artsy – Page 10 – Otaku Ohana

The Cel Shaded Report, 8/17: “Madness” at the museum

It’s been a tradition at the Honolulu Museum of Art since 2004: Every third Sunday of the month, thanks to Bank of Hawaii, Honolulu’s premier art repository throws open its doors for Family Sunday, an opportunity for families (and groups of friends, couples, single people, et.al.) to walk through the galleries and participate in a number of fun art-related activities for the price of absolutely free.

Family Sunday’s always worth attending, but this month’s installment is drawing a bit more attention from your friendly neighborhood anime/manga blogger for a simple reason: It’s what I like to think of in my own mind as the Otaku Ohana All-Star Super Show … or, as the museum’s has formally dubbed this particular event, “Manga Madness.” Consider this roster of people and groups that have made appearances in this space in the past who are showing up at Manga Madness:

Roy Chang, Aiea Intermediate art teacher, MidWeek cartoonist, campaign manager for Pepe the Chibi-huahua and soon-to-be published author (more on that in my next post). Roy’s bringing back his one-on-one art portfolio/sketchbook review sessions (seen at right at “Manga Mayhem” at the then-Contemporary Museum in July 2010), the likes of which have not been seen in … wait, did I just type that right? July 2010?!? My, how time flies. Certainly doesn’t seem that long ago. Then again, much can change over a two-year span, I suppose.
Jon J. Murakami, Gordon Rider creator and Star-Advertiser “Calabash” cartoonist; Audra Furuichi, nemu*nemu and Star-Advertiser “Blue Hawaii” cartoonist; and Ming Qi Vinci, Kawaii Kon Artist Alley mainstay, who’ll be joining artists Sarah Kashiwabara, Darold Ramelb and animation students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who’ll be working with children to help them create their own books of drawings.
Anime/manga-inspired artist group Pen & Ink Works will have several story scrolls on hand to which you can add your own contributions.
Oahu Anime Explorer will be screening anime and handing out information about the Hawaii Entertainment Expo (HEXXP) in October.
Representatives from Kawaii Kon, who’ll be handing out information about their convention in March.
Two-time Kawaii Kon guests Alt/Air — the duo of Aly Ishikuni and Brandon “DJ Kowai Kowai” Udani — will be bringing their special blend of dance beats and J-pop-inspired vocals for an hour-long performance from noon to 1 p.m.
Fashion designer Lauren Lee will have designs from her Monarch Lolita line on display.

Add in a Cosplay Theater with two sketches planned (“At the Beginning,” inspired by Cardcaptor Sakura, and “Fighting Game,” inspired by Kingdom Hearts), a display of manga-drawing materials by Hawaiian Graphics, an activity where children can make headbands with common manga symbols like giant sweatdrops and diamond-shaped sparkles, and the exhibit on display that inspired all this manga madness in the first place — “Hiroshige: An Artist’s Journey” — to see, and it becomes clear that there is a lot going on to keep local fans occupied. I’d even go so far to dub this collection of talent and activities as “Mini Con 2012,” if not for the fact that Hillary Chang over at McCully-Moiliili Public Library already has the real Mini Con 2012 locked, loaded and ready to roll for Sept. 22. (Details on that as we get closer to that date.)

“Manga Madness” Family Sunday runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with activities ending at 3 p.m.; for more information and a complete listing of what’s going on, visit honolulumuseum.org/events/bank_of_hawaii_sunday/12990-swim

More from the anime news desk

Bargains abound in this edition of the Cel Shaded Report Section Formerly Known as “Anime Around Town,” so let’s get to it:

AnimEigo: Owing to the fact that (a) hardly anyone buys old-school anime anymore (even though they really ought to), (b) so few people bought AnimEigo’s woefully underappreciated first Yawara box set of 40 episodes, we’ll likely never see the remaining 84 episodes localized for the U.S. and (c) AnimEigo’s license to release the series is expiring as a result, the company is sending the series out with a bang. Basically, you have until Aug. 31 to scoop up a Yawara set for $19.99. Considering original retail for that set was $134.99, to say that’s a hyuuuuuuuge bargain may be the understatement of the century. While you’re at it, if you really roll with the old-school and want to pick up some movies featuring Katsu Shintaro as the blind swordsman Zatoichi, six of those movies are also going out of print as of Sept. 18, so you may want to spring for a seven-movie set for $49.99 while you still can. Pick up one or both of these bargains at www.animeigo.com.

Generation Kikaida: The discounts may not be as deep as AnimEigo’s, but sales on DVDs from Generation Kikaida tend to be few and far between, so sometimes you just have to seize the moment when you can. Through Aug. 26, save 15% on single volumes of Kikaida or 10% on Kikaida three-disc or nine-disc sets and the Inazuman and Kamen Rider V3 box sets. For a full list of what’s on sale — including posters! — visit www.generationkikaida.com/store/index.php?main_page=specials&page=1

Manga University: For a limited time, Kindle e-reader versions of their How to Draw Manga: Eyes and How to Draw Manga: Ears guides are 99 cents each (regular price $4.99). They’re 28 pages each; click here for the Manga Eyes book and here for Manga Ears.

The Cel Shaded Report, 8/2: HEXXP opens “Frontier” for new guest

It’s been quite the busy offseason for the Hawaii Entertainment Expo, also known as HEXXP. Since the last edition of the pop culture convention went off last October, there’s been a change of venue (this year’s show will be at the Aloha Tower Marketplace), an expansion to three days rather than two, signings of several guests to tickle the fancies of local anime/video game fans (Nobuo Uematsu and the Earthbound Papas! DJ Livetune, mixer of Hatsune Miku tunes!) and the announcement of a few big special events (a World Cosplay Summit regional qualifying round and a Macross 30th anniversary exhibit).

We’re a little over two months out before the big event, and the announcements just keep on coming. The biggest one in recent days has been the addition of Japanese voice actress Megumi Nakajima as a guest. Nakajima’s most notable role was as Ranka Lee in Macross Frontier; other major roles include Chiho and Chise Mihara in Kobato, Kaede Sakura in Kampfer and Gurania in Lagrange – The Flower of Rinne. (Macross Frontier hasn’t been released in the U.S., but Kobato and Kampfer are available through Sentai Filmworks, and Viz has Lagrange available for streaming via Hulu.) She also performed theme songs for all four of those shows. Nakajima last appeared at an American convention at Anime Expo in 2010.

A few other guests that I haven’t covered in this space — some of whom have links to Japanese pop culture — include:

Akiakane, noted Nico Nico Douga/YouTube utaite. Never heard of utaite? Well, that makes two of us. A quick web search — and the subsequent discovery of an Utaite Wiki — subsequently taught me that utaite are basically cover artists who perform Vocaloid songs and other anime/video game / J-Pop pieces. Akiakane’s claim to fame: “her rough tone and love to scream in songs.” No, really, that’s what her Utaite Wiki profile page says. Here’s a video of what that same page says is her most popular song, “Rolling Girl.”

Joji Yoshida, an actor who played Chief Engineer Hiroki in Battleship and has had roles in a number of other Hawaii-filmed projects including the revived Hawaii Five-0, Blue Crush, One West Waikiki and Fantasy Island.
Andy Lee, modern zen painter and illustrator who’s done work for DC and Marvel Comics. If this is the same Andy Lee whose name pops up in my web searches, he’s a frequent collaborator with David Mack on his Kabuki series.
Royalvana, online purveyors of Japanese GAL fashion, with brands including GALSTAR, EGOIST and LagunaMoon. The retailer will be holding a fashion show and is looking for models; if you’re a size 4 or smaller, email hexxp@azamipro.com with a photo, measurements and shoe size.

I’m hearing there are even more guest announcements — probably around two or three — coming soon, so stay tuned.

For those of you interested in the World Cosplay Summit, a special note: U.S. organizer Laura Butler, fresh off a trip to the WCS finals in Nagoya this week, will be in town next week and will be hosting an informal Q&A session at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Kissaten Cafe, 88 Piikoi St. Potential contestants also should note that the window for submitting applications and resumes is now open, through Sept. 5; refresh yourself with the rules and links by looking at the second half of the April 6 Cel Shaded Report.

HEXXP is taking place Oct. 19-21 at Aloha Tower Marketplace; for more information or to preregister, visit www.hexxp.com. (It’s been redesigned with a fresher look. Also, credit card payments are now accepted for registrations, for those of you who were skittish about using PayPal.)

Anime and art around town

Honolulu Museum of Art: Two-pack of events to report on for this weekend. From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the museum itself at 900 S. Beretania St., there’s “August Moon,” “a wine and food benefit for arts education.” Jon J. Murakami, “Gordon Rider” and Star-Advertiser “Calabash” cartoonist, and Pen & Ink Works leader Brady Evans will be among the artists drawing live and selling pieces for $25 each. Tickets are $85 in advance, $95 at the door; buy your tickets and get more information at honolulumuseum.org/11652-august_moon_benefit_arts_education

On Saturday, members of the anime/manga-inspired art collective MangaBento will be participating in “PrintBig: From the Ground Up,” an event where teams made giant woodcuts that will be inked and steamrollered to produce prints. The artists will arrive at 8 a.m. to set up, with actual printing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. All of this will be taking place at the museum’s Art School, just around the corner from the museum at 1111 Victoria St. Visit honolulumuseum.org/events/12971-printbig_ground

Open Cosplay Shoot: 1 to 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at Sand Island State Park. RSVP as a cosplayer or photographer on Facebook at www.facebook.com/events/268034626639168/

Rest in peace, Dave Thorne

Dave Thorne at a cartooning lecture at McCully-Moiliili Library, April 16, 2011.

Posted to the Dave Thorne Get Well Page (Facebook login required) a few hours ago by son Randy Thorne:

Our Dearest friends and family: Our father, uncle, friend, mentor, teacher, husband, and bringer of aloha to everyone he met, passed over last night at about 12:30 am Hawaiian time. He suffered from a major stroke Friday which his body and most importantly his brain unfortunately could not recover from. He was surrounded with friends and family when the difficult decision was made to discontinue life support. He transitioned peacefully and without any duress. It is now up to everyone he has impacted to continue his legacy of Aloha. He will live on in all of us!

Mahalo Nui Loa for all of your prayers and best wishes. His “Celebration of Life” arrangements are pending. Love and Aloha, Randy

Those of you who read the Star-Advertiser knew Dave as the cartoonist and creative mastermind behind the Sunday comic strip “Thorney’s Zoo.” Here’s the archive through what would turn out to be his final “Thorney’s Zoo” strip, Oct. 30, 2011: http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/sundaycomics/thorneyszoo/ It’s a big loss for the cartooning community, both locally and globally, to be sure.

I’ll have more thoughts and a tribute when I’m able to write them up, hopefully later this week.

The Cel Shaded Report, 7/12: “Nakamaboko” with Comic Jam

nakamaboko2

We’ve been looking this week at MangaBento’s “Nakamaboko” exhibit, with its giant octopus, intricate artwork and a dorky anime/manga blogger playing with the interactive comic wall. You have until Saturday to look at it in person in the second-floor gallery of the Honolulu Museum of Art School (1111 Victoria St.)

There’s one more section of the exhibit to cover here in Otaku Ohana, this one showcasing the work of another group: Comic Jam Hawaii, the cartoonist/artist collective that’s been gathering monthly to fellowship and draw cartoons, illustrations and sketches together. As these pictures show, they have a lot of fun at these get-togethers.

Here’s the gallery link for those of you who are Flashless or Flash-averse: www.flickr.com/photos/sumiyoshi/sets/72157630546908662/

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615

As I note in the gallery intro on Flickr, Comic Jam Hawaii usually meets from 6 to 9 p.m. every last Wednesday of the month at Kahala Mall. This month, though, members are making a special appearance at two events, both of which are on Saturday. The first appearance, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will be at Pearlridge Center in conjunction with the mall’s “Hall of Heroes” superhero exhibit. Look for them in the space in Pearlridge Uptown where Borders used to be (*sniffle*).

Not only will they be sketching and inviting visitors to join in, they’ll also be giving away packs of nine random “chibi-fied” superhero cards from a set of 93 images the artists have drawn over the past few weeks. (One free pack per person, please.) Spider-Man, Superman, Captain America, Wolverine … they’re all in there, and then some. There’s even a chance of snagging some original artwork. But we’re all about giving the Japanese properties a little extra push here in Otaku Ohana, so here are previews of MidWeek cartoonist Roy Chang’s Astro Boy card …

Astro Boy by Roy Chang

… and Star-Advertiser “Calabash” cartoonist Jon Murakami’s take on Kikaida.

Kikaida by Jon Murakami

You know you want ’em. (I know I do.) Also, if you spend $50 at Pearlridge on Saturday, you can get a copy of Jon’s book, “If You Were a Superhero in Hawaii.” Not a bad way to spend a few hours, really.

After their stint at Pearlridge, the gang will be heading down Moanalua Road a bit and setting up shop at Aiea Library from 2 to 5 p.m., where they’ll continue to sketch and offer various sketching activities for children of all ages.

Want to learn more about Comic Jam Hawaii? You’ll have to be logged in to a Facebook account; if you are, visit www.facebook.com/groups/147779161986428/

Anime around town

The Dragonfly Kickstarter: There’s just a few hours left to pledge support for the live-action “Kikaida meets X-Files” superhero show from the creator of Pineapple Man, Sam Campos. And truth be told, at only 12% of its $50,000 goal raised, the chances of it getting funded are remote at best. But you never know, I could be surprised by a flurry of contributors in the stretch run. The campaign ends at noon Friday; visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/195805089/dragonfly-0 for details.

Pen & Ink Works: This group of anime/manga-inspired artists is celebrating its first anniversary with a manga printmaking activity Saturday at ArtSpree, the annual family art festival at the Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House (the former Contemporary Museum) in Makiki. Create your own manga characters with help from Pen & Ink Works members, and enjoy the food, activities and entertainment available across the entire Spalding House campus. ArtSpree runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; admission is free. (Be advised that parking will not be available at Spalding House; visitors are advised to park at Punahou School and catch the free shuttle.) For more on ArtSpree, visit honolulumuseum.org/12787-artspree; for more on Pen & Ink Works, visit peninkworks.wordpress.com.

HEXXP: The biggest recent news out of the pop culture convention home of Nobuo Uematsu, a World Cosplay Summit regional qualifying round, a Macross 25th anniversary exhibit and the Miku Hatsune DJ Dance Party is that it’s expanding to three days of programming from two. Yes, HEXXP is now running from Friday, Oct. 19 through Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Aloha Tower Marketplace. For those of you who have already preregistered, your passes now cover that extra day.

Those of you who missed out on the first round of VIP passes also now have a second chance; the second and final block of 150 passes recently went on sale. They aren’t cheap — $175, compared to the standard $55 for a regular all-days pass — but they do grant access to a special VIP lounge where con guests will be making regular appearances and express, preferred seating at special events.

And finally, I’ve gotten word that two more guest announcements will be made, possibly as soon next week. Stay tuned.

For more information, visit www.hexxp.com.

MangaBento’s “Nakamaboko”: The second slice

A Hawaiian Anime Day by Kristi Auyong When last we left off with our look at MangaBento’s “Nakamaboko” exhibit, we had taken a virtual tour of the gallery space and some of the most dominant elements in that space. This time around, the artwork on display takes the spotlight. I didn’t want to put everything that’s on display into this slideshow — that would take a while to cycle through, and time these days is quite precious, both for me in preparing these posts and you in reading them — but I hope these highlights I’ve chosen give you an idea of the talent level of the featured artists.

Oh yes, and as promised in the last gallery, there is, in fact, a picture of me trying out the interactive comic wall. If that isn’t incentive enough for you to browse through this slideshow, I don’t know what is.

Since this whole slideshow thing is still relatively new, here’s a refresher course on how best to use it: To start the slideshow, just press the “play” button in the middle of the frame below. Pause and restart using the button on the lower left. If you want a larger view, click on the icon on the lower right; in that full-screen view, you can also see the captions I’ve written for each picture (using the “Show Info” link) or slow down the automatic scrolling (using the “Options” link). Finally, if you’re viewing this blog on an iOS device (iPad/iPod Touch) and can’t view Flash plug-ins, or if you just want to skip all the slideshow fiddling and go straight to the gallery, here’s the direct gallery link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sumiyoshi/sets/72157630518435752/ Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615

Coming up next time: This wall, which deserves an entire post — well, a good chunk of an entire post, anyway, since it is going to be part of the weekly Cel Shaded Report, and there are other things I need to discuss — in and of itself.

Yup. The Comic Jam Hawaii wall. They contributed many pieces to “Nakamaboko.” And they’re going to be pretty busy drawing on Saturday, too…

MangaBento’s “Nakamaboko”: The first slice

Almost a month ago, on June 12, “Nakamaboko” opened in the gallery at the Honolulu Museum of Art School.

The annual exhibit by the anime/manga-inspired artist collective MangaBento is scheduled to come down at the end of this week. And guess what? Your friendly neighborhood anime/manga blogger is finally ready to report on it. And in a new way, at that!

See, one of the biggest obstacles in doing photo posts like these is that it takes a lot of time to go through photos, pick the ones that don’t make me wince and question why I ever thought I had any modicum of photography skill in the first place, and run them through what I like to call Adobe Photoshop Elements’ “prettify” filters. Then I have to place each picture in the post and write up something suitably snappy … and the more pictures I put into each post, the more that you, dear reader, has to scroll down and down and down and down on the same page. It just seemed so clunky, especially in this day and age where perfectly good online slideshow widgets and plug-ins exist. And with more photos than I’ve ever posted before on a single subject — so many, in fact, that I decided it would be best for me to write three separate posts on this exhibit —

So I went out, dug up an old Flickr account that I hadn’t touched in ages (seriously, the last pictures added to that account’s photostream were from two years ago), freshened it up a bit, and voila! Instant compact gallery-type goodness to play with.

A few notes before we begin: To start the slideshow, just press the “play” button in the middle of the frame below. Pause and restart using the button on the lower left. If you want a larger view, click on the icon on the lower right; in that full-screen view, you can also see the captions I’ve written for each picture (using the “Show Info” link) or slow down the automatic scrolling (using the “Options” link). Finally, if you’re viewing this blog on an iOS device (iPad/iPod Touch) and can’t view Flash plug-ins, or if you just want to skip all the slideshow fiddling and go straight to the gallery, here’s the direct gallery link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sumiyoshi/sets/72157630460795572/

That said, on to the first gallery! This one spotlights the gallery layout, a few special features and, of course, the sketch table.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615

Coming up next time: A selection of some of the pieces on display.

The Cel Shaded Report, 6/28: A quick dip into the night

tokyo story

I’m working on quite a few posts at the moment, so this week’s edition of the Cel Shaded Report is going to have to be a quick one. Fortunately for my workload, there’s only one event catching my attention this week that has to be talked about ASAP.

That event is happening Friday at the Honolulu Museum of Art. In conjunction with “Hiroshige: An Artist’s Journey,” an exhibit featuring the woodblock prints of Utagawa Hiroshige that’s on display through Aug. 19, the museum’s monthly ARTafterDARK event will carry the theme of “Tokyo Story.” “Inspired by the exhibition … we bring the neon glitz and glam of Tokyo to ARTafterDARK,” an official blurb reads … and you know that here at Otaku Ohana, we’re all about promoting events that have Tokyo glitz and glam that involves the local art community.

Advertised as being a part of the festivities is Gordon Rider/Star-Advertiser “Calabash” cartoonist Jon Murakami and Jessica Valadez, “featured artist of Kawaii Kon.” (I’ve only had time to deduce that she’s won a past Kawaii Kon newsletter art contest and has exhibited before in Artist Alley, but nothing beyond that.) Both Jon and Jessica will be doing sketches at the event. Not advertised, but also attending, will be nemu*nemu artist Audra Furuichi (sketching away alongside Jon and Jessica) and HEXXP and the MangaBento artists, who’ll be manning the Harajuku Photo Booth, where attendees can take pictures using yukata and various props. You can also meet Ayumi Sugimoto, the animator from Japan whose workshops in Hawaii laid the groundwork for MangaBento’s creation.

Cost is $10 general admission and free for Museum members; visit http://honoluluacademy.org/events/art_after_dark/12869-tokyo_story to see more of the cool activities that will be available.

Okay, back into the writing cave for me, where I hope to get at least one more post up before the end of the month. Or maybe I’ll just end up being distracted by random videos. You never know.

The Cel Shaded report, 6/22: Just kickin’ it

Tag-team partner in fandom Wilma J. and I are big fans of Kickstarter, the fundraising website that gives all sorts of projects, from art exhibits to state-of-the-art technological doohickeys, the chance to go from dream to reality with the help of people willing to invest a bit to make them happen.

dragonfly poster … wait, did I just write “big fans of Kickstarter” in that last paragraph? I meant to say “freakishly obsessed with Kickstarter.” If there’s a worthy cause for us to support and an affordable tier of cool swag for us to jump on, we are so. there. Rich Burlew’s Order of the Stick reprint project? Helped with that. Double Fine’s untitled adventure game? That, too. And, of course, you’ve read about one of the most prominent/successful local campaigns in this space, the nemu*nemu volume 6 Kickstarter. We’ve hopped on those and so many more.

It’s with that obsession in mind that I present to you two more Kickstarter projects in the process of pursuing funding, one local, one national. The local project is one that’s been in the works since Burl Burlingame first profiled it in the pages of the Star-Bulletin in 2007: Dragonfly, a live-action superhero show from the creator of Pineapple Man, Sam Campos. Campos has described his show in the past as “Kikaida meets X-Files,” and it’s easy to see the influence of tokusatsu (live-action superhero) series like Kikaida and Kamen Rider on the costume designs in his series. The show stars Cole Horibe as Alex Tombo, descendent of an ancient line of genetically engineered warriors that defends the world from an ancient evil that lurks within the islands. (You may have seen Horibe on TV recently, as he’s in the running in Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance with his martial arts-infused moves.)

Campos is looking to raise $50,000 to finish production of Dragonfly’s first three episodes. With that in mind, here’s the Dragonfly Kickstarter pitch video:

… as well as a link to an interview Campos did on World of Superheroes that explains a bit more about the project. Rewards include anything from digital downloads of the three episodes in production ($10 for one, $15 for two, $20 for all three) all the way up to an executive producer credit, a prototype helmet, signed copies of Pineapple Man issues 1-4 and a Dragonfly DVD (a price tier so high that I’m pretty sure the average Otaku Ohana reader wouldn’t be able to afford it without taking out a loan somewhere). You have until July 13 to contribute to the Dragonfly Kickstarter at http://ow.ly/bKJ4r.

unico On the national front, Digital Manga Publishing — which already has successfully Kickstarted a reprint of Osamu Tezuka’s Swallowing the Earth and the first run of Tezuka’s Barbara — is going back to the Tezuka well for its latest project: a full-color print run of Unico. The series, about a unicorn endowed with magical powers to help those to love him, was serialized from 1976 to 1979 in Sanrio’s Ririka magazine — yes, that Sanrio, better known the House of Hello Kitty. As such, this title is far more accessible to readers of all ages than Swallowing the Earth and Barbara, two series tailored for older readers. This would be the first translated run for the Unico manga in the U.S., but it’s not the first time Unico’s shown up in the states; most recently, Discotek released two animated features, The Fantastic World of Unico (1981) and Unico in the Island of Magic (1983), on DVD in May.

As I was writing this post, the campaign had just crossed over the $12,000 mark and appears well on its way to making its $20,500 goal well before its scheduled closing date of July 21. Once it hits that goal, it looks like there’s going to be an announcement of another Tezuka manga that’s joining the party, so stay tuned. For now, $35 lands a copy of Unico and either $10 worth of online manga at eManga.com or six issues of the Astro Boy online magazine, and the tiers scale upward from there to include stickers, T-shirts and posters. The always great Tezuka in English site has more background information about the Unico manga, and you can contribute to the Kickstarter, check out some sample translated pages and watch DMP’s pitch video at http://ow.ly/bKKqS.

Update 6/28: Original goal has been met! Now the DMP Kickstarter-teers is working on getting another manga, the “Astro Boy … if Astro was a cat” story ATOMCAT into publication. And if that gets successfully funded — and it’s about a shade over $1,000 to doing that — the push for another manga will begin. Stay tuned.

Anime around town

HEXXP: Online registration is continuing for the third annual edition of the pop culture convention, and so are the monthly giveaways. Those of you registered by the end of this month, in fact, have a chance to win a rather coveted item to anyone who’s a fan of one of this year’s guests, Nobuo Uematsu. See that Earthbound Papas CD to the right? See that silver scrawl on the upper left corner? That is, indeed, Uematsu’s signature, and if your name is drawn, you could very well win this signed CD. HEXXP is happening Oct. 20-21 at the Aloha Tower Marketplace; visit https://www.facebook.com/hexxphawaii for more information or http://www.hexxp.com to register (and, by extension, enter to win).

Pen & Ink Works: This group of anime- and manga-inspired artists is getting together for a Sketch Meet from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the McCully-Moiliili Public Library, 2211 S. King St., in the first-floor reading room. (If you’re attended the library’s Mini Con in the past two years, you know where that room is.) Bring your sketchbooks, get some drawing advice from senior members, and get ready for a fun afternoon. Visit peninkworks.wordpress.com.

MangaBento: The other group of anime- and manga-inspired artists meets from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Honolulu Museum of Art School, 1111 Victoria St., Room 200. Visit http://www.manga-bento.com for more information. Also, the group’s latest exhibit, “Nakamaboko” is on display in the art school’s second-floor gallery through July 14. I’m still working on processing the pictures I took at Sunday’s opening reception and a follow-up visit on Wednesday, but here’s a sneak Pika-peek with a ceramic piece by Chad Vilayvong.

pika peek

Comic Jam Hawaii: This month’s informal gathering of comic artists is happening Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Center Court of Kahala Mall. Artists of all skill levels are invited to draw, talk story and collaborate on cartoons like this one, also among the pieces on display at the “Nakamaboko” exhibit:

comic jam sample

The Cel Shaded report, 6/14: Returning with a boxed lunch

Well. Hello there. It’s been a while since I’ve actually written a full post in this space, hasn’t it? Yes, there was a guest post from Christina Chun on the Dragon Age movie, and tag-team partner in fandom Wilma J. handled the May Manga Movable Feast post, but I haven’t written much here since May 3.

Not that I haven’t tried to write anything, of course — I have about two or three unfinished posts sitting in the Otaku Ohana drafts folder. Great topics, too. For starters, I really ought to share some of those pictures I took at an exhibit at the state Capitol in early May, so you can see all the nice artwork from the Cartooning Social Jam group at Aiea Intermediate School. Like this piece by Jessica Sato.

It’s just that, I must admit, I haven’t felt very inspired to finish anything as of late. You could call it partly a feeling of burnout, partly that feeling of blogger mid/late-life crisis where one starts questioning why he or she still blogs and whether anyone really cares about what gets written/published anymore. It just seemed like I needed to step away for a bit and re-evaluate just why I do what I do. Rediscover the joy of writing, if you will.

So, without a word, I just took some time off. Yes, I edited Christi’s and Wilma’s posts and added some introductions, but that was pretty much it when it came to Otaku Ohana. In the interim I also visited San Jose for FanimeCon over Memorial Day weekend, one of the largest and best anime conventions in northern California … unless, of course, you show up at your hotel on the same night that the leader of the free world is staying there and have to navigate your way through various security measures and metal detectors just to make it to the front desk, and then, less than 24 hours later, endure six hours waiting to pick up your badge (and not having any guarantee of picking it up, at that!). In which case you’d probably seriously rethink ranking Fanime among your best experiences and relying on it as your “vacation con,” too.

On the bright side, I did get to watch this sax player play songs like the Sailor Moon theme song, the Epic Sax Guy riff and, my personal favorite (because I’m old-school like that), “Baker Street,” in the hallway of the McEnery Convention Center. A YouTube search pulls up the user name “MkaliKunguru” as the man responsible for filling Fanime with his merry melodies. Assuming YouTube doesn’t take this video down on a copyright infringement charge, here’s his take on “Baker Street.”

That video is admittedly a bit dark, so here’s a clearer picture of what he looks like. You may also notice in this picture that some familiar plush pup companions were enjoying his music, too.

So what did I conclude during my time away? I don’t think I’m quite ready to give up this gig yet. It’s just too much fun to write about what we experience in the world of anime/manga/cartooning fandom and share them with our readers — whoever they may be at this point. (Please leave a comment if you’re still reading, by the way. I’m a bit curious to see who’s out there. Don’t be shy.) Granted, tag-team partner in fandom Wilma J. and I may not post as often as we’d like to — our targets have slipped from “multiple posts per week” when Otaku Ohana started, to the more recent “once per week” schedule, to the current “whenever we can scrape together 10-15 minutes out of our busy schedules to write part of a post that maaaaaaay, God willing, come out sometime in the next few months” — but then again we’ve always been more about quality than quantity ’round these parts.

Enough of my rambling, though. Let’s get to the good stuff.

“Nakamaboko” ready to serve

These past few weeks have been very, very good for local fans of anime/manga/cartoon-inspired art. It started with the aforementioned Aiea Intermediate Cartooning Social Jam exhibit. Then Comic Jam Hawaii, a group of local artists that’s been popping up on my radar quite frequently as of late, conducted several jam sessions around town. Our sister publication, MidWeek, had an article about Pancho Abalos’ “Tributes” exhibit, with his pieces influenced by the Edo period joined by student artwork on display at the ING Direct Cafe in Waikiki through June 30. Elizabeth Kieszkowski over at Honolulu Pulse also did a piece on it, and I’m going to try to make my way out there sometime before the month is out as well. (The cafe’s at 1958 Kalakaua Ave., in case you want to see it for yourself.)

The rest of the month is packed with events — more details, God willing, next week — but the latest event in this recent chain just opened Tuesday at the Honolulu Museum of Art School: “Nakamaboko: Working Together,” this year’s exhibit by the anime/manga-inspired young artist collective MangaBento. Those of you who visited MangaBento’s “Kakimochi” exhibit last year know what the display space on the school’s second floor looks like; you can expect to see an all-new lineup of pieces on display this year. The group’s already posted a gallery of pre-exhibit setup photos on its Facebook page, and the space is already looking quite promising. (I’m certainly digging the octopus over the elevator.)

You have until July 14 to check out the exhibit, but in case you have some free time this Sunday, the group will be hosting an opening reception from 2 to 5 p.m. AniMaid Cafe Hawaii servers will be on hand with refreshments, and art activity stations will be set up around the gallery. Yes, it’s also Father’s Day. Just bring dear ol’ Dad along after taking him out to lunch or before taking him out to dinner, and it’ll all be good.

The Honolulu Museum of Art School is at 1111 Victoria St.; admission is free. For more about MangaBento, visit www.manga-bento.com.

Anime around town

Aiea Library Anime Club: 3 p.m. Saturday at the library, 99-143 Moanalua Road. This month, librarian Diane Masaki will be screening the first few episodes of Ghost Hunt. For more information or to RSVP, call 483-7333 or e-mail aiealibraryanimeclub@yahoo.com.

The Cel Shaded Report, 5/3: Freebies assemble!

So there’s this really big movie opening this weekend. Really big. Several superheroes from recent movies rolled up into one giant juggernaut of a movie big. So big that the Associated Press began its weekly box office earnings story earlier this week by talking about how many hundreds of millions of dollars it made … and it hadn’t even opened yet in the United States.

Indeed, if you haven’t seen any of the other movies that have been out for a while, this weekend might be the best time to catch some of ’em, because it’s a given that all the theaters screening The Avengers will be the ones crammed full of people. The fact that it’s a big weekend featuring a blockbuster movie based on a popular comic book series also can mean only one thing: It’s time for the return of Free Comic Book Day, that one day out of the year when most comic book stores — one three-store chain in Virginia excepted — promote sequential art by giving away books by the boxful.

Four comic book stores are participating on Saturday:

Collector Maniacs, 3571 Waialae Ave., ste. 102A (Kaimuki)
Gecko Books, 1151 12th Ave. (Kaimuki)
Other Realms, Ward Warehouse, 1050 Ala Moana Blvd.
Jelly’s, 98-023 Hekaha St. (Aiea)

If you visit any of these stores, don’t forget to throw some money at them and buy something in appreciation, too — supporting local small businesses is always a good thing.

Thirteen libraries across the state are participating as well — 10 on Oahu, two on Maui, one on Hawaii island. (Sorry, Kauai — just as with The Secret World of Arrietty screenings, looks like you’ve been shut out again.) Some will also be hosting special events. The sites:

Aiea (99-143 Moanalua Road) — 501st Imperial Legion visits from 10 a.m. to noon; from 3 to 5 p.m., the gang from Comic Jam Hawaii, a group of local cartoonists that meets regularly for fellowship, drawing and creative brainstorming, will be at the library for a Free Comic Day Jam. The public can join in, too.
Aina Haina (5246 Kalanianaole Highway) — Oahu FanForce, a group with members cosplaying as various Star Wars characters, visits from 10 a.m. to noon.
Hawaii Kai (249 Lunalilo Home Road)
Hilo (300 Waianuenue Ave)
Kailua (239 Kuulei Road) — 501st Imperial Legion visits from 2 to 4 p.m.
Kapolei (1020 Manawai St.) — Rebel Legion Hawaii visits from 10 a.m. to noon.
Kihei (35 Waimahaihai St.)
Lahaina (680 Wharf St.)
Liliha (1515 Liliha St.) — Rebel Legion Hawaii visits from 2 to 4 p.m.
McCully-Moiliili (2211 S. King St.) — Rebel Legion Hawaii visits from 2 to 4 p.m.
Mililani (95-450 Makaimoimo St.) — 501st Imperial Legion visits from 2 to 4 p.m.
Waianae (85-625 Farrington Highway)
Waimanalo (41-1320 Kalanianaole Highway) — 501st Imperial Legion visits from 10 a.m. to noon.

While there aren’t any giveaways of Japanese manga — you’ll just have to resort to the increasing number of chapter samples available year-round on legal manga sites like jmanga.com, vizmanga.com and pretty much any manga publisher website you can think of for that — there are a few properties that manga fans may be interested in, including Archie Comics’ Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog books and OEL (original English language) manga Voltron Force: Shelter From the Storm from Viz and The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel from Yen Press. As for properties without manga ties, I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for … well … a bunch of other titles that I don’t have the time and energy to hyperlink at the moment, but you can pretty much guarantee that if it’s tied in to some cartoon, Mouse Guard or Moomins, I’m interested. A complete list is available at http://www.freecomicbookday.com/Home/1/1/27/981; note that the locations listed below won’t necessarily be carrying all these titles.

UPDATE, 5/5: I’ve gotten word of several neat online-exclusive freebies that will be available during Free Comic Book Day as well. For one day only, Audra Furuichi and Scott Yoshinaga are offering digital copies of nemu*nemu volume 1; not only do you get the first year of strips as they were printed online, you’ll also get commentary from Audra and Scott, character profiles and bonus sketches. (And trust me, Anpan and Nemu looked very different from how they look now.) Visit hensh.in/c0 and click on the banner at the top of the page.

Meanwhile, the gang over at Lime Media Hawaii is offering digital copies of Hawaii Star Manga Project issue no. 5. This giveaway’s not limited to just today; it’ll be available until the long-in-gestation sixth issue is released. Included are installments of the comics “The Hylanthean,” “The Tobias Wah Chronicles” and “Children of Aumakua,” as well as the continuing prose saga “River of Stars [:another realm].” Visit www.limemediahawaii.com and follow the links.

Anime around town

MangaBento: This group of anime- and manga-inspired artists is hosting the “Coloring With Copics + Manga Mania” workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Honolulu Museum of Art School, 1111 Victoria St., room 201. There will be demonstrations of Copic and other popular Japanese markers, as well as an art jam session in advance of the group’s “”Nakamaboko: Working Together” exhibit opening next month. (This is also a great time to remind you that you have until May 23 to submit work for that exhibit. More details in this post.) Cost is $10; bring your own drawing materials. Visit www.manga-bento.com.

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