably she is known for her work with such classics like the Jetsons, Speedy Gonzales, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Samurai X, and many others.

About Victor Joseph Mignogna: Over the years Vic has performed the voices of numerous animes and video games. Born August 27th, 1967 in the city of Greensburg in Pennsylvania, Mignogna is probably best known for his role as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist and Brolly in the Dragon Ball Z video game franchise. Besides voice acting, Vic has also performed musical scores such as Byakuya ~True Light~ from D.N.Angel, Brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist and Hikari E from One Piece.

About Wendy Powell: Wendy is an American Voice Actress for Funimation, lending her voice in such roles as Envy in Fullmetal Alchemist, Kyo’s Mother in Fruits Basket, Hevlaska in D.Gray Man, and Sister Paula from Trinity Blood, among with numerous other roles.