Month: May 2015

Festival follow-up: Something blue, something new

I’ve written quite a bit in this space recently about the flood of major conventions coming our way this year — Comic Con Honolulu, HawaiiCon, Amazing Hawaii Comic Con, Anime Ohana and Anime Matsuri Hawaii are all on deck — but the market for smaller otaku-targeted events lasting a day or shorter is developing quite nicely as well. In the past few days, two news tidbits about smaller events crossed the desk of the New and Improved Otaku Ohana Home Office — I’ll have a few pictures of that soon; getting moved in and setting that up has been the primary reason why I’ve been so silent lately this time — one with bad news, one with good.

taku taku matsuri logoThe bad news is that the third annual Taku Taku Matsuri, which was set to take place Oct. 3 and feature voice actor Richard Epcar and his wife, voice actor/director Ellyn Stern, has been postponed indefinitely due to founder/organizer Yuka Nagaoka’s continued health issues. Here’s a formal statement posted to the Taku Taku Matsuri Facebook page on Saturday:

First of all, thank you to all that have supported us and myself so far with taku taku Matsuri.
With how we had to postpone last year because of hurricanes, postponing the event once again was a decisions I did not want to make. My directors and staff have been working very hard on getting ready in my absence. That is why, originally, I was planning to have the event happen, even with me not physically in Hawaii. However, it has become more and more unknown when I will be able to return.

Let me explain what is going on.
I have a congenital brain disease that was detected two months ago. Because of the danger of the disease, I was told that it is best to have it treated ASAP, so I have returned to Japan for treatment. Unfortunately, things are not going as smoothly as I want them to. 
I have gone through all sorts of MRIs and CAT scans, but the doctors are still unable to make a decision on treatment. 
Just my luck, other health issues are making the last examination they need to make a decision, high risk. That is why right now I am going through treatment for my other health issues. Once that treatment works, I will finally be able to receive the needed examination. Of course after all of that, there is still the actual treatment for the brain disease. As far as the doctors are telling me, either radiation therapy or surgery.

Being in complete medical limbo, I have made the choice to postpone the 3rd annual taku taku Matsuri. Honestly, I feel very frustrated and defeated, having to make this choice. However, I was reminded about what “taku taku Matsuri” is. As corny as it may sound, it really is an event for all Otakus, bunbun-ers, to enjoy! And with taku taku Matsuri unable to deliver 100%, we won’t be able to satisfy all our bunbun-ers!!!

All of this may take more than a few months to be taken care of. I apologize for the wait. However, I will be back, healthier and with a fixed brain, to give you all the best taku taku Matsuri!!

Here’s hoping and praying that Yuka will be able to get her health issues resolved fully sometime down the line.

While we may have lost one event off the calendar (for now), another one has popped up to take its place. The inaugural Aiea Library Mini Comic Con, taking place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 6, will offer, in the words of young adult librarian Diane Masaki’s handy-dandy flier, “a glimpse of what a convention is like, with informative panels, vendors and activities.”

Featured guests and vendors include:

  • Roy Chang, MidWeek cartoonist, Aiea Intermediate art teacher and Cacy and Kiara and the Curse of the Kii author. Roy will be selling prints all day and host a panel on creating stories with manga-style art and comic pages from 1 to 2 p.m.
  • Dasha and Dallas Cosplay — the duo of Daria Roud and Dallas Nagata White — will share their experiences and offer tips on getting into cosplaying from 2 to 3 p.m. Daria will also help kids make their own superhero mask or princess crown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Artists Jon J. Murakami and Devin Oishi will be selling prints and other merchandise. Jon, of course, is the cartoonist best know for Gordon Rider, Edamame Ninjas, The Ara-Rangers and this here paper’s “Calabash” comic strip; Devin, a longtime MangaBento adviser, has two children’s books under his belt, Pualani and the 3 Mano and Da Blalas.

Cosplayers of all ages are encouraged to attend as well; Comic Jam Hawaii artists will be on hand to sketch cosplayers, and children in the sixth grade and younger are encouraged to enter a cosplay contest from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Aiea Library is located at 99-374 Pohai Place, where, nearly a year after opening, there remains plenty of parking (and two Ingress portals to make green, whoop whoop). Call 483-7333.

A cheap convention deal, and Batou for real

As the competition for local otaku hearts and wallets heats up on the convention/special events circuit, there’s bound to be a fair amount of talk about preregistration deals and guest announcements in the coming months. It’ll certainly be busier than when I had to focus on one, maaaaaaaaybe two major shows and a handful of minor shows in a year. Which is okay with me; busy is always better than being bored and lazing around in bed playing Candy Crush Soda Saga (curse you, level 228!).

Take Sunday, for instance. It’s normally a day of rest for those of you religious enough to observe it as such. But there certainly wasn’t any rest around Otaku Ohana Central, where two news tidbits arrived, courtesy of HawaiiCon and Taku Taku Matsuri.

HawaiiCon logoNow, there’s no denying that HawaiiCon has the highest entry cost of the state’s six conventions — $165 for a four-day pass, plus additional travel costs if you’re not already on Hawaii island. It’s understandable; the science/sci-fi/fantasy convention has positioned itself as a vacation destination at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel with premier guests and experiences. But those costs can add up, particularly for the cash-strapped among us (hey, those Nendoroids and Amiibos aren’t going to buy themselves!).

To that end, HawaiiCon has unveiled its Kamaaina Day Pass. These $20 passes — $10 for children ages 6-12 — will let you in the door for the con’s preview day, with events mostly running between 3 and 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. With 21 guests announced to date, “that’s less than $1 per celebrity,” HawaiiCon chairman/CEO GB Hajim told me via online chat.

“Lots of locals have never been to a con,” GB added. “Don’t even know what it is like. We want them to see how awesome it is.”

You can get those passes — as well as single-day passes for Sept. 11-13, which weigh in at $65 general, $45 children — at www.eventbrite.com/e/hawaiicon-2015-kamaaina-day-passes-tickets-16823407264. To recap, guests include Rod Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry; actors Christopher Judge, Teryl Rothery, Tony Amendola, Aaron Douglas and Patricia Tallman; writers Brad Bell and Jane Espenson; voice actors Janet Varney, Steve Blum, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Cree Summer and Melissa Fahn; and artists Bill Morrison, Trina Robbins, Steve Leialoha and Sam Campos. Find out more about the convention itself at www.hawaiicon.com.

GitS 2 coverMeanwhile, over at Taku Taku Matsuri, founder/organizer Yuka Nagaoka may be in Japan at the moment, but planning for the third annual single-day fall festival continues in earnest. News emerged Sunday of this year’s special guests: voice actor Richard Epcar and his wife, voice actor/director Ellyn Stern. Epcar is best known as the voice of Batou in Ghost in the Shell, GitS 2: Innocence and GitS: Stand-Alone Complex; Xehanort in various Kingdom Hearts games; Joseph Joestar in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders; and Raiden in the last two Mortal Kombat games. Stern is best known as the voice of Miyuki Goto in Noein and a number of moms — Ichigo’s in Bleach, Jack’s in MAR, Hiroshi’s in Zenki, and Jiro’s and Marumaro’s in Blue Dragon. 

Taku Taku Matsuri is happening Oct. 3 at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii’s Manoa Grand Ballroom; tickets — $20 for straight admission, packages including T-shirts and special guest experiences going all the way up to $200 — are available at www.gofundme.com/bunbun-funfun.