TMZ reported on Thursday that voice actor Peter Cullen (Transformers’ Optimus Prime) died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, according to his agent. He was 85.

Cullen’s family told TMZ:

“Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family – and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide. His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle.'”

Cullen was born on July 28, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Cullen is best known for voicing Optimus Prime throughout various works in the Transformers franchise, including Transformers, The Transformers: The Movie, Transformers Prime, and Michael Bay‘s live-action Transformers films.

He was an announcer for the Toonami programming block, and he also voiced the narrator in the IGPX anime. He played Mario in Donkey Kong cartoons from the Saturday Supercade anthology series, as well as Commander James Hawkins, King Alfor, and the narrator in Voltron. Other notable voice roles include Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Monterey Jack in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, K.A.R.R. in Knight Rider, Thadeus in Invincible, Venger in Dungeons & Dragons, Nemesis Enforcer in G.I. Joe: The Movie, Murky Dismal in Rainbow Brite, Pop in Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats, and multiple characters in Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.

The Society of Voice Art and Sciences presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Cullen during the 6th Annual Voice Arts Awards Gala at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California in November 2019.

Source: TMZ

Writer Sekina Aoi and artist Ryō Tsuzura‘s My Crush’s Crush (Boku no Suki na Hito ga Suki na Hito) manga is getting a television anime adaptation. Tsuzura shared an illustration to commemorate the announcement:

Yen Press licensed the manga, and it describes the story:

When Sora Akizuki confesses his feelings to Miya Fuwa, he gets rejected outright. As it turns out, she likes Asahi Suzukaze, the president of the mysterious “Clinical Trials Club.” When he joins the club to learn more about Asahi, he discovers that she also has a crush on someone else! Could this chain of crushes get any more complicated…?

Aoi (Gamers! light novel series) and Tsuzura debuted the manga in Hakusensha‘s Young Animal Zero magazine in November 2022. The seventh compiled book volume shipped in Japan on Friday.

Aoi and Sabotenn launched the Gamers! novel series in 2014. Tsubasa Takahashi launched a manga adaptation in Kadokawa‘s Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine in October 2016. The series inspired a television anime adaptation that premiered in July 2017. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan. Funimation streamed an English dub and released the series on home video.

Aoi’s previous Seitokai no Ichizon light novel series inspired The Student Council’s Discretion television anime series in 2009, and the Student Council’s Discretion Lv. 2 television anime series in 2012. Sentai Filmworks released the first anime on home video in March 2015, and released the second anime in May 2015.

Source: Comic Natalie

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. Yen Press, BookWalker Global, and J-Novel Club are subsidiaries of KWE.

LeftField Media announced on Thursday the launch of KPEX: Korean Pop Culture Expo, a new three-day convention celebrating Korean entertainment and culture in New York City.

KPEX will take place from May 29-31, 2027, at the Javits Center and will feature programming spanning K-Pop, K-Dramas, K-Comics, K-Games, K-Food, and K-Beauty. The event will include panels, screenings, workshops, autograph sessions, shopping, and nightly concerts featuring artists from South Korea.

The event is being led by Greg Topalian, co-creator of New York Comic-Con; Robert Khoo, co-creator of PAX; and Peter Tatara, founder of Anime NYC. LeftField Media, which operates Anime NYC and several other major U.S. fan conventions, is producing the event.

KPEX will launch with partners including the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) and Ize Press, with additional participants and special guests to be announced. The convention will also feature a business-to-business component connecting Korean content companies and creators with industry professionals in the U.S.

Tickets will go on sale September 18 at 12:00 p.m. EDT.

Those interested can check more detailed information on the event’s official website.

LeftField Media’s Anime NYC event was held from August 20-23, and the company stated the event hosted 172,000 people. Next year’s Anime NYC will be held from August 26-29.

Source: Press release