Perhaps the one question I’ve been getting asked the most recently (after “Wait, you‘re actually still writing? … You have a blog?!?“) is “What is this Oni-Con Hawaii thing, and what do you expect from it?” It’s been easy to say, “Well, it’s an offshoot of an anime convention based in Galveston, Texas, that’s been running for 10 years” … but with less than two weeks to go to the launch of the inaugural edition, I’d be hard-pressed to find any sort of organizational influence from Texas that’s been visible to the public eye aside from some sort of “Tex-aloha” vibe to most con communications (“Howdy, brah! Mahalo, y’all!”) … and a dash of mainland-style con drama (you’ll need Facebook access for that link), which I can’t entirely dismiss because it is floating around out there and I’m pretty sure I’d get one or two comments on this post asking about it if I didn’t acknowledge it existed in some form. (If you can’t see that link and are really curious about it, hit me up in comments, and I can offer you a summary there.)
Possible behind-the-scenes issues aside, the fact remains: There’s some sort of anime con experience coming up shortly, so let’s make the most of it and have some kind of fun, shall we? For those of you who may still be on the fence about going, perhaps a three-hour Oni-Con Hawaii preview event, happening Sunday at Ala Moana Center, will help sway you. The event will be launching Shirokiya’s Ohana Sundays series, a series that will feature fun, family-friendly, free events at the store twice monthly. From 1 to 4 p.m. on the store’s mall level, you can buy passes and merchandise, and the crew from Yu x Me Maid Cafe and Host Club will be serving up orders from the nearby Kulu Kulu and Brug Bakery and playing games.
There will be cosplay showcases and other events going on as well; here’s the schedule:
- 1 p.m.: “A Taste of Cosplay,” presented by Oni-Con Hawaii and Babel Entertainment
- 1:10 and 2:30 p.m.: Cosplay Runway (attendees in family-friendly costumes invited!)
- 1:30, 2:25 and 3:30 p.m.: PRIZE GIVEAWAYS WOOOOOOO
- 1:35 p.m.: Cosplay Chess demonstration
- 2 and 3:10 p.m.: Mini Masquerade Theater
- 2:50 p.m.: Ninjyasize demonstration
Oni-Con Hawaii — the actual event itself — is happening Nov. 1-3 at the Hawaii Convention Center; you can get your tickets at MiniQ in Aiea or any Big City Diner location, or visit www.oniconhawaii.com.
Otaku Ohana 
“Tell the people what it said!” — to be sung to the tune of “Itsy bitsy polka dot bikini”. As I cannot access the Facebook page without an account, would you please summarize?
That Ninjyasize demonstration seems to be the thing to make time for.
Sure thing, Parv. Voice actor Greg Ayres posted the following statement to his Facebook page, linked above:
Much lamenting and “how dare yooooooou, Oni-Con Hawaii!” finger-pointing ensued in the comments. For its part, OCH posted — then retracted — a statement to their Facebook page denying the “groundless remarks … perhaps to vent their disappointment over their Texas partner’s unwillingness or inability to fulfill what seems was a personal promise from Texas to take this group to Hawaii.” For the short time it was up, it seemed public sentiment was siding heavily toward the Ayres camp.
I’m not going to side with one camp or the other. I shouldn’t, really, since I have my “journalist” cap on, as opposed to my “social commentator” cap that I don from time to time. It’s just one of those things where something went wrong and both sides emerge looking not entirely blameless in the matter.
After having seen the promotion videos, I take my above comment back about Ninjyasie. I had expressed enthusiasm initially after only reading the massive block of “alt text” of the very top image. Obviously.
“Ninjyasie” should have been “Ninjyasize”, FWIW.