anime – Page 15 – Otaku Ohana

‘Poppy Hill’ pops up at Pearlridge

So. Remember my last post, where I speculated that From Up on Poppy Hill was winding down its run at the Kahala 8 theaters? Thanks to the sharp eyes of tag-team partner in fandom Wilma J., who was scanning through her Facebook news feed today, we’ve since learned that the film’s actually expanded its local reach, adding a second screen in the Pearlridge West 16 theater complex. This may come in handy for some of you for whom the drive to Kahala may be a bit too much of a grind (*waves at frequent commenter Animatsuri*).

Via Fandango, here are your Pearlridge showtimes from Sunday through Thursday:

Sunday: 10:50 a.m. and 1, 3:10 and 5:20 p.m.
Monday through Thursday: Noon, 2:10 and 4:20 p.m.

And here’s your online ticket link.

One other note that may make people’s ears perk up a bit: Wilma’s friend noted that the film was in Japanese, presumably with English subtitles. Take this as an unconfirmed rumor for now; we’re not sure if all of these screenings offer what’s arguably been the top wish of everyone I’ve talked to who’s already seen it (“Yeah, it was good, buuuuut … I really wish I could’ve heard the original soundtrack …”). Wilma may be going on Sunday to check it out for herself, so if there are any updates, we’ll be sure to let you know.

Update, 9:55 p.m.: Japanese subbed version confirmed! Thanks, Jeff!

The Cel Shaded Report, 4/26: Shirt tales

One of the things I was sadly negligent in talking about in this space in the past few weeks was the nemu*nemu custom Gelaskins order that Kimonokitsy Studios — artist Audra Furuichi and husband Scott Yoshinaga — was running. I actually bought a few — some for technology I don’t even have yet, but which I’m planning to buy in the next few weeks! — and threw one of ’em on when it arrived earlier this week, and then … well, if you saw what happened over on Facebook when the nemu*nemu plushie foursome arrived at the office, you can kinda guess what happened next.

Yes, Anpan and Nemu got their paws on a Gelaskinned Nintendo DSi XL.

And yes, that’s the camera app that they’re playing with. Here’s the proof from their perspective.

… and yes, I am such a dork for taking the time to take pictures like this. But that’s okay. My inner child and I have been BFFs for … well, pretty much my entire otaku journalism career.

The reason I bring up this story is because Audra and Scott are gathering orders for another custom print job — not Gelaskins this time, but Spreadshirt T-shirts. That design above, their “7th Anniversary” style? That’s the newest design to be added to a stack that also includes King of Pizza Anpan, Danish Donut King Nemu and Galaxy Explorer Enchilada. Those join several other online-exclusive designs in a variety of colors, in styles for men, women, children and toddlers. So you definitely have options.

Group orders will be accepted through May 3; visit ow.ly/ksUwn for details on how to order. In case you’re reading this post after May 3, you can order directly at nemunemu.spreadshirt.com.

The last days of ‘Poppy Hill’

I’ve been talking about From Up on Poppy Hill for several weeks now, encouraging people to go out and see it before, well, they can’t, considering the only legitimate home video option for the film to date is a Region 2 DVD with English subtitles, currently selling for about $47 on CDJapan. (Then again, considering how much Aniplex USA wants $89.98 for the Madoka Magica movies on Blu-ray at Right Stuf and Namco Bandai wants $54.99 for each one of three Idolm@ster games on iOS, perhaps that’s a relative bargain.)

We’re heading into week 4 of Poppy Hill screenings at the Kahala 8 theaters, and given the sharp cutback in the number of screenings, I feel fairly confident in saying that these will probably be your last chances of seeing this movie for a while. There are only 14 screenings over the week — less than half the number we saw these past three weeks — and if you were hoping to catch it at night, it looks like you’ve missed that opportunity.

Courtesy of Fandango, here are the showtimes:

Today and Saturday: 10:30 a.m. and 12:40 p.m.
Sunday: 12:40 p.m.
Monday through Thursday: 12:30 a.m. and 2:40 p.m.

As usual, here’s your online ticket link. I’m running a bit short on time in writing this post, so my full reflections on Poppy Hill and where it stands in the grand Ghibli canon are going to have to wait a few days. They are coming soon, though! (I hope, anyway. If office workloads are favorable. Fingers crossed.)

Ota-cool incoming!

Monster Drawing Workshop: April has been the month to learn how to design your own manga characters (courtesy of Hachi Maru Hachi artist Tara Tamayori) and how to add manga faces to them (courtesy of MangaBento). To put a neat little bow on things, perhaps you’d like to learn how to create your own monsters to harass your manga creations (or befriend them, because hey, it’s your story)? Comic Jam Hawaii has you covered in this free workshop at Aiea Library. Paper, pencils and crayons will be provided, or bring your own art supplies if you wish. Recommended for ages 8 and older. 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Anime Manga Society at UH-Manoa: Meets every Thursday and Friday in Kuykendall Hall, room 305. Catch Cyborg 009, Kuroko no Basket and Hanasaku Iroha on Thursdays, or Magi, Psycho Pass and Toriko on Fridays. Social time/announcements 4:30 p.m.: screenings 5 to 7 p.m.

Free Comic Book Day: The name pretty much says it all. Full details coming in next week’s Cel Shaded Report, but for now, let’s just say that there will be costumed characters aplenty, possibly at a library near you. May 4.

Comic Jam Hawaii: This group of collaborative cartoon artists meets every first and third Sunday of the month at Pearlridge Center; locations within the mall may vary. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/ComicJamHawaii (Facebook login required). Next meeting: 1 to 4 p.m. May 5.

Future attractions

Maui Matsuri: Annual Japanese festival held on the University of Hawaii-Maui College campus. May 11.

Tomo-E-Ame: Friends-Drawings-Candy: MangaBento’s 2013 exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art School, June 16-July 14.

Taku Taku Matsuri: A summer festival with an anime/manga slant at Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha-Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu. Aug. 25.

Oni-Con Hawaii: With guest Yuko Ashizawa, a fashion designer with Atelier Pierrot. Also featuring the Cosplay Chess Brigade and Yu x Me Maid Cafe & Host Club. Preregistration open now; $35 for a three-day pass. Hawai’i Convention Center, Nov. 1-3.

Kawaii Kon 2014: Guests include voice actors Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh. Preregistration opens Wednesday. Hawai’i Convention Center, April 4-6, 2014.

The Cel Shaded Report, 4/19: ‘Sparrow’s Hotel,’ the review

Kawaii Kon 2013 was only a handful of hours old on March 15 when Keith Kawamura, Crunchyroll senior brand manager, gave con-goers a world-exclusive announcement: Sparrow’s Hotel would be making its way to the streaming anime site. You may recall that I posted this picture from that particular event.

Fast forward a month and a few days, and the first two episodes of Sparrow’s Hotel have, indeed, been posted. Second episode just went up for premium subscribers around the middle of this week, in fact. (By the way, I’ve had a few guest passes for 48-hour premium membership trials sitting around in my account for a little while now, so … here, here and here. Let other people know in comments if you take one. Thanks.)

So how much of a significant announcement did this turn out being? I felt like there needed to be some sort of payoff, so I sat through those first two episodes … and presented here, for your convenience, is the in-depth review that I feel this series deserves.

Today’s profile: Sparrow’s Hotel, episodes 1-2
Recommended age: Older teen 16+
Availability: Currently streaming on crunchyroll.com

Sparrow’s Hotel is quick and pointless.***

‘Poppy Hill’ extended a week (again)

Fandango’s weekly update came a few days later than the past two weeks — Thursday instead of Tuesday — but for those of you who still haven’t made it out to see From Up on Poppy Hill, the newest Studio Ghibli film localized for the U.S., there’s now a third week’s worth of screenings at the Kahala 8 theaters. Come to think of it, it’s a great opportunity to double-dip and see this movie again, especially considering there has yet to be any announcement of a U.S. home video release. There are a few minor adjustments in screening times, but the number of screenings between today and next Thursday remains the same, at 33. Tickets are available online via Fandango. Screenings:

Today and Saturday: 10:50 a.m. and 12:55, 3, 5:05, 7:10 and 9:20 p.m.
Sunday: 10:50 a.m. and 12:55, 3, 5:05, and 7:10 p.m.
Monday through Thursday: 11:30 a.m. and 2, 4:20 and 7:10 p.m.

Ota-cool incoming!

Future attractions

Free Comic Book Day: The name pretty much says it all. Of course, there will probably be other things going on as well. May 4.

Maui Matsuri: Annual Japanese festival held on the University of Hawaii-Maui College campus. May 11.

Tomo-E-Ame: Friends-Drawings-Candy: MangaBento’s 2013 exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art School, June 16-July 14.

Taku Taku Matsuri: A summer festival with an anime/manga slant at Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha-Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu. Aug. 25.

Kawaii Kon 2014: Guests include voice actors Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh. Preregistration opens May 1. Hawai’i Convention Center, April 4-6, 2014.

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***OK, so some of you may want a few more details about Sparrow’s Hotel — you’ve made it this far, past the Poppy Hill schedule and the “Ota-cool Incoming!” calendar, after all — so here’s the deal: Sparrow’s Hotel is adapted from a 4-koma (four-panel comic strip style) manga by Yuka Santoh. That manga hasn’t been translated into English, and, if this anime is any indication, there’s probably a good reason why it hasn’t been translated: It’s a one-trick pony based around the fact that the hotel’s newest hire, Sayuri Sato, is a gal with an ample chest who can charm guys, then beat them into submission.

There are good ways and bad ways of adapting 4-koma manga into anime series. Azumanga Daioh, Adventures of the Mini-Goddess, Lucky Star and Hetalia are some of the better ones. Poyopoyo seems like a good adaptation, too, even though I haven’t seen any official translations of the manga. This series, though, has no real story flow between what’s obviously a group of adapted comic strips. It’s opening credits, setup, gag, setup, gag, setup, gag, repeat, end. Over here, she’s instantly breaking up a fight among drunken guys. Over there, she’s pulling out a keychain nestled somewhere in that ample chest of hers. People marvel about it in awe or in fear. Woo hoo.

There are some other characters besides Sayuri — her female manager, the manager’s brother, another guy voiced by past Kawaii Kon guest Daisuke Kishio — but who really cares? They’re just around to set up another gag that probably involves some combination of ample chestiness and submission beating.

Oh yes, one other thing: In the time it’s taken for you to read through this entire post, you probably could have watched both episodes. They’re only three minutes long, after all, 2-1/2 minutes of actual content when you factor out the opening credits. And still I want those six minutes of my life back.

The Cel Shaded Report, 4/11: Oni-Con Hawaii’s first date

My Wednesday night/early Thursday morning in a nutshell:

Went to see From Up on Poppy Hill at the Kahala 8 complex. I give it three thumbs up because newspapers play a fairly big role in the movie, and YAY NEWSPAPERS. Also, it’s a great 1960s-era Japan period piece, Goro Miyazaki actually has a good story to wrap around the lingering shots of pretty scenery this time, and I really want to see it with its original Japanese soundtrack now. But YAY NEWSPAPERS.
Ate dinner afterward at a fairly large national chain restaurant with a large hot pepper as its logo. Checked email. Nearly choked on bite of yummy Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie upon learning that fairly major news had broken while I was watching Umi and Shun running around trying to save their school’s run-down clubhouse.
Dashed home, fired up computer, ripped out original Cel Shaded Report topic for this week and began working on this post.

What made me stay up into the wee hours of the morning: Oni-Con Hawaii, the new anime/manga/Japanese pop culture convention in town, finally revealed the dates and location for its first show. And for those of you who have developed your own sets of survival tips during Kawaii Kon weekend, get ready to put those into practice once again: Oni-Con’s heading to the Hawai’i Convention Center Nov. 1-3.

The announcement ends a wait of about 1-1/2 months for that information ever since the convention first announced its existence in mid-February. Some — your friendly neighborhood anime/manga blogger admittedly included — might even say that the teaser period lasted too long and started drifting into “well, are you guys really going to be able to pull something together this year?” territory. Having an announcement posted on the Facebook page about those details “coming shortly” on Feb. 27, then again promising those details “within the next week” on March 27 and then not saying anything until two weeks later, has a way of raising suspicions a bit. But the past is the past, and hopefully things will be a bit smoother going forward.

A few other notes on what I know about Oni-Con, some repeats from before, other bits new:

Currently confirmed as appearing at the inaugural show are Atelier Pierrot designer Yuko Ashizawa, Yu x Me Maid Cafe & Host Club (which announced this week that it would be hosting an Amnesia/Alice in Wonderland-themed event) and the Cosplay Chess Brigade.
Three-day passes are currently available at oniconhawaii.com/registration.html at the introductory rate of $35. No telling at this point how long that’s going to last, so you may want to get on that right away. Unfortunately for those of you who preregistered for HEXXP, you’re going to have to preregister and pay again, then pursue a refund of your HEXXP payment through other venues, as this post details.
Volunteers interested in … umm … volunteering can email info@oniconhawaii.com. Also still in a holding pattern is the cost for, and number of, Artist Alley tables that will be available.

More news undoubtedly to come in the next few weeks. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, things are about to get pretty interesting.

‘Poppy Hill’ extended a week

More now on Poppy Hill, the newest Studio Ghibli film localized for the U.S.: The latest weekly movie time update from Fandango has arrived. For those of you who for whatever reason couldn’t make it to the first week’s worth of screenings at the Kahala 8 complex, you’re in luck: It’ll be showing for another week, at least. There are a few minor adjustments in screening times, but the number of screenings between Friday and next Thursday remains the same, at 33. Tickets are available online via Fandango. Here are those times:

Friday and Saturday: 10:40 a.m. and 12:50, 3, 5:10, 7:20 and 9:40 p.m.
Sunday: 10:40 a.m. and 12:50, 3, 5:10 and 7:20 p.m.
Monday through Thursday: 12:45, 3, 5:10 and 7:20 p.m.

Ota-cool incoming!

Over at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii gift shop (2454 S. Beretania St.), you can also get the book ($10 general, $9 JCCH members), some spiffy exclusive “Chibi Wear” aloha shirts for men and women ($75, $67.50 JCCH members) or, for you DIYers, pre-cut yards (36 inches by 44 inches) of any of the three available fabric styles ($20 per yard, $18 JCCH members). Bishop Museum exhibit on display through April 17.

Aiea Library Anime Club: Because attendees asked for it, librarian Diane Masaki is screening even more episodes of Black Butler this month at the library, 99-143 Moanalua Road. For more information or to RSVP, call 483-7333 or e-mail aiealibraryanimeclub@yahoo.com. 3 p.m. Saturday.

Manga character design workshop: Learn the basics of human anatomy and character design (and how to break those rules to develop your own style) from Tara Tamayori, the artist whose two-chapter story “Eternal Blade” is featured in the Hachi Maru Hachi anthology. Workshops will be held at the Honolulu Museum of Art School (1111 Victoria St., room 200) Cost: $15, payable to the instructor at the beginning of each session. Designed for ages 12 and up. Email peninkinfo@gmail.com or call the art school at 532-8741 if you’re still interested. 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

MangaBento: This group of anime- and manga-inspired artists usually meets every second and fourth Sunday of the month at the Honolulu Museum of Art School (1111 Victoria St.). “But wait,” you say. “Isn’t Tara’s workshop on the same day? Doesn’t MangaBento usually meet in Room 200? Where are they going to go?!?” Simple … they’ll be in Room 101. Art for everyone, yay! Visit www.manga-bento.com. Next meeting: 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Monster Drawing Workshop: With April being the month to learn how to design your own manga characters (courtesy of Tara) and how to add manga faces to them (courtesy of MangaBento), perhaps you’d like to learn how to create your own monsters to harass your manga creations (or befriend them, because hey, it’s your story)? Comic Jam Hawaii has you covered in this free workshop at Aiea Library. Paper, pencils and crayons will be provided, or bring your own art supplies if you wish. Recommended for ages 8 and older. 1 to 3:30 p.m. April 27.

Other future attractions

Free Comic Book Day: The name pretty much says it all. Of course, there will probably be other things going on as well. May 4.

Maui Matsuri Festival: Annual Japanese festival held on the University of Hawaii-Maui College campus. May 11.

Tomo-E-Ame: Friends-Drawings-Candy: MangaBento’s annual exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art School. June 16-July 14.

Taku Taku Matsuri: A summer festival with an anime/manga slant at Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha-Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu. Aug. 25.

Kawaii Kon 2014: Guests include voice actors Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh. Hawai’i Convention Center, April 4-6, 2014.

Kahala showtimes for “Poppy Hill” go live

Quick update on From Up on Poppy Hill, the newest Studio Ghibli film localized for the U.S., covered in my last post and heading to Consolidated Theaters’ Kahala 8 complex on Friday: As of today, showtimes have finally been posted! Yay! Via Fandango (which I simply can’t read the name of anymore without thinking of this guy), here they are:

Friday and Saturday: 10:40 a.m. and 12:50, 3, 5:10, 7:20 and 9:30 p.m.
Sunday: 10:40 a.m. and 12:50, 3, 5:10 and 7:20 p.m.
Monday through Thursday: 12:45, 3, 5:10 and 7:30 p.m.

That’s 33 showings over seven days. If you’re the type who orders tickets online, have at it. As is customary with these movies, there’s no way of knowing how long a run Poppy Hill will have in Honolulu beyond one week, so seize the moment if/when you can. Oh yeah, and be sure to visit the Barnes & Noble store nearby, too, because who knows how much longer that’s going to be around …

The Cel Shaded Report, 3/30: “From Up on Poppy Hill” comes down to Kahala

Roy Chang — Aiea Intermediate art teacher, MidWeek cartoonist, Cacy & Kiara and the Curse of the Ki’i author and friend of the blog — visited San Francisco while on vacation for a few days last week, making me (and no doubt a good number of his Facebook friends) supreeeeemely jealous by posting pictures of his Bay Area adventures. One of the pictures he posted was the one you can see to the right: a From Up On Poppy Hill poster on a light pole in the SoMa district.

Poppy Hill is the newest film from Studio Ghibli to be localized for U.S. audiences, and the first to arrive under the umbrella of GKids Films. Ghibli, of course, is the production house of My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, The Secret World of Arrietty, Ponyo, Howl’s Moving Castle and many, many, many other quality films over the years … and Tales From Earthsea. The less said about Earthsea, the better. It’s worth noting, though, that Poppy Hill is the first time since Earthsea that Goro Miyazaki, son of Ghibli superstar Hayao Miyazaki, has directed a feature film … and critical buzz has actually been good. (Hayao Miyazaki contributed the screenplay.) The story, set in Yokohama in 1963, follows Umi and Shun, two teens drawn together in their efforts to save a rundown clubhouse at their high school from being demolished … and eventually drawn closer with the bonds of budding romance.

Here, have a trailer.

Our Bay Area friends have been enjoying Poppy Hill since Friday, but the question was whether the movie would cross the Pacific and make its way to a theater near us. On the same night that Roy posted his picture, I checked GKids’ theater listing and was pleased to learn that the film will be screening locally … Consolidated’s Kahala 8 complex in Kahala Mall, to be exact. And it’s opening next Friday, April 5.

And that is pretty much all I know about the movie’s local release at this point. I’ve been watching Fandango over the past few days to see if there have been any links to advance ticket sales or showtimes posted; none exist as of yet. (I’d expect movement on this around Tuesday or Wednesday, which is when screenings over the next week usually are added to the database.) Unless there’s some special dispensation, I’m also expecting that the version that will be screening will be the English dubbed version, as seen in the trailer above; the subtitled version seems to be appearing only at select film festivals. It’s good that the film’s even showing up here in the first place, though, so please, no complaining.

Want to learn more about Poppy Hill? Visit fromuponpoppyhill.com.

Ota-cool incoming!

“Journey of Heroes” graphic novel: If you have yet to pick up this this manga-style book chronicling the achievements of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Infantry Battalion in World War II — and you really should get it; author Stacey Hayashi and artist Damon Wong did a great job with it — it’s available for sale at the Bishop Museum gift shop. It’s a tie-in with the exhibit “American Heroes: Japanese American WWII Nisei Soldiers and the Congressional Gold Medal,” which also looks like it’s worth checking out. Over at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii gift shop (2454 S. Beretania St.), you can also get the book ($10 general, $9 JCCH members), some spiffy exclusive “Chibi Wear” aloha shirts for men and women ($75, $67.50 JCCH members) or, for you DIYers, pre-cut yards (36 inches by 44 inches) of any of the three available fabric styles ($20 per yard, $18 JCCH members). Bishop Museum exhibit on display through April 17.

Manga character design workshop: Learn the basics of human anatomy and character design (and how to break those rules to develop your own style) from Tara Tamayori, the artist whose two-chapter story “Eternal Blade” is featured in the Hachi Maru Hachi anthology. Workshops will be held at the Honolulu Museum of Art School (1111 Victoria St., room 200) Cost: $15 per session, payable to the instructor at the beginning of each session. Designed for ages 12 and up. Special note: There’s already a waiting list for these workshops, so email peninkinfo@gmail.com or call the art school at 532-8741 if you’re still interested. April 7 and 14, 1 to 4 p.m.

“How to Draw Manga Faces”: If you can’t figure out what participants are going to be learning at this workshop at Treehouse (250 Ward Ave., suite 233) presented by MangaBento, you’re really reading the wrong blog. Recommended for ages 8 and older; cost is $10, art materials included. Feel free to bring your own, too, if you prefer. And yes, this is the same workshop that was supposed to be held March 9 but canceled due to lack of interest; here’s hoping for more interest this time around. Details and a link to register are at treehouse-shop.com/how-to-draw-manga-faces-workshop. 2 to 3 p.m. April 20.

[Kawaii Kon 2013] The 11th memorable moment

Hey, regular Otaku Ohana readers: Jason Genegabus over at our entertainment website, Honolulu Pulse, asked me to write something wrapping up this year’s Kawaii Kon, and I was happy to oblige. You can find that write-up, “Kawaii Kon 2013: 10 Memorable Moments,” here: http://www.honolulupulse.com/sa/kawaii-kon-2013-10-memorable-moments

There were far more than 10 memorable moments, of course. I hope to share more of what I saw in the days and weeks ahead. But yesterday morning, as I was browsing through my Facebook news feed, one post in particular — made to the Kawaii Kon page — caught my attention. And had I known about it when I was writing the Pulse article Sunday night, it easily would have made my list.

The story is by cosplayer Jayson Semetara; the picture, by Mark Parel. Here it is, reprinted in full:

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Kawaii Kon weekend is always fun and joyous with lots of happy memories, but I think this pic tops them all.

While waiting for friends during their Pokemon shoot, this woman was walking around the convention center with her grandpa and stopped in front of me. The man suffers from dementia, and according to the woman his memory is slowly slipping away. However, when he saw me in my Gatchaman costume, he stopped and smiled at me, even shook and held my hand tightly. He even slightly said “Gatchaman!” to me. After taking the photo, his smile was really big, as if he was meeting a celebrity. Later that day, I bumped into the woman again, and she thanked me for the photo op. She said she never saw her grandpa smile that big in months and that he was humming the theme song after leaving.

….it’s memories like this that make me want to put on a costume.
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As of this morning, the post had garnered 66 “likes” on Jayson’s Facebook page and 170 on Kawaii Kon’s page, and had been shared dozens of times. Mark added in comments: “I had to take that photo. The sparkle in his eyes and his genuine smile should make everyone understand why we cosplay…”

Confession time: There are times every now and then when I wonder why I keep writing this blog. There are times when I wonder if there is anyone out there reading my words, aside from the few hard-core readers that I know I have. (Quick side note: Hi, Parv and Dan! Nice meeting you over the weekend! Hope you had a good time!) And then stories like these come along, and I remember once again that I do this because I love sharing stories like these.

Heroes do walk among us. Jayson’s certainly one of mine.

[Kawaii Kon 2013] The surprise cover debut of Noizi Ito

It was a no-brainer that I’d be attending the live-drawing panel of Noizi Ito, the Haruhi Suzumiya and Shana character designer who’s been the target of fanboy squeeing in this space as well as KYAAAAAH~!ing at opening ceremonies. She certainly didn’t disappoint, drawing pictures of Kawaii Kon mascots Ai-chan and Nami during the hour-long panel.

I’ll post a gallery showcasing more of Ito’s drawing process sometime in the (hopefully) near future. It’s rare that Ito does hand-drawn stuff in the first place; she usually works in digital media. (The Ai-chan piece would later sell at the Art Auction for the minimum bid of $750.)

But the real surprise in the panel came in the last five minutes, when translator Lisle Wilkerson started talking about a new book of Ito’s Haruhi Suzumiya-related illustrations being released May 1 in Japan and Ito took out … this.

An audible gasp could be heard from the crowd when the color page proof popped up on the screen.

“She is just putting in the final touches on this project, on this book,” Wilkerson said. “In fact, you guys are the first — at this convention — the first to ever see the final draft of the cover.”

She paused to chat with Ito in Japanese.

“In Japan, the three girls, that part has already been seen,” Wilkerson said. “But here we see the two boys and also Shamisen, the cute little cat. This has just been added, so people in Japan have not yet seen this.”

Applause followed, and the panel ended a little while later.

There’s just something thrilling about being in an audience when something’s revealed to the world for the first time. The fact that it was something associated with one of my favorite franchises made it all the more special.

[Kawaii Kon 2013] The year of the “KYAAAH~!”

Previously at Kawaii Kon, I wrote this:

Of course, I’m not sure if Jake the Dog and Finn the Human will show up — the preceding few sentences having been a riff on the Adventure Time theme, for those of you not familiar with the show — but who knows, that show is pretty popular, so cosplayers dressing up at those characters may be a virtual lock.

And sure enough, not 30 minutes into my day, these fine cosplayers showed up.

A Finn with Jake (in his pocket), and a Princess Bubblegum to boot? That’s it, I’ve seen all I needed to see this year, my job’s done, see y’all at Kawaii Kon 2014.

But no, we must press on, because the first day of Kawaii Kon is always a whirlwind of activity, one that usually starts off at opening ceremonies and keeps on building until everyone flops over with exhaustion Sunday evening. I say “usually” because the fireworks actually started about in the hour just before opening ceremonies this year.

That’s right. Crunchyroll and its representative, senior brand manager Keith Kawamura, broke the news that Sparrow’s Hotel, with a Japanese premiere date and a cast announced five days ago, would be making its way to the streaming anime site.

People in the panel thus knew about the news for several precious, precious minutes before Crunchyroll formally announced it online, Anime News Network picked it up and forums no doubt started buzzing about how good and/or bad it’ll all be. Hey, several precious, precious minutes are an eternity in the Twitterverse.

But back to opening ceremonies. To say it was heavily trafficked would probably be an understatement. Here’s the scene on the fourth floor of the Hawai’i Convention Center a few minutes before 12. The line to the Dealers Room formed on the left; the line to the Main Events Room and opening ceremonies, to the right.

That’s already a lot of people wanting to get into one or the other. Factor in where the end of the line was, though …

… yeeeeeeaaaaaah. It would take 15 minutes after the doors opened to get everyone into the room, with staffers checking that badges had those new anti-counterfeiting stickers.

Pretty packed house, too. Certainly more full than I’ve ever seen opening ceremonies. Consider, too, that this wasn’t even everyone at the convention at the time — Dealers Room line, remember? — and you could say that there are quite a lot of people here this year. And this is only Friday’s crowd!

After the customary opening video (which will not be shown here because I don’t feel like dealing with copyright claims) and a performance by a Hatsune Miku hologram (which also won’t be shown here because (a) that’s super-tricky to photograph and (b) any photos or videos would never do the real thing justice anyway, because it’s one of those things that just has to be seen in person), the parade of guests began.

And that’s where one of the dominating themes of opening ceremonies — and the title of this post — entered into play. Flash back to last year’s opening ceremonies and the corresponding post, in which I dubbed that year “The Year of the Cat” because of voice actor Lisa Ortiz’s introduction of a plush kitten to beat up during the convention. This year’s trend came courtesy of Lisle Wilkerson, voice of Nina Williams and Christie Monteiro in the Tekken franchise and this year’s translator for the Japanese guests.

Wilkerson told the audience that she was going to teach them how the Japanese usually scream. “I would like for you to use it when we introduce all our guests,” she said. “So this is how you scream: ‘KYAAAAAAAAH~!'”

And so it went. Voice actor Toshio Furukawa? KYAAAAAAAAH~!

Fashion designer Mint? KYAAAAAAAAH~!

Singer Iruma Rioka and guitarist Nemu? KYAAAAAAAAH~!

Artist Noizi Ito? KYAAAAAAAAH~!

Vocaloid DJ hachioji-P and professor Toshihiro Fukuoka? … you get the idea.

Worth noting with Ito: She had with her one of this year’s official Kawaii Kon T-shirts with an image she designed, with all of the guests’ signatures on it.

And one lucky audience member won it, and she got to hug Ito in the process.

The KYAAAAAAAAH~!ing didn’t carry over to the guests from the mainland, but the swag giveaways certainly continued. Here are your hosts for part of these proceedings, voice actors Todd Haberkorn and Colleen Clinkenbeard.

Here are two audience members begging like little doggies in front of Haberkorn to get some stuff.

And yet the masses wanted more.

Here’s Haberkorn actually receiving something in return from someone about to get stuff: a … plush crab. Yeah, I don’t exactly get the connection, either. But hey. Free crab. One that’s neither giant nor enemy nor requires the attacking of a weak point for massive damage.

And then, of course, there was Johnny Yong Bosch and Eyeshine. Hugely popular.

The masses, naturally, clamored for the stuff that they were giving away, too.

I understand Eyeshine played a mini-set to close out opening ceremonies. I’d already moved on, though. Far too much else to see and do. A whole bunch of con-tent, you could say.

[Kawaii Kon 2013] Day 0: With a twist!

Day 0 of Kawaii Kon is when you really start to feel the electricity, the energy, of another year’s convention having finally arrived. It may be logistical stuff — badge pick-ups, vendors and artists moving into the Dealers Room and Artist Alley, final technical kinks being worked out in the other rooms — but all of it means that tomorrow morning, those of us who are into the whole anime and manga scene are going to party like it’s X/1999 (well, without the whole death and destruction and end-of-the-world apocalypse stuff).

It’s also the first chance you get to see this year’s designs for the convention program and badges. You can see a picture of what I got to the right. The program’s certainly the largest I’ve seen over Kawaii Kon’s history, an 8.5-inch-by-11-inch book, with lots of colorful pages contained within. (There’s also 100 percent more giant bunny robot content on the cover than I’ve ever seen before.) This year’s badge also has a anti-counterfeiting hologram, another first.

Of course, to get all of that, you had to wait in line first. And so, here was the registration scene 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of 7 p.m.

… that is, of course, if you were expecting preregistration to be in this area, where it’s always been since 2007, with the line of booths at the front and the line extending back around the corner and toward Kalakaua Avenue. But hey, guess what, curveball! This year, for the first time, general registration was located in a room — the room where some of you may recall the video game room was located in previous years.

There’s also a spiffy new, very pink banner.

Also new to this year: names were divided up into individual letter stations. It seemed to make things go faster.

And yet there were still familiar touches here and there. The fact that there are a lot of badges to process, for starters.

Which, of course, meant that the lines for general attendees — one for people with last names beginning from A through I, the other for people with last names from J through Z — was still long.

… no, no, long-enough-to-not-be-able-to-see-that-pink-banner-up-front long.

… no, no, that J-Z line went around the corner and into … hey, did you guys know there’s a children’s courtyard at the convention center?

Six years of attending Kawaii Kon, and I’ve never had a chance to actually see this courtyard until now. The artwork tiles are cute! Check it out if you have an opportunity to take a breather this weekend.

But I digress. My destination was the professional registration table, which, aside from being outside of the general registration room, also had a handy sign pointing out where general attendees could go. The staffers, of course, were hard at work.

It was also nice to meet one of my few dozen readers for the first time tonight — Bridget, I believe, was her name? And sitting near her there was also … oh, gosh, I forget his name, John? Jeff? Something with a J? I do remember that he had a coworker named Scott who joined him as I was leaving, and that he was playing Fire Emblem: Awakening on one of those lovely royal blue limited-edition Fire Emblem: Awakening Nintendo 3DSes. If any of you whom I met would like to clarify anything in comments, please do! My mind has admittedly been a bit frayed all week.

Coming tomorrow: Convention time! Come on and grab your friends! We’ll go to very distant lands (for our meals, because man, Blazing Steaks, Subway and 7-Eleven get crazy crowded busy during the weekend)! Of course, I’m not sure if Jake the Dog and Finn the Human will show up — the preceding few sentences having been a riff on the Adventure Time theme, for those of you not familiar with the show — but who knows, that show is pretty popular, so cosplayers dressing up at those characters may be a virtual lock.

Or the “Let Us Tell You About Homestuck” panel could just end up breaking out and taking over the entire convention.

Either way, something’s bound to happen, right?

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