Tag: deb aoki

Catching up and moving forward

It’s been a weird past few weeks — the joy of spending Maui Comic Con driving around the Valley Isle with some good friends, the what-is-happening-to-our-country-ness of the general election, the devolution of my social media feeds from “must-read, and hey, here are a few news tidbits that are worth sharing in the blog, too” to GEEZ LOUISE ANOTHER POLITICAL OPINION POST I GET ENOUGH OF THIS READING THE WIRE SERVICE FEEDS AT WORK KILL IT WITH FIRE.

There have been a number of things to talk about in the this blog, too. I just haven’t had the time/energy to get around to writing them up. Weird thing is, I’ve seen similar sentiments echoed by some Facebook friends over the past few days or so. Real Life has just been sucking our creative juices dry, and that’s just … unfortunate.

But, well, time marches on and events keep happening. And sometimes you just have to grit your teeth, bear down and get stuff done, no matter how small a step it may be. So to get the ball rolling once again, here are some quick news tidbits. I know there’s been quite a bit going on with Con-athon 2017 developments; I’m working on another post that’ll address those (hopefully) somewhat sorta soonish.

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Eighty-two pictures from this event, and this was the only decent shot I could get of Deb. I feel like I failed somehow. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.

Tidbit no. 1: Remember that manga talk Deb Aoki gave at the Honolulu Museum of Art back on Oct.28? Here’s the complete video of that discussion, courtesy of Stephen Salel at the museum. If you ever wanted to know more about Deb’s career arc, this is definitely the place to do it.

Tidbit no. 2: Spirited Away is returning to theaters nationwide on Sunday and Monday to mark its 15th anniversary, and it’s bringing a special treat for die-hard Studio Ghibli fans: the first-ever North American screenings of Ghiblies Episode 2, a 25-minute comedic short about what goes on at an animation studio that looks a lot like Studio Ghibli itself. Check it out locally at noon Sunday (dubbed) or 7 p.m. Monday (subtitled) at the Regal Dole Cannery theaters. Tickets are available on Fandango for $13.09 general, $10.47 children 11 and under.

Tidbit no. 3: It’s the final (official) jam of the year for Comic Jam Hawaii, the group of collaborative cartoon artists, and they’re road-trippin’: They’re headed over to the Windward side and Kailua Public Library, 239 Kuulei Road, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/ComicJamHawaii (Facebook login required).

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Tidbit no. 4: MiniQ, that outpost of anime goodie happiness in the middle of Aiea, is opening a second branch Friday, Dec. 9, at 95-1057 Ainamakua Drive in Mililani Mauka. There’s going to be food and giveaways at the grand opening, too! Seeing as how (a) this makes MiniQ many miles closer to Otaku Ohana Central out here in Mililani Town, (b) it’s right next to the Sugar Coated Hawaii bakery and (c) it’s just a short walk away from Starbucks, Taps ‘n’ Apps, Wing Stop and Dragon’s Lair, my wallet is already weeping.

And last but certainly not least: Stan Sakai, who’s been chronicling the adventures of the rabbit ronin Usagi Yojimbo all these years, is coming back to Honolulu for a signing session from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Other Realms (1130 N. Nimitz Highway, in the back of the Nimitz Center) In honor of Stan’s appearance, the store is selling a special 11×17 Usagi print, limited to 200 copies, for $30 each. Here’s what it looks like.

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If you’re drooling right now, first of all, here’s a napkin, that’s kinda gross. And second of all, you can order one for yourself by calling 596-8236, stopping by the store or filling out the online form at www.other-realms.com/stan-sakai-2016.html You can even pick it up on the day of the signing or have it shipped.

Summit of the manga mega-minds

This edition of Otaku Ohana is brought to you by two pens, an apple and a pineapple.

Because if I have to write this post about all the otaku activities going on at the Honolulu Museum of Art this month while I’m thinking about how there’s an pen, and there’s an apple, and UNH, now there’s an APPLE PEN, then I’m sure as heck going to have you, dear reader, stuck with that thought, too.

(It could’ve been worse. The Otaku Ohana Anonymous Director of Forced Social Interaction left me with the earworm of Pentatonix’s “Perfume Medley” during all of HawaiiCon a few weeks ago. You try walking anywhere having “Spending all, spending, spending all my time / Loving you, loving you foreeeever” lodged in your, lodged in your brain foreeeever.)

Even the exhibit entrance sign looks pretty. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.
Even the exhibit entrance sign looks pretty. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.

But I digress. There’s a lot going on at the art museum, and much of it is tied in with a major manga exhibit: “Visions of Gothic Angels: Japanese Manga by Takaya Miou.” The exhibit, ongoing through Jan. 15, is curated by Stephen Salel, the man who also assembled “Modern Love: 20th-Century Japanese Erotic Art,” the 2014-15 exhibit that brought manga artists Erica Sakurazawa and Moyoco Anno to Honolulu. From the exhibit description:

Takaya’s artwork explores themes of femininity and female identity through fantastic imagery originating from a wide variety of artistic traditions: Italian Renaissance portraits of Christian martyrs, the intricate Art Nouveau style of British illustrator Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), the surreal puppets of German sculptor Hans Bellmer (1902–1975), and the whimsical street fashion of Harajuku district in Tokyo.

In addition to an overview of the artist’s 25-year career, Visions of Gothic Angels: Japanese Manga by Takaya Miou focuses upon two anthologies, The Madness of Heaven (Tengoku kyō, 2001) and Map of Sacred Pain (Seishō-zu, 2001). Illustrations and short stories from these publications will be presented in a variety of formats: original drawings, printed books (tankobon), large-scale wall graphics, and digital works that visitors can read from cover to cover on iPads installed in the gallery.

Here are a few shots I took at the opening night reception in August that give you an impression of how it all looks.

Here's the entrance to the exhibit. On the near wall, you can see some of Takaya's art; the far wall contains several of her manga pages. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.
Here’s the entrance to the exhibit. On the near wall, you can see some of Takaya’s art; the far wall contains several of her manga pages. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.
An entire wall is devoted to displaying doujinshi Takaya has published over the years. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.
An entire wall is devoted to displaying doujinshi Takaya has published over the years. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.
"After a Poem by Tsukamoto Kunio" (1998) is one of Takaya's works on display. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.
“After a Poem by Tsukamoto Kunio” (1998) is one of Takaya’s works on display. Photo by Jason S. Yadao.

While Takaya won’t be appearing at the museum during the exhibit’s run — I understand she’s quite reclusive — there are those aforementioned events that the museum’s hosting. I was too busy to mention anything about last Saturday’s screening of Miss Hokusai, but here are some pictures an attendee, who wished to be identified as “fuzZz 😸,” passed along to me.

Artists hard at work at a reception held before the screening of "Miss Hokusai" Oct. 1. From left are Jon Murakami (with FIGHTING SPIRIT HEADBAND~!), Michael Cannon, Kaci Horimoto and Tara Tamayori.
Artists hard at work at a reception held before the screening of “Miss Hokusai” Oct. 1. From left are Jon Murakami (with FIGHTING SPIRIT HEADBAND~!), Michael Cannon, Kaci Horimoto and Tara Tamayori.
A fan drawn by Kaci Horimoto. It sold at silent auction for $50. (A certain blogger dork may have bid on it via proxy and won it.)
A fan drawn by Kaci Horimoto. It sold at silent auction for $50. (A certain blogger dork may have bid on it via proxy and won it.)
One of the fans drawn by Michael Cannon.
One of the fans drawn by Michael Cannon.

From 4 to 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Doris Duke Theatre, there’s going to be a roundtable discussion, “Manga in Japan, Hawai‘i, and Throughout the World,” featuring artists Brady Evans, Audra Furuichi and Jamie Lynn Lano; Kawaii Kon senior administrator Roy “Buma” Bann, and some friendly neighborhood anime/manga/comic blogger dork who may be revealing some big news about the future of Otaku Ohana during his portion of the discussion. (It’s pretty exciting!) Come get a quick primer on the industry, learn about where we draw our inspirations from, and hear why 60% of the panel adores homespun slice-of-life comedies.

Another lecture at 4 p.m. Oct. 28 will feature Bento Box artist, former manga.about.com curator and all-around U.S. manga community sempai Deb Aoki. In her talk, “Making a Living in Manga: Bento Box and Beyond,” she’ll discuss her artistic career, how she got interested in manga and the struggles of contemporary manga creators. Both her talk and our panel discussion are free. so swing by, enrich your manga fandom a bit and avoid a good chunk of what’s bound to be horrible afternoon rush-hour traffic.

Last but certainly not least, there’s the ongoing Japanese Cinema spotlight, which I’ve talked about in this space before (along with several other movies that are coming up in the next few weeks!). As a reminder, here are the remaining anime on the schedule, featuring a tribute to late director Satoshi Kon:

>> Tekkonkinkreet, 1 and 7:30 p.m. today

>> Millennium Actress, 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27

>> Paprika, 7: 30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25

>> Tokyo Godfathers, 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26

Tickets are $10 general admission, $8 museum members.

The art museum and theater are located at 900 S. Beretania St.; admission to the museum is $10, with free admission every first Wednesday and third Sunday of every month. For more information, visit honolulumuseum.org.