STGCC 2014 : The Creator's Panel

A panel headed by Makoto Kedouin, Tomokazu Sugita and Nao Shirahane

This year's Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention had been a joyride to attend, with much to see and a variety of interesting merchandise to purchase. However, I came down with the sole objective of catching the Creator's Panel in action - A panel headed by author of Corpse Party Makoto Kedouin, well-renowned voice actor Tomokazu Sugita as well as famous illustrator Nao Shirahane. The panel was dedicated to discussing the ups and downs of the life of a 'creator', be it whatever genre of media said creator is developing.
With my curiosity regarding the creative process of these three talented 'creators' at its peak, I made my way down to the stage area where the panel will be held, and wait in anticipation as they prep the stage for the Creator's Panel.

~ Rizky

Makoto Kedouin
Picture Credits: singaporetgcc.com

Makoto Kedouin, who usually stylizes his name as KEDWIN, is the one who created the widely-renowned horror series 'Corpse Party'. Started all the way back from when he was a 22 years old college student, Corpse Party was originally an entry submission for a magazine called LOGIN Sofcom, ultimately winning second place in the Second Annual ASCII Entertainment competition. He has just recently released the latest expansion to the series for the Playstation Vita titled Corpse Party: Blood Drive.

Tomokazu Sugita
Picture Credits: giantbomb.com

Tomokazu Sugita is a voice actor best known for his works in popular series such as Gintama (Gintoki), Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Joseph Joestar), and Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei (Kirihara Takeaki). He is also known for his works in video games such as Blazblue (Ragna the Bloodedge), Killer is Dead (David), and Tales of Xillia (Alvin).

Tomokazu Sugita also provided voice acting in Corpse Party as supporting antagonist Yuuya Kizami, whom he cosplayed as during the panel.

Nao Shirahane as Culture Japan's Mirai Suenaga at STGCC
Picture Credits: popcultureonline.net

Nao Shirahane, who is also known as Dmyo, is a popular illustrator known for her works in the Korean MMORPG Trickster Online as well as the action-rhythm game made by Pentavision Studios DJ Max. She also runs a doujin circle by the name of 'Snow Ring' and is collaborating with cosplayer Stayxxxx to form the circle known as 'Sleepless Child'.

The Creator's Panel started off loud as the audience applauded and cheered as the guests made their way to their respective seats. After their introduction (in which it was revealed that Tomokazu Sugita was cosplaying as a character that he voiced in Corpse Party), the emcee opened the session with an ice-breaker question - how was their flight to Singapore?

We then discovered that it was Makoto Kedouin's first ever plane ride.

As for Tomokazu Sugita, he spent majority of the flight playing Persona Q on his 3DS.

Nao Shirahane, on the other hand, fell asleep and woke up as they arrived.

Kuon-Sensei from Coprse Party: Blood Drive
Picture Credits: crunchyroll.com

The panel was then started proper with an introduction to the horror series Corpse Party, with Makoto Kedouin sharing with the panel a brief synopsis of the game. He then shared some visual aspects of the game, such as in-game CG, and Tomokazu Sugita perked up when the character that he voiced, Yuuya Kizami, made an appearance. They also showcased a new character who will be appearing in the newest expansion of the series(Corpse Party: Blood Drive) by the name of 'Kuon-sensei', to which Makoto Kedouin announced was being voiced by Saori Hayami.

Getsuei Gakuen: Kou for the Playstation Vita
Photo Credits: insideplaystation.com

Next, the panel showcased the Playstation Vita game 'Getsuei Gakuen: Kou', which is developed by Arc System Works and is based off a self-published light novel written by Tomokazu Sugita. It is revealed here that Makoto Kedouin was also involved in the game as a guest scenario writer. We were then shown the trailer and was given a brief introduction to the plot of the game.

Mirai Suenaga as drawn by Nao Shirahane
Picture Credits: dannychoo.com

The final segment of the panel was then given to Nao Shirahane as she showed some of her works as an illustrator, this included her rendition of Danny Choo's Mirai from Culture Japan.

Before the panel ended, there was a short Q&A session mostly directed to Tomokazu Sugita, one of the more prominent questions being asking for tips and advices in the voice-acting industry.

Tomokazu Sugita then asked the audience how old do they think Makoto Kedouin is, which is then revealed to be 41.

With that, the panel ended, and the guests left the same way they arrived, accompanied by cheers and applause.