Hello everyone and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! So, I interviewed Dante Basco, Richard Epcar, and Troy Baker at MetroCon and now it’s time for the final one and that is with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn! Don’t worry, Gondras was also in this one as well since he was with me Saturday. She is known as Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, Kurenai in Naruto and of course Helba and Bordeaux in .hack and G. U. and I was happy to not only meet her but interview her as well! So, what did I ask her?

 

Mari Blue Cat: You have been to MetroCon in the past as a guest.

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn: Yes, two years ago!

MBC: How does it feel to be back?

MEMG: It feels great! People here are so nice! I just love the fans and they’re so sweet and kind and so generous with their time. It’s fun spending the time with them and Mary Reese puts on an unbelievable show here so I’m thrilled to be back. I love Tampa, it’s a beautiful city!

 

MBC: You have been to so many conventions across the country, what has been your favorite moment or experience?

MEMG: I was in Vegas for Otakon Vegas and a man came up to me with his girlfriend and said, “I’ve been waiting to meet you to do this!” And he turned around and knelt in front of his girlfriend proposed to her in front of me!

MBC: ::laughs:: Awww!

MEMG: And I’m an efficient in Los Angeles in California and I was like, “I can marry you if you want!” But I couldn’t because I was in Nevada but still that was amazing. And then this one…I forgot which con but a man came up to me and he handed me his patch from his unit from Afghanistan and said “Watching Ghost In the Shell and listening to your music from Silent Hill got us through it.” I was so moved I burst into tears! Those two were the best experiences I’ve ever had!

 

MBC: What has been the weirdest thing that someone has brought to you as a gift or to get signed?

MEMG: Let’s see! Signing this guy’s chest once was wild because he was really hairy y! It was just going through a forest to find to make contact with skin in that mind. ::laughs a bit::

MBC: Right!

MEMG: I think that’s it! I think that’s probably the weirdest thing!

 

MBC: You have directed and done voice work, which one do you prefer the most?

I love doing them both! I think directing makes me a better actor and I think acting makes me a better director. I love working with other directors, it really helped me hone my skills as a director, especially as an actor, so I don’t have a favorite I love doing them both. Lucky to be able to do them both!

MBC: Yeah, ‘cause I saw your entire list of stuff you’ve done like create these questions and I’m like “Wow!” Have such a reputation and…

MEMG: Thank you! I’ve been doing it for a long time!

 

MBC: What has been your favorite thing to direct and what has been your favorite to record in?

MEMG: Oh, I love everything I’ve directed! There’s a huge place in my heart for Cowboy Bebop, it was the first series I ever directed.

Gondras: You never forget your first!

MEMG: You never forget your first, that’s very true! So Bebop is a huge place in my heart and Ghost in the Shell as an actor, I think that put me on the map as an actor and I loved playing Motoko Kusanagi. But there is so many, there’s something wonderful about everything I got a chance to direct. I feel really lucky! And voice act as well! I would say those two! I am directing a new show for Disney XD called Pen Zero: Part Time Hero and that’s such an honor to work on with this amazing cast so I…it’s coming out the end of the year beginning of next year.

 

Gondras: Can you give us any details like is it animated, live action?

MEMG: It’s an original show, it’s not anime…

Gondras: No no, I mean is it like one Disney’s animated or are they doing it with a live-action cast?

MEMG: Oh, it’s going to be an animated series!

Gondras: Okay then!

MBC: Ah!

MEMG: It’s starring Adam Divine, Thomas Middlevich, Alfred Molina, Larry Willmore, it’s a really good cast and so it should be great fun!

MBC: Yeah, Disney is well known for all that!

MEMG: Yeah definitely! It’s my first show with Disney so I’m really thrilled!

MBC: I guess we’ll check it out!

MEMG: Yeah I hope so!

Gondras: You said it premieres in the fall right?

MEMG: They’re doing a Christmas episode, our Christmas episode will be in the fall and will start premiering in January!

Gondras: All right! We will be keeping an eye out for it!

 

 

MBC: Which work would you direct again and which character would you voice again if you had…

Gondras: If you had the option to ever revisit a particular series which one…which one would you do if you had a chance to revisit?

MEMG: Well that would mean I was really unhappy with what I did the first time. ::laughs a little:: I would think!

Gondras: Not necessarily that! Just to go and play those characters again like if they announced a sequel to it, like another Ghost in the Shell series…

MEMG: Oh! I would love that!

MBC: Or .hack if they bring Helba…

MEMG: I would love to be Helba again that would be great! I would love to have them to explore the relationships between Vincent and Spike and Julia if they ever do a prequel to Cowboy Bebop, to hear about that relationship! I think that would be really fun

 

MBC: You sing songs for the Silent Hill series…

MEMG: Yeah!

MBC: how did it feel to sing for those games?

MEMG: It was amazing! Akira Yamaoka is just a genious and Joa Mercer’s lyrics…it was so much fun! We go in once a year and record four songs and learn them in a week and go in and record them. It was so much fun to hear what Akira had come up with for the next game because we seem to do one like every year!And now we have a chance to go out and play together We’re playing San Japan next weekend in San Antonio and then we’re going back to Mexico City in November. I love love love singing those songs because there’s a lot of acting involved with them too. So, it’s great fun!

MBC: Yeah, I saw your performance with Troy Baker last night! It was awesome!

MEMG: Thank you so much!Yeah Troy is one of my dear friends and to get to play with him acoustic is great because when we’re in concert we tend to do the songs sort of the same way we recorded them so to get up there onstage and have it broken down with guitar and two voices was thrilling we really got to play “Frozen Rain” and “Your Rain.” So, yeah it was great fun and so glad you enjoyed it!

MBC: No problem!

 

MBC: Since you revealed the work you’rre doing with Disney XD, are there any other works?

Gondras: You can talk about?

MEMG: We’re finishing up the first season of Tenkai Knights, which is a great show I’m doing with Spin Masters, it’s on Cartoon Network now, the cast is fantastic! Todd Habercorn, Bryce Pappenbrook…

MBC: Kyle Hebert

MEMG: Kyle Hebert, Johnny Yong Bosh, um who’s our other guy, oh, Ben Diskin, Steven Blum, Crispin Freeman. It’s a great great cast and I love the show, it’s really funny and Spin Masters is really great to work for!

Gondras: Do you know if the show’s going to be premiering on the Adult Swim, like the Toonami/Adult Swim block, or is it going to be playing during the regular Cartoon Network block?

MEMG: Oh, it’s already airing on Cartoon Network right now! On the regular Cartoon Network!

Gondras: On the daytime!

MEMG: Yeah!

Gondras: I see!

MEMG: That’s really fun and of course Naruto’s still going on!

MBC: Oh yeah!

MEMG: It’s still going on and on and on!

MBC: Oh yeah, especially with the new game that’s coming out in September?

MEMG: Yeah!

MBC: We’re pre-ordering it for the PS3 right now.

MEMg: Oh good! Awesome!

Gondras: I’m a little sad that your character, Kurenai, has been pushed off to the side a little bit!

MEMG: I know! I feel that way too but I play a new Lady Mizukage which I love! She might be my favorite character I’ve done on Naruto, I love her and great fun!

 

We did end the interview with talking about Mahle Flannigan, the voice of Naruto, since the newest Ultimate Ninja Storm is coming out and having Mecha Naruto as one of the things in it, I did mention how I got to meet her last year since I couldn’t find anyone to get my Naruto items signed by her. And Mary Elizabeth was right about her, she is very generous!

 

Well, that is it for all of my interviews from MetroCon 2014! I did enjoy getting to talk to Dante, Richard, Mary, and Troy one on one when it comes to their work! Hoping next year there will be more people coming to the convention that I can interview and bring their conversations to Nerdy Shique Universe!

 

What is next for Press? MythiCon 2014! I managed to get press passes for this one and glad to do it for their second year at the Double Tree! So, stay tuned for that and see who I will be interviewing there!

 

What is up for now for Nerdy Shique Universe? Next up is a nice little post I was inspired by my make up look for my .hack character, which you can see those pictures in my first two interviews from Metro, which is the Best Drugstore Make Up for Cosplay! Also, will be doing What’s In the Ipsy bag since I joined their subscription service and not sure if I will put up a collective haul since I been getting a few products here and there! And of course, my July and August Favorites for this year! Stay tuned for all of that for the rest of August and stay tuned for my MythiCon stuff in September!