Month: March 2017

“nemu*nemu” creator charts con-less path

Kawaii Kon released the first edition of its schedule for this year’s show on Friday, along with a spiffy new app (in both iOS and Android flavors!). Whenever big, juicy chunks of information like this drop in front of me, my friendly neighborhood anime/manga/Con-athon blogger instincts immediately kick in and I try to soak up every last newsworthy tidbit contained within.

And boy, was there something newsworthy in there. More specifically, there was something newsworthy in what wasn’t in there — a longstanding presence at Kawaii Kon, one that’s been around since 2007.

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After 10 straight years, there’s no sign of a nemu*nemu booth in the dealers room.

For artist Audra Furuichi, to not be a part of Kawaii Kon 2017 meant either that there was a mistake somewhere in the grand scheme of scheduling things, or she was shifting her resources elsewhere.

20150509_104733_editSadly for fans of Audra’s work, the latter is true. Unbeknownst to many of us at the time, the nemu*nemu appearances at the Hawaii Collectors Expo last month and the Mid-Pacific Institute Hoolaulea on Friday were the last we’ll be seeing for the immediate future. In addition to Kawaii Kon, that rules out appearances at other Oahu Con-athon events  — Comic Con Honolulu, Amazing Hawaii Comic Con and Anime Ohana — as well.

“No hard feelings to any of the shows — it’s just progressively gotten physically harder to do shows,” Audra told me via Facebook chat on Sunday. “Kinda lacking the endurance I used to have. I also don’t have new merchandise at the moment, so it was a good time to bow out.”

She also cited an evolving audience as a factor. The nemu*nemu online comic has been on hiatus since last July as she’s worked on other projects, and not as many people know about the plush pup duo as they did in the comic’s early years.

“Thought about doing the (Artist Alley), but the long hours and EXTREME COMPETITION OMGWTFBBQ … are big deterrents for me,” she said.

This doesn’t mean the end of all things nemu*nemu, though. Audra’s exploring swinging by Kawaii Kon for a day to drop off something for the art show. The nemu*nemu: Blue Hawaii comic strip is still chugging along in the Star-Advertiser. And she’s been posting some pretty non nemu*nemu artwork at audrafuruichi.com.

audra patreonAnd then there’s Audra’s Patreon account, where she’s been sharing sneak peeks at Blue Hawaii strips, digital desktops and other artistic works since January 2015. It’s a way for fans to show their continuing support for her work; it can be difficult to focus on creating art and tending to the business side of things, after all. As of this writing, 61 patrons are contributing $522 a month. (Full journalistic disclosure: I’m one of Audra’s $25/month contributors.)

There’s now an added incentive for people to jump on board: If contributions reach $550 a month, she’ll start regularly drawing a one-shot nemu*nemu comic again, once a month. It’s a perfect incentive for the comic’s 11th anniversary coming up April 1, and all it’ll take is one person contributing $28 a month, or 28 people contributing $1 a month, or some happy medium in between.

Remember the Titans. Remember Your Name. SO MUCH TO REMEMBER.

It’s Stream-of-Consciousness Day here at Otaku Ohana, where I try to keep track of all the news that’s poured into Otaku Ohana Central these past few days or so and share it with y’all before the next wave of news washes in. On the road to Kawaii Kon and the beginning of Con-athon 2017, we’ve definitely hit rush hour. Set up your calendars accordingly.

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Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale in review

“O. M. G. That. Was. AWESOME!” the Otaku Ohana Anonymous Director of Forced Social Interaction fan-gushed to me last night after we saw the big-screen adventures of Kirito and Asuna and their friends, and how yet another video game they’re playing goes rogue and threatens to kill all the players for realsies. (It comes complete with that buzzworthy end-credits teaser, too.) “You’re going to write something about it, right?!?”

Since I’m already writing up all these other news items, I suppose I will touch on it for a bit. If you’re a fan of video games, augmented reality games like Ingress or Pokemon Go, and/or action-adventure-dramas in general, you’ll want to watch this movie. It was $15 well spent. This applies even if you aren’t that familiar with the Sword Art Online franchise to date, and you’ve seen only a five-minute summary of season 1 (warning: the link’s a humorous commentary peppered with NSFW language and situations) like me or fewer. Also, I want a copy of the soundtrack, composed by the always-awesome Yuki Kajiura, nownownow.

If you missed last night’s screening, you have one more chance: 11 a.m. Saturday at the Consolidated Kapolei theaters. There’s also a screening at the same time at Consolidated Ward, but that’s already sold out, so get those tickets quickly. Will there be another chance to see it after that and before it inevitably ends up on home video? Hmm …

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Hawaii lands rare Attack on Titan compilation screenings

This story began as most about anime being screened theatrically do: an article from Anime News Network crossing my social media feeds.

“Funimation to Screen Attack on Titan Compilation Films in U.S. Theaters in March,” the headline read.

“English-dubbed screenings scheduled for 19 theaters,” a sub-headline noted.

Whenever I hear about ultra-limited runs like these, my mind automatically starts going through the usual suspects: Somewhere in Los Angeles. Somewhere in San Francisco. New York. Funimation’s hometown of Dallas, of course. Probably a bunch of Alamo Drafthouse theaters. Hawaii? Probably an afterthought.

Well … surprise! Hawaii made it on the list, landing two of what’s since grown to 22 theaters nationwide — Consolidated Ward and Kapolei, specifically. That’s more than New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco combined (one in New York, none in the other two cities). Because we rock.

So here’s the deal: The English-dubbed movies will be screened over two days — part 1, Guren no Yumiya, on Monday, March 28; part 2, Jiyuu no Tsubasa, on Tuesday, March 29. Both of them recap the events that took place in the first season of the series and offer a preview of the second season. Tickets aren’t available yet, but I’ll try to keep you updated on when that happens. Tickets are available for Kapolei now! Here’s part 1, and here’s part 2.

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Your Name screening update

When last we left our coverage of Makoto Shinkai’s Oscar-ignored masterwork about two strangers whose lives are suddenly intertwined by fate, we knew that screenings in Hawaii were being set up in direct competition with Kawaii Kon weekend as part of ALL THE THINGS April. Even more details have emerged thanks to a Funimation Films update and new ticketing links, and … well, it’s looking more like you’re going to have some serious scheduling conflicts if you’re interested in seeing this movie and attending con. Consider:

  • Consolidated Kahala’s site has been updated with screenings listed from April 7-9 only — English dubbed at 11:40 a.m. daily; Japanese with English subtitles at 2:10, 4:40, and 7:10 p.m.; and a 9:10 p.m. show April 7-8.
  • Updated 2:30 p.m. 3/10! Consolidated Mililani screenings are available from April 7-9 — English dubbed at 11:20 a.m., Japanese with English subtitles at 1:45, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m. daily.
  • Updated 2:30 p.m. 3/10! Consolidated Kapolei screenings — the first weeklong run confirmed, April 7-13! — are as follows: English dubbed at noon daily, Japanese with English subtitles at 2:25, 4:50, 7:15 and 9:45 p.m. daily.
  • Consolidated Ward and the Regal Dole Cannery theaters are also listed, with April 7 opening dates.

The Honolulu Festival’s otaku connection

Honolulu Festival logoIt’s Honolulu Festival time this weekend, which means it’s time for all of the usual events that come with the annual celebration of Asian and Pacific Rim culture, including:

  • Entertainment on stages at the Hawai’i Convention Center, Ala Moana Center and Waikiki Beach Walk on Saturday (here’s a schedule!)
  • A display of mikoshi, decorative floats unique to various prefectures of Japan that are hoisted by celebrants during festivals and parades
  • A craft fair and children’s games in the Ennichi Corner at the convention center
  • Kawaii Kon representatives on hand to sell three-day badges to next month’s convention (your last chance to buy them in person before the con!)
  • MangaBento hosting activities in the Kawaii Kon space
  • The Grand Parade down Kalakaua Avenue Sunday afternoon
  • The spectacular Nagaoka fireworks display Sunday night

And then there’s this guy.

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No, not Mad Moxxi from Borderlands on the right. We’re more concerned with Jibanyan, the spirit cat and one of the main characters from Yo-kai Watch, on the left. He’s been appointed by Hawaii Tourism Japan as children’s ambassador to Hawaii, so he’ll be making his way down to the convention center for the festival. He’ll be available for photo ops from noon to 12:30 p.m. and 3 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Cosplay 101 seminar at Pearl City Library

Do you have cosplay questions? Pearl City Library has cosplay answers for anyone interested in dressing up as their favorite characters, whether for Con-athon 2017 or beyond. Learn how to plan, modify and create your cosplay, and get some tips and tricks for a successful cosplay experience.

Interested? The seminar’s from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the library, 1138 Waimano Home Road. Call 453-6566 if you have any other questions about the event.

ALL THE THINGS April approaches

The “big dog” has a fair amount of company this year.

We’ve known for almost a year now that annual anime squeefest convention Kawaii Kon has been locked in for April 7-9. (Yes, that’s a little over a month away. You have my permission to start flailing in panic and/or glee now.) They’ll have voice actors from popular American shows like Steven Universe, Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender; anime voice actors like the voice of Ayano in Lucky Star (*squee!*); and Japanese bands and fashion and a wide variety of other events that I’m hoping to write up in further detail soonish in my long-in-coming-but-gimme-some-more-caffeine-first Con-athon 2017 preview post.

But this year is the first one I can remember in the Kawaii Kon era where those of us in the anime fan community who aren’t already committed to panels/Artist Alley tables/dealers room booths/volunteer staff work are going to have some serious choices to make on whether we want to hang around the con or break away for a bit to catch something else. I’m calling it ALL THE THINGS April. Consider what else has already been announced surrounding that weekend:

April 5, 8 and 10: The Kizumonogatari trilogy plays out. It was a little over a year ago that Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu screened at Consolidated’s Ward and Mililani theaters. In that movie, audiences were introduced to Koyomi Araragi, a nondescript high school student who was once bitten by a powerful vampire and is only now regaining most of his humanity, but must now help a number of girls afflicted by “oddities.” Part 2, Nekkutsu, featured Koyomi taking on a trio of vampire hunters so he could reassemble the limbs of — yes, this is actually her name — Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade, the vampire who helped him. And now here we are at part 3, Reiketsu, in which Kiss-shot is reassembled and Koyomi is juuuuuuuuust about to regain his humanity. Of course, one does not merely walk in to a movie and regain his humanity …

Reiketsu is debuting at Consolidated’s Ward and Kapolei theaters with screenings at 11 a.m. April 8 and 7 p.m. April 10. But for those of you who need a refresher and/or missed Tekketsu and Nekkutsu, Consolidated’s offering a chance for you to catch up with a double feature, also at Ward and Kapolei, starting at 7 p.m. April 5. (Be ready to budget about 2-1/4 hours of your time.) For tickets, visit consolidatedtheatres.com/programs-and-events and set the month to “April” and the event type to “Anime.”

April 7: Your Name has its first confirmed screening date. Consolidated Theatres quietly confirmed on its Facebook page Wednesday night that Makoto Shinkai’s Oscar-ignored masterwork will be playing at its Kahala 8 complex. The announcement was a bit of a surprise — Funimation Films has yet to list any theaters on its Your Name site — and there are no specific showtimes (and thus no online ticket sales) or any indication that it’ll be playing beyond the 7th. Still, though, we’re one step closer to another chance at seeing a movie that drew raves when it played at the Hawaii International Film Festival a few months ago.

vgl_high_res_logo_finalApril 7-8: Video Games Live concerts play at the Blaisdell. Remember the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses concert a few weeks ago? This is just like that experience, except with a wider variety of video game soundtrack selections played by the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and 100 percent more Tommy Tallarico. Tallarico is an accomplished video game music composer in his own right, best known for his soundtracks to the Earthworm Jim series and Advent Rising. Here’s his biography. He’s also the co-founder of Video Games Live, which has been playing in concert halls across the country and around the world since 2005. As a blurb on the VGL website puts it: “It’s the power & emotion of a symphony orchestra mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert and the technology and interactivity of a video game all completely synchronized to amazing cutting edge video screen visuals, state-of-the-art lighting and special on-stage interactive segments with the audience.”

Tickets — from the $29 cheap seats all the way up to the front-of-house $79 seats — are still available, but with more than 80 percent of the seats already sold for both nights according to Ticketmaster’s seating maps, you’re going to want to get in on the action fairly soon. Visit blaisdellcenter.com/ai1ec_event/video-games-live-2.