ACF 1591: Japanese actor/comedian Rome Kanda to appear at 2012 J-POP Summit Festival on August 25 & 26

2012 J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL WELCOMES JAPANESE

ACTOR/COMEDIAN ROME KANDA FOR SPECIAL APPEARANCE

Hilarious Host Of “I Survived A Japanese Game Show” And

“Unbeatable Banzuke” Appears At Annual Japanese Pop Culture Event

To Promote A New Digital Manga Biography

The 2012 J-POP Summit Festival has announced that it will welcome Japanese actor/comedian Rome Kanda for a special in-person appearance on Saturday, August 25th and Sunday, August 26th.

Kanda, who is known for his quirky 2008 comedy reality show, MAJIDE! : I Survived a Japanese Game Show, comes to the J-POP Summit for a stage appearance and autograph session to promote his new biographical digital manga series, Samurai Spirit: The Story of Rome Kanda, which will be soon available in English for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Android-enabled devices.

Rome Kanda is scheduled to appear on the Main Pagoda Stage, located in Japantown’s Peace Plaza, at the 2012 J-POP Summit Festival on Saturday, August 25th at 2:30pm, and Sunday August 26th at 1:00pm, to be followed by an autograph session at the NEW PEOPLE Tent. Rome will also do a fun samurai performance on the stage with audience members. J-POP Summit attendees that are interested in joining him for the live performance should check in at backstage with Festival staff 30 minutes prior to the performance.

For more details, visit: www.j-pop.com.

“I’m looking forward to my appearance at the 2012 J-POP Summit Festival and I invite everyone to attend and also catch my special free samurai show!,” says Kanda. “I appreciate the opportunity to meet attendees and debut my new digital manga biography, Samurai Spirit! “

Rome Kanda started in show business as an actor and went on to appear in numerous films and T.V. shows in Japan before eventually moving to the United States. He gained further notoriety after he began doing comedy routines at venues like LA’s iconic Comedy Store. Kanda was later cast as the MC for the reality series, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, which ran in the United States in 2008 on ABC and followed a group of American contestants as they tried their luck on a quirky Japanese TV game show.

The show ran for two seasons and was awarded The Rose d’Or (Golden Rose) at The Global Entertainment Television Festival, which is one of the most important international events for entertainment television. Kanda was also known as the manic host of the hit G4 television series, Unbeatable Banzuke, and he has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Saturday Night Live and was featured in films including Takeshi Kitano’s Sonatine and The Informant, which was directed by Steven Soderbergh and starred Matt Damon.

Kanda’s amazing life experiences are depicted in Samurai Spirit: The Story of Rome Kanda, an ongoing digital manga series developed by FreeHand, one of the leading comic/manga production companies based in Tokyo that specializes in comics planning, production and advertisement. The series features artwork by Sho Wakasa and is produced by Ryo Kurashina, who is well-known in the Japanese manga industry for bestselling series such as Jo-Tei (Empress), Ya-Oh (King of Night) and Jo-Oh (Queen of Queens.) Samurai Spirit: The Story of Rome Kanda currently runs 7 chapters that are available for only $0.99 each. Additional chapters will debut shortly.

About J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL:

The J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL is an annual Japanese Pop Culture celebration that features live bands and artists from Japan, pop culture panel discussions, film premieres, fashion and DJ dance events, and celebrity appearances. The Festival is hosted by NEW PEOPLE in cooperation with the Japantown Merchants Association. In 2011, the two-day event attracted 55,000 attendees. More information about the J-Pop Summit Festival is available at J-Pop.com.

About FreeHand, Inc.:
Based in Tokyo, Japan, FreeHand Inc. (http://www.f-hand.co.jp/) is one of the leading comic/manga production companies that specializes in comics planning, production and advertisement. The company is owned by Ryo Kurashina, a creator and producer of bestselling manga series such as Jo-Tei (Empress), Ya-Oh (King of Night) and Jo-Oh (Queen of Queens). Samurai Spirit: The Story of Rome Kanda is FreeHand’s first manga title to be released in English for the worldwide market.