Month: March 2018

[Kawaii Kon 2018] Recovery of an otaku intern

Hey everyone!  Sorry I haven’t posted recently.  Besides last weekend being the dates for the local area’s only anime and manga convention, I dislocated my shoulder and have had my arm in a sling until yesterday!  However, I’m fine now, and the doctor said I can resume light tasks with my arm again.  Never underestimate LARP (Live Action ROle Play) events at these conventions!

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Artist Alley was bustling as usual.

Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the convention.  Despite the mishap, I got to do everything I wanted to do in my previous post.  The How to Draw with Voice Actors panel was incredibly entertaining.  The panel featured the talent of English voice actors Christine Cabanos (Silica from Sword Art Online), Carrie Keranen (Satsuki Kiryuin from Kill la Kill), Brittney Karbowski (Black Star from Soul Eater), and local-born actor Micah Solusod (Soul from Soul Eater).

The idea was for one voice actor to draw one of their characters, using a reference, with their drawing projected live to the audience, but not to the other panelists.  At the same time, the featured actor described the character to the other panelists, who had to draw what they thought the character looked like.  The results were both incredibly creative, and insanely hilarious.

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The voice actors take their positions as Micah Solusod is the first to live draw.
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Micah Solusod grades Brittney Karbowski’s interpretation of his description of Yuno from Black Clover.
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For the record, here’s what Yuno is supposed to look like. (via blackclover.wikia.com)
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Micah Solusod’s rendition of Karbowski’s character, Black Star.
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… aaaaaaaand here’s actual Black Star. (via souleater.wikia.com)
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Christine Cabanos did an amazing job drawing her character, Silica.
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Micah Solusod’s drawing of Satsuki Kiryuin from Kill la Kill according to Carrie Keranen’s descriptions.
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… aaaaaaaand you get the idea. (via https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351843789614099869)

You can see most of the panel right here in this video posted by YouTube user Pipperry Took.

And here are the last few minutes.

I also got to participate in the Cardboard Megabrawl.  My friends made some ridiculous looking armor for me in our 1-hour time limit.  However, that was short lived as this was the event where I dislocated my shoulder.  Haha, it was fun while it lasted, but I’ll have to rethink my strategy for next time if I don’t want to risk popping the same shoulder out again.

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Little did I know that my armor would not protect me from what was to come…

Despite the mishap, I continued to attend the convention after the docs at the hospital treated me.  I was in a sling for the rest of the weekend, so I couldn’t really take any pictures.  I did manage to catch Cristina Vee’s 2nd autograph session.  I missed the first one because of the shoulder the previous day.  It was so exciting to meet one of the voice actresses whose work I’ve been following for years!

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So glad to have had this signed by Cristina Vee!

Events like Kawaii Kon are few and far between here in Hawaii, but that makes these types of conventions all the more worth it to attend.  I am always amazed at how quickly the convention center is transformed from an empty building into three floors of otaku-dom.

These conventions are such a huge contribution to the community.  They create a safe space, in a sense, for people to freely express themselves.  It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you’re from; your religion, sexuality, etc.  Everyone is there to do one thing, and that is to celebrate and enjoy our love for anime, manga, video games, comics, cosplay, and all other facets of the otaku and nerdist kingdoms.  If only the world could reflect that sort of unity.

Anyways, that’s it for my post-convention report.  It’s not much because of the injury, but I’ll try to make up for it with other interesting articles, like my next one!  My next Anime is Culture post will be addressing the topics of hikikomori and the pressures of Japanese society portrayed in anime/manga.  This might hit some people a little close to home, but please look forward to it!

Video game-themed events press “start” in isles

As I’m writing this in the early, holy-cats-I-remember-staying-up-this-late-when-I-was-working-for-the-Star-Advertiser hours of Friday morning, we’re a few hours away from the kickoff to Kawaii Kon 2018.

But while I’m thinking about that — and the fact that this is the earliest in the year that I’ve ever had to think about Kawaii Kon in my 14 years of covering the con, and I feel so unprepared — there are a few other pieces of news about upcoming events that have crossed my radar. Half of them are happening this weekend, and all of them deal with video games.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Hitbox Music Ensemble and director Chris Suzuki — the focus of what ended up being my last Kawaii Kon preview at the Star-Advertiser, *sniffle* — will be playing in the Main Events hall, Ballroom B, at 8:45 p.m. Friday. This year’s concert, “And All That Jazz…,” will feature video game music arranged in various styles including swing, big band, funk, soul, and, of course, jazz.  Here, for instance, is some rehearsal footage of “Floral Fury” from Cuphead.

If you like what you hear — or if you just like supporting local music in general — you should also consider throwing a few dollars in the direction of the group’s Patreon page. There’s currently … wait, only one supporter so far? And it’s not me? Well, I should get on that sometime soon. And you should, too.

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One of the showcase events Kawaii Kon is promoting this year is also video game related. “A New World: Intimate music from Final Fantasy” brings conductor Eric Roth, composer Hitoishi Sakimoto (who composed the soundtracks for Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, but is also responsible for the game soundtracks for classics as diverse as Radiant Silvergun, the Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre franchise, Gradius V and the Valkyria Chronicles games), and the New World Players chamber ensemble to Honolulu for the first time There’s a VIP meet-and-greet experience for $75 starting at 3:30 p.m. Sunday that includes an autograph and photo op with Sakimoto and first dibs on concert seating; if you just want to attend the concert, it’ll only cost $12, with seating at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in Main Events, Ballroom B. (These costs are in addition to the cost for con admission.)

KH Orchestra

But let’s say you’re into another classic Square Enix franchise, Kingdom Hearts, the Disney/Square crossover adventure with the convoluted timeline that no one can properly explain without a big mess of flowcharts. Kingdom Hearts III is coming out … umm … eventually, but (possibly) before that happens, Honolulu is going to be a stop on the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour. It seems like if you’re familiar with orchestral performances like the two Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses shows that played in Honolulu, you’ll know what to expect from this show: familiar songs from various games’ soundtracks played by an orchestra while game footage is shown on a giant screen. You know, like this.

KH Orchestra 2

If you’re interested in going, you have some time to plan; the concert’s scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 12, with tickets going on sale Monday, March 26.

Finally, if music isn’t your thing and you’ve somehow made it this far into this post, something really interesting seems to be cooking over at Bread & Butter, the restaurant next door to Shokudo at 1585 Kapiolani Blvd.: Pac-Man. A few days ago, friend of the blog Tara Tamayori posted a picture of this menu from what appears to be a pop-up themed cafe:

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It looks like there are some of the usual crossovers — pancakes, pizza (thankfully without a wedge missing), and generally round Pac-Man-ish foods come to mind — as well as some interesting concepts (a ghost loco moco? Hmm…). The most intriguing take-away from this menu, though? The fact that there’s a Pac-Store opening somewhere at some point during this campaign, which runs through May 31, with “fashion, goods, food and events.” More details as they develop, but this looks like it’s going to be fun.