A month of super-duper Saiyans, Totoros and ninjas

Back when I was in my formative years as an anime fan in the early 2000s and wanted to get out to watch anything animated coming out of Japan, it wasn’t easy to catch anime in theaters. The Hawaii International Film Festival had a few, and on occasion one or two might have shown up at the Varsity or Wallace’s Restaurant Row art house complex (anyone remember when those were actual things?) (of course you do; I mean, wow, some of you reading this are old enough to remember the older Japanese theaters, which is way cool), but those were few and far between.

The month we’re entering now shows just how much things have changed. This month brings word of three anime features screening in local theaters this month, including — whoa! — the first time I can recall in a long time, if ever, that several Hawaii island theaters are included in a limited-run anime screening.

The film that’s getting this relatively widespread distribution is Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, otherwise known as “that Dragon Ball Z movie for which they were carrying around the poster everywhere Ryo Horikawa, the Japanese voice of Vegeta, appeared during Kawaii Kon 2013.” Here he is with panelists Lisle Wilkerson and Pali Kaaihue … and that poster.

Ryo Horikawa at Kawaii Kon 2013

One of the gods of Battle of Gods is Beerus, the God of Destruction who has the power to make everyone drunk and post incriminating selfies of themselves on various social media outlets. (A portion of that last sentence may be more what I imagine a character described as “Beerus, the God of Destruction” to be and not reflect reality.) Beerus is on his way to Earth, which means it’s up to you-know-who to input his “God mode” cheat code and face him.

That’s right.

Krillin.

… no, of course it’s Goku. Much screaming and KAMEHAMEHA~!-ing and sock-biff-powing and explosions will likely ensue, and … well, you probably know what you’re in for with a Dragon Ball Z-series movie, so you’re either already eager to check it out or moved ahead to look at the details of the My Neighbor Totoro screenings a bit further down.

So when can you see Battle of Gods? The first big day is Tuesday, when four theaters — Consolidated’s Ward Stadium 16 complex on Oahu and the Kaahumanu 6 complex in Kahului, and Regal’s Makalapua Stadium 10 complex in Kona and Prince Kuhio 9 complex in Hilo — will be showing it at 7 p.m. The Kona and Hilo theaters will also have screenings at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets for those screens are available on Fandango.

The film then moves on for an longer run starting Aug. 9 at the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Doris Duke Theatre. The showtimes:

  • Sat., Aug. 9: 1 p.m.
  • Sun. Aug. 10: 5 and 7:30 p.m.
  • Tues., Aug. 12 through Thurs., Aug. 14: 1 and 7:30 p.m.

Tickets — at $10 general, $8 museum members — are available at www.honolulumuseum.org/events/films/14523-dragon_ball_z_battle_gods.

Around the middle of this month, Consolidated’s Kahala 8 theaters will host screenings of My Neighbor Totoro as part of the ongoing “GKIDS: Animated World” series of animated features “for kids of all ages” … which I just learned about while writing this post Thursday night, so I’m a bit sad about missing features like The Secret of Kells, A Cat in Paris and Tales of the Night. Totoro will screen Sat. Aug. 16, at 11 a.m., Mon., Aug. 18, at 3:30 p.m. and Tues., Aug. 19, at 11:30 a.m.; presale tickets are available now on Fandango.

Finally, for you Naruto fans, your favorite orange jump-suited ninja and his friends are back for their latest big-screen adventure, Road to Ninja — Naruto the Movie. It’s a movie that seems to hearken back to his roots; here’s the synopsis:

RoadToNinja NarutoTheMovieLong ago, a mysterious masked shinobi unleashed the Nine-Tailed Fox onto the Village Hidden in the Leaves to spread chaos and destruction. But the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife Kushina Uzumaki sealed the Tailed Beast into their newborn son Naruto to save the village, foiling the shinobi’s plan.

Years later, Naruto and his friends succeed in driving away the infamous Akatsuki, who have mysteriously returned from the dead. Upon returning to the village, the young shinobi are praised by their families for completing a dangerous mission. Reminded of how alone he is, Naruto begins to wonder what it’s like to have parents, when a strange masked figure appears before him – the same masked shinobi responsible for the death of his parents!

Road to Ninja has thus far been confirmed for screenings at the Ward Stadium 16 theaters at noon Sun., Aug. 31, and 7 p.m. Sept. 1; tickets for the Aug. 31 showing are already available on Fandango.

Also this weekend

Get Pop-Cultured at Barnes & Noble: Another weekend, another set of artist appearances and Kawaii Kon-hosted activities at the Ala Moana store. The fun kicks off Saturday at 1 p.m. with appearances by MidWeek cartoonist/Cacy & Kiara and the Curse of the Ki’i author Roy Chang and artist Theo Lee (one of the featured artists in our Sakai Project profile (subscription required to read) on Sunday!). That will be followed by cosplayers dressed as Marvel Comics characters at 2 p.m.; Kawaii Kon’s “Iron Cosplay” costuming-on-the-fly event at 3 p.m.; and Comic Jam Hawaii’s Marvel sketch session at 5 p.m., where artists will draw various characters and the pieces will be raffled off to lucky patrons at the end of the hour.

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. Sunday.

As for last weekend …

Remember that Kids Inc. Business Showcase I wrote about in my last post, where I highlighted Joelle Lee and her “Joelle’s Custom Artwork” booth? I swung by Windward Mall and commissioned her to draw a caricature of me, and boy, did she ever deliver. I happened to be wearing a chibi Attack on Titan shirt at the time, so she drew me as one of that series’ soldiers.

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And here’s Joelle herself with the finished product.

Joelle Lee at Windward Mall

I liked the drawing so much, I’ve been gradually uploading it as my new avatar on pretty much all the social media networks I’ve been frequenting. (Except Instagram. I kinda like that “me with Doraemon plushie” look.) I would highly recommend getting something from her if she sets up another booth sometime in the future … I’ll definitely try to keep tabs on when/if she makes another appearance.

Stretching toward home

CrossCul-JCCH-Invitation-1The month of May is winding down, and so too are a pair of events that I’ve talked about in this space in recent weeks: the “Crossing Cultures: The Art of Manga in Hawaii” exhibit at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, and the Kickstarter campaign for the second Taku Taku Matsuri summer festival. Both of them are wrapping up on June 7, and both of them have some new news tidbits emerging that make them worth mentioning here again.

The last event being held in conjunction with the “Crossing Cultures” exhibit is also the biggest one yet, a live drawing session featuring much of the island’s top talent — and perhaps you, too, if  you’re artistically inclined. That’s because the cartoonists from Comic Jam Hawaii, the group that usually gets together every first and third Sunday of the month at Pearlridge Center, will be setting up shop at JCCH from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday outside the gallery, drawing manga-themed pieces and offering inspiration for attendees to do so as well. Drawing materials will be provided.

Joining them will be some of the artists featured in the exhibit — Roy Chang, Audra Furuichi, Jon Murakami and Kyunyo. They’ll be taking a limited number of commissions for $15 each — come early to secure your spot. Or if you consider yourself a lucky person, just show up, and you can enter a raffle to win original artwork from them. Roy’s piece features his characters, Cacy and Kiara, on paper fans:

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Audra has a watercolor piece with her plush pup creations — Anpan, Nemu, Enchilada and Blue — with a giant Pollo:

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Jon’s marker piece features Gordon Rider, sidekick Steve the Monkey, and a whole bunch of Edamame Ninjas and Geckos:

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And Kyunyo has a lovely Kuroko’s Basketball print:

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There also will be other prizes up for grabs, including a Chewbacca backpack. Yup. That’s apparently a thing. If you ever wanted to bear the burden of a Wookie on your back, this is your time.

If you haven’t had a chance to take in the exhibit yet, you can do so as well, with curator Brady Evans, Journey of Heroes author Stacey Hayashi and the Hachi Maru Hachi gang participating in a gallery walk-through. And yes, you’ll probably see your friendly neighborhood anime/manga blogger around as well — I couldn’t possibly miss the biggest celebration of local manga culture since Kawaii Kon last month, could I?

JCCH  is located at 2454 S. Beretania St.; again, the event runs from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. If you can’t make it, the community gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. For more on the exhibit, visit hawaiimanga.com.

Taku Taku Matsuri’s last stand

taku taku matsuri logoOver in Taku Taku Matsuri land, the news is … well, a bit more sobering at this point. With a bit less than eight days left, the Kickstarter campaign has raised less than 40 percent of its goal, sitting at $735 out of $2,000. The $100 “meal with voice actor Kyle Hebert” tier has gotten a bit sweeter with the addition of a $20 gift certificate for Correct Distortion, purveyors of kimonos, contemporary Japanese fashion and accessories like wigs and jewelry.

But at this point, it would take a lot more than a sellout at that tier to push this campaign over the top … and it’s definitely running out of time. As an official comment posted May 23 on the Taku Taku Matsuri Facebook page noted:

Remember~ even if you pledge, if we don’t get fully funded, won’t happen~ SO! Share the link and get more people interested!! (≧▽≦)

… so in keeping with Kickstarter’s “all or nothing” approach, if this campaign fails, that’ll be the end of the discussion about this year’s event, and I’ll have to find something else to talk about that month, like … I dunno … episode-by-episode reviews of Cardcaptor Sakura on Blu-ray or something like that. While that may be fun, it also won’t be quite the same. Visit ow.ly/wUtKl to check out the campaign.

Ota-cool incoming!

ARTafterDARK: Rakugaki: A blend of graffiti and traditional Japanese art makes its way to the Honolulu Museum of Art’s monthly evening art party, and four of the “Crossing Cultures” artists — Roy, Jon, Brady and Rose Dela Cruz — will be part of it as well. Use their drawings, add in a few of your own, and you can create your own souvenir manga to take home. You can also enjoy the Light from Shadow: Gold in Japanese Art exhibit currently on display, sample Japanese foods, and sip on shochu from Iichiko, event sponsors touting “Japan’s best-selling genuine shochu.” Yum. Learn more about the event at www.honolulumuseum.org/events/art_after_dark/
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 The museum is at 900 S. Beretania St. General admission $10; free for museum members. 6 to 9 p.m. Friday.

Comic Jam Hawaii: Too much drawing over the weekend? Naaaaaaaah. The Comic Jammers will be reconvening for their regular first-Sunday-of-the-month meeting at Pearlridge Center. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/ComicJamHawaii (Facebook login required). Next meeting: 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

“Otsukare-sama” Party: Regardless of whether Taku Taku Matsuri reaches its funding goal, organizer Yuka Nagaoka already has another event lined up: a party to let off some steam following the long slog of the academic year. Some of the musical acts who would be performing at Taku Taku Matsuri if the event takes place will be showing up; activities include … ummm … table flipping. Hopefully not with the pupus and drinks still on them. That would be kinda bad. For ages 18 and older. Visit www.facebook.com/events/443091685828142/ (no Facebook login required). Ong King Arts Center (184 N. King St.), 5 to 9 p.m. June 7.

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., room 200). Visit www.manga-bento.comNext meeting: 1 to 4 p.m. June 8.

Local manga exhibit crosses over to JCCH

One of the highlights of last year’s otaku calendar was “Crossing Cultures: The Art of Manga in Hawaii,” an exhibit curated by Pen & Ink Works founder Brady Evans that traced the history of manga locally, from its origins in Japan to its influences on the local fan community. I spotlighted it twice in this space during its run, once before it opened, once before it closed. It was a great opportunity to look at original artwork from the featured artists and learn about their creative processes.

I’m still trying to figure out how they let this dork in the building to be part of the exhibit, though.

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CrossCul-JCCH-Invitation-1But let’s say you weren’t able to make it out to see the exhibit last year. It happens; maybe you were too busy during the time it was up between Sept. 6 and Oct. 2, or maybe the drive over the Koolaus to the Windward side didn’t agree with you. Fortunately for you, there’s a second chance coming up to see it, as the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii over in Moiliili hosts its revival starting Saturday. (Members and invited guests can get a sneak peek at 5:30 p.m. Friday, with Brady leading a walkthrough at 6 p.m.)

Brady recently told me that there’s been a healthy chunk of new content added to the exhibit to make a visit worthwhile to those of you who did visit last year. The highlights:

  • Kyunyo, the doujinshi artist featured in the Kawaii Kon section last year, is getting her own spotlight space this year. Pages from her latest work, “Define” — inspired by the anime series Magi — and a copy of the book itself will be on display.
  • Last year’s exhibit had a “Guide by Cell” feature, where visitors could call a number and hear some of the artists talk about their work. New recordings have been added, so this year, you can listen to Audra Furuichi (nemu*nemu), Jordan Takemoto and Tara Tamayori (Hachi Maru Hachi) and Stacey Hayashi (Journey of Heroes) along with last year’s lineup of Brady, Rose Dela Cruz (exhibition label illustrator), Jon Murakami (Gordon Rider), Roy Chang (Cacy & Kiara and the Curse of the Ki’i) and Patsy Iwasaki and Avery Berido (Hamakua Hero).
  • Roy and Audra have painted new murals. Here, have some photos Brady took of their work in progress.

  • The Kikaida section has been beefed up, with more memorabilia — including vintage Kamen Rider, Go-Ranger and Kikaida figurines! — from Scott Shinsato on display.
  • The Alphonse Elric and Persona Teddy costumes have been retired in favor of Voltron, also by the same artist. You might have seen it walking around Kawaii Kon last month.
  • “Meet the Artist/Author” sessions include Patsy and Avery (both of whom are flying in from Hawaii island!) to talk about Hamakua Hero (May 17. 2-3 p.m.) and Stacey talking about Journey of Heroes (May 24, 2-3 p.m.) There’s also going to be a Comic Jam & Artists Showcase with the artists from Comic Jam Hawaii from 1 to 3 p.m. May 31.

The exhibit runs through June 7 at JCCH (2454 S. Beretania St.), The community gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays; admission is free. Ingress players, there’s a portal on site as well as several others within walking distance (all of which consistently hit max-level 8 under Resistance control, sigh). For more on the exhibit, visit hawaiimanga.com.

Ota-cool Incoming!
(special weekend of May 3-4 edition)

The return of “Crossing Cultures” is just one of the events happening in what’s turned out to be a really busy weekend not just for events with an element of otaku-ness in them, but in general. Unrelated to our discussion here, there’s Spam Jam, AARP’s paper-shredding event in Aiea, a craft and gift fair at Recreation Center 5 in Mililani, a neighborhood garage sale in Waipahu mauka of the Leeward Y, near Waipahu Uka Neighborhood Park … yeah, there’s a lot of stuff going on. And that doesn’t even count the fact that Sunday’s Star Wars Day (May the 4th, get it?). Here are the highlights.

Ninth Annual Hawaii Book & Music Festival: It’s going to be a busy weekend for Brady and some of the other “Crossing Cultures” artists/authors, as Hawaii Manga — with Brady, Stacey, Roy and the Hachi Maru Hachi gang — will have a booth as part of the annual celebration of local authors and musicians. Swing by the festival’s Author’s Pavilion around 4 p.m. Sunday and you can see Brady, Stacey and Jon talking about the exhibit and manga in Hawaii, too. On the Civic Center grounds near Honolulu Hale; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

FCBD_nodateFree Comic Book Day: Stefanie Nakasone did a good job in our print edition (subscription required) summarizing what’s going on, but for those of you who don’t want to click through, here’s a quick, Twitter-attention-span summary: Saturday. Free comics. Four stores (Westside Comics and Games, Gecko Books, Collector Maniacs, Other Realms), 17 libraries (12 on Oahu, plus Hilo and Thelma Parker Memorial on Hawaii island, Kihei and Lahaina on Maui, and Princeville on Kauai). Go get some (keeping in mind that not all of these books will be available at all locations).

And now, courtesy of The Face of Hawaii Ingress ™, Diane Masaki, here’s who’s showing up where for Free Comic Book Day at the libraries. Unless otherwise noted, all appearances will be at 10 a.m.:

Aiea: Hellboy, Powergirl, Supergirl, White Power Ranger, maybe Cyclops
Aina Haina: Batman and Kamen Rider
Kalihi-Palama: Angel (X-Men: First Class edition), Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, maybe Cyclops
Mililani: Wolverine (plus two surprise guests), Batman, maybe Luigi
Lahaina: Scout Trooper from the 501st Imperial Legion
Kapolei: Members of the 501st Imperial Legion (2-4 p.m.)
Salt Lake: Member of Team Rocket, Jubilee, maybe Cyclops

idkwhat2wear T-shirt blowout: The (take a deep breath here) 17th Islandwide Spring Crafts and Food Expo for Mother’s Day (aaaaaand exhale) is also happening this weekend. I mention this here is because frequent anime con exhibitor/friend of the blog idkwhat2wear will be clearing out T-shirts at this event for $5 each. To drive this point home, this picture appeared on the idk Facebook page late Wednesday afternoon.

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… yeeeeeaaaaah, that’s a lot of shirts.

Find them in booth 705 at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. $4 general admission, $3 military members and seniors 65 and older, free for children ages 13 and under. 4-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Kodomo no Hi: Sure, Children’s Day is technically on Monday, but Sunday’s as good a time as any to welcome back a JCCH event that skipped last year. Jon will be exhibiting at this event, and MangaBento will have a booth set up with various activities for the kiddies. Audra’s also going to be there to promote the Crossing Cultures exhibit from 11 a.m. to noon. They’ll be part of a day that will also feature entertainment, cultural and martial arts demonstrations, the traditional children’s kimono dressing and a keiki kendama tournament. (Your friendly neighborhood anime/manga blogger once tried one of those kendamas at the behest of the Otaku Ohana Anonymous Director of Forced Social Interaction. It … didn’t go very well.) At the center, 2454 S. Beretania St.; admission is free. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Hawaii Comic & Toy Expo: More than 20 dealers will be on hand to happily take all the money you have … umm, I mean, heartily encourage and nourish your various collectible and comic passions. Also in attendance will be artists Sam Campos, Andy Lee, Theodore Lee, Kevin Sano and Kanila Tripp. Admission is $3; children under 5 are free. Visit www.hawaiicomictoyexpo.com. Ala Moana Hotel (Garden Lanai room), 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

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). 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The week in panels and portals

Good news, everyone: The “Made in Japan, Loved in Hawaii” panel, which I talked about in my last post, went off without a hitch. Roy Bann, Brady Evans, Audra Furuichi, Jon Murakami and I talked about anime and tokusatsu series for a little over two hours, more people were sitting in the audience than were on the panel, and I didn’t die of embarrassment afterward. Victories all around! Thank you to all of you who came to visit, even if you stayed for just a little while.

Since I was sitting on the panel and couldn’t exactly take pictures of myself, I’ve been relying on what panel attendees have posted and shared with me to see what we looked like up there. Friend/coworker/Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker reviewer Christina Chun sent along a few pictures; here are me and Audra …

… Jon and Brady …

… and Roy, who served as panel moderator.

Here’s a full shot of the panel table taken by cartoonist Roy Chang.

And here’s a shot of all five of us after the panel, taken using the official Otaku Ohana Camera of Record by McCully/Moiliili Library branch manager Hillary Chang.

In case you missed it or weren’t able to stay for the whole thing, not to worry: I recorded the whole thing, and the slides we used — created through Prezi, an online app — are publicly available for viewing. You can download the audio file (a 121 MB download via Google Drive) at http://ow.ly/uwyBr, while the slides are available at http://ow.ly/uwyTQ. Find a comfortable seat, follow along and enjoy; I hope the audio’s okay throughout. (I haven’t had a chance to listen through the whole thing yet, although the portions I’ve heard sound pretty good.)

This week — Thursday at 6:30 p.m., to be exact — I’ll be out at Aiea Library to help my Enlightened teammates take over the library portal yet again chime in where needed with a presentation on Ingress, the massively multiplayer augmented reality mobile online game profiled in our paper (subscription required to view) a few weeks ago. (As our writer, Steven Mark, put it, it’s like “‘Capture the Flag’ for tech geeks,” using area landmarks as capture points, or “portals.”) Heck, the person who set up this panel in the first place, Aiea Library young adult librarian Diane Masaki, was front and center and pretty much became The Face of Hawaii Ingress ™ in the picture on the Today section cover:

That’s her in the black shirt in the front row.

Here’s the official panel description:

The world around you is not what it seems. It’s happening all around you. They aren’t coming. They’re already here.

Our future is at stake. And you must choose a side. A mysterious energy has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Europe. The origin and purpose of this force is unknown, but some researchers believe it is influencing the way we think. We must control it or it will control us.

“The Enlightened” seek to embrace the power that this energy may bestow upon us. “The Resistance” struggle to defend, and protect what’s left of our humanity.

Find out what it’s all about during Teen Tech Week!

Also significant: It’s the last public program at the current library location (99-143 Moanalua Road) before they pull up stakes and head to their new building on the site of the former Aiea Sugar Mill. So if you’ve ever been curious about the game or some of those Ingress-related jokes that I’ve increasingly been including in this blog, come on out. We’d love to see you.

13 for ’13: Otaku Ohana’s year in pictures

Happy three-days-in-but-still-relatively-newish year! It’s hard to believe that June will mark five years since this blog gained a home on starbulletin.com as an online complement to Cel Shaded. Five years, coincidentally, is also the amount of time it would probably take for me to catch up on all the anime that I’ve been meaning to review in this space if (a) every single anime producer, both in the U.S. and Japan, were to stop releasing anime at this very second, and (b) I watched anime 24/7/365. (And let’s not even think about the manga.)

I’m hoping that review situation improves this year. But before we move forward, let’s take a quick look back at some of the highlights from last year, captured by my trusty camera (and in some cases, my equally trusty smartphone). Some of these pictures have appeared in this space before. Others, I never got around to posting (curse you, real work getting in the way of fun work!). For remembering the year that was 2013, though, they’re fun jumping-off points.

Congratulation! A winner is you! (Jan. 12)

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The final edition of the Liliha Library Anime Art Contest culminated in an awards ceremony at the beginning of the year. Rachel Ruiz placed second in the grades 6-8 category with this piece, for which she won a lovely bag of prizes.

Meanwhile, at the back of the room where the awards ceremony was held, young adult librarian Linda Mediati set up a table with a pile of donated Shonen Jump issues, English and Japanese editions, free for the taking for anyone who wanted them.

Judging by how many Rachel carted off, you wouldn’t be too far off in saying she won twice that day.

The surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya (March 17)

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I’ve mentioned before in this space that I have an affinity for anything and everything related to the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise. So when Haruhi character designer Noizi Ito was announced as a guest for Kawaii Kon, I was ready to go to pretty much anything and everything at which she made an appearance. Hour-long live-drawing panel? Yes, please. Hour-long live-drawing panel where she draws Kawaii Kon mascots Ai-chan and Nami? Oh, yes, thank you very much. Hour-long live-drawing panel where she casually unveils the final cover for her newest Haruhi artbook for the first time anywhere? Oh, baby, yes.

And in case you’re wondering whether the book made it out to Japanese audiences: Yup.

Spartan assault on our hearts (March 17)

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This is the only shot in this collection that wasn’t taken by me, but by one of Kawaii Kon’s staff photographers, Zarli Win. (We’ll see more of him in the next picture.) From where I was standing during the Kawaii Kon Masquerade, my trusty-yet-lacking-in-low-light-situations camera couldn’t have gotten anything as good as this. Being there to soak up the mood was awesome, though: the announcement of the contestant, this little girl in her “Halo Kitty” outfit — a Halo Spartan suit embellished with Hello Kitty accessories — walking out on stage, the collective gasp in the audience giving way to squeals and applause and a barrage of flashbulbs going off around the room.

Wedded bliss (June 2)

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Tag-team partner in fandom Wilma Jandoc married longtime boyfriend Zarli Win in early June. It was a pretty big deal ’round these parts. Was it a ceremony that was full of Win? But of course.

Cait Sith, art guardian (June 18)

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As it has for the past few years, the Honolulu Museum of Art School’s second-floor gallery hosted MangaBento’s annual exhibit. The 2013 edition, “Tomo-E-Ame: Friends-Drawings-Candy,” featured anime-inspired art in a wide variety of media. Among the pieces was this doll of Cait Sith hand-sewn by Heidi Shimada that, when viewed at a certain angle, looked like it was gazing over the gallery.

A master immortalized (July 27)

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Cartoonist Dave Thorne — best known around these parts for his Sunday comic strip “Thorney’s Zoo” — may have died in 2012, but he left behind a body of work that remains beloved to this day. In July, several hundred people showed up for a celebration of life at Bay View Golf Park, with samples of his cartoons posted all over the clubhouse auditorium. One of the highlights was a “chalk talk,” with Alan Low narrating scenes from Dave’s life as Jon Murakami sketched on a giant pad of paper. The last drawing, done in advance: this. A fitting tribute to someone known as “the Yoda of Hawaii cartooning.”

Taku Taku dancing dancing (Aug. 25)

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Taku Taku Matsuri, spearheaded by Yuka C. Nagaoka, debuted in August with a summer festival at Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha-Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu. Games were played, art was drawn, food and other collectibles were sold, cosplayers roamed the grounds and played a round of Cosplay Chess, and everyone had a good time.

True to her word in my interview with her, Yuka showed up in a bright red kimono. She even jumped on stage with some of the other cosplayers and danced to Psy’s “Gentleman.”

Crossing cosplay (Sept. 15)

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In September, Gallery Iolani on the Windward Community College campus hosted “Crossing Cultures: The Art of Manga in Hawaii,” an exhibit tracing the history of manga and its influence on artists in the local community that was curated by Pen & Ink Works founder/Hachi Maru Hachi contributing artist Brady Evans. Brady also led a series of curator’s tours for four straight Sundays, where he’d talk about various exhibits … like these costumes of Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist and Teddie from Persona 4, part of the section talking about Kawaii Kon.

Oh yes, if you missed the exhibit, don’t worry: Brady’s already told me it’ll be returning in 2014. Details to come.

When “aloha” means goodbye (Sept. 17)

Test caption goes here.

Toys N Joys, known for years to a certain generation as the go-to place for anime merchandise, domestic and imported video games, closed its doors for the last time on Sept. 23 after a 30-year run in Kaimuki and a 25-year run at the Westridge Shopping Center in Aiea. This whiteboard, sitting in the same display window where toys, replica swords and Airsoft guns once sat in the Kaimuki store, served as a sounding board for some customers to pay their respects.

Angelic consultation (Oct. 2)

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The time between Oct. 1 and Nov. 3 was one of the busiest I’ve seen for the local fan community in quite some time. The month got off to a hot start with two events taking place on the same day: Mini Con at McCully-Moiliili Library, and Kawaii Kon’s Anime Day at Windward Mall. I thought I’d be the only one crazy dedicated enough to make the drive over the Koolaus and attend both events, but it turned out there was another trio: Guardian Angels Dana Aton and Susana Choy of Cosmic Koi, makers of black and white hand-detailed angels’ wings and plasma ear pieces like these, and their adorably adorable lolita-clad daughter, Bella. Here, Bella and Susana shared a moment together at Mini Con.

The Macross miracle (Nov. 2)

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Local anime convention Oni-Con Hawaii debuted this year, and while it had its share of problems, there were some fun times to be had as well. One of those fun times was at the “Filmmaking in Hawaii” panel, where Blood of the Samurai director Aaron Yamasato and Doko Ga TV host/“Japanmania — Sugoi!” blogger Pali Kaaihue talked about some of their projects.

But then came their Fabulous Swag Giveaway. Now, you have to realize that in the upcoming season of Doko Ga TV, Pali talked to some really cool people, including Masako Nozawa, the Japanese voice of Goku in Dragon Ball Z, and Yoko Kanno, composer of anime soundtracks that fill me with warm fuzzies like Cowboy Bebop, Kids on the Slope, Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex, Wolf’s Rain and some of the newer series in the Macross franchise. Accordingly, one of the items Pali gave away was something from Macross Frontier. The winner? Milton Streeter, former leader of the Japanese Animation Society of Hawaii and co-host of the “Anime Clubs in Hawaii” panel that took place immediately preceding this particular panel.

As you can see, he was a tad bit enthused.

The art of library talks (Nov. 6)

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I’m not sure how many times over the years that I’ve attended talks by nemu*nemu artist Audra Furuichi about the creative process that goes into her thrice-weekly online comic strip, but one thing’s remained constant: Those talks are always fascinating, and fledgling artists could learn quite a bit from them. These two girls certainly took advantage of the opportunity, practicing sketching on Audra’s tablet after an evening talk at Kapolei Library.

The Journey continues (Dec. 22)

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Journey of Heroes, the graphic novel recounting the story of the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II, went into a second printing toward the end of the year, with the first public sale of those new books at the Honolulu Gift Fair in mid-December. That’s author Stacey Hayashi in the background … and behind the table in the foreground, helping her sell books and other merchandise chock full of chibi soldier goodness, was MidWeek cartoonist/Cacy and Kiara author Roy Chang.

And that was 2013 in a nutshell! 2014’s already getting off to a busy start with Comic Jam Hawaii returning to Pearlridge on Sunday (1-4 p.m.!) and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii’s Ohana Festival on Jan. 19. Is another fun year loaded with plenty of pictures in store? You betcha.

The “Crossing Cultures” photo gallery! … sort of.

Sept. 15, on my Facebook page:

Spent a good chunk of the 19th anniversary of my 18th birthday checking out Brady Evans’ “Crossing Cultures” manga exhibit at Windward Community College (short-form recap in six words: it’s really awesome, go visit it; long-form recap coming in Otaku Ohana after I soak up a bit more staycation time).

Close to two weeks later, long since the warm fuzzies from staycation relaxation were replaced by the smothering blanket of daily work stress, running through my mind this morning:

OH MY GOSH THE WINDWARD HOOLAULEA IS TOMORROW THE EXHIBIT CLOSES ON WEDNESDAY I’VE ONLY HAD TIME TO WRITE CAPTIONS FOR SEVEN PICTURES OUT OF 70 IN TWO GALLERIES THE WINDOW FOR THE OCTOBER OTA-COOL INCOMING! UPDATE IS COMING UP FAST AND THE LAST TIME I UPDATED OTAKU OHANA TOYS N JOYS WAS STILL OPEN KYAAAAAAAAH MUST WRITE AND POST SOMETHING NOOOOOOOW *flail flail flail flail flail*

The "Crossing Cultures" exhibit booklet and a pair of bookmarks.It’s probably going to be a while before those two galleries — one for the exhibit proper, the other, a side gallery dedicated to the drawings exhibit visitors have created — are ready for viewing. They may not be out until an end-of-the-year retrospective, truth be told, with all of October’s events, plus the possibility that I may be called upon to review some films screening in the Hawaii International Film Festival, looming on the horizon.

But for me to say nothing further about the exhibit before it ends in less than a week would sell it short, because there’s still quite a bit going on. There’s the aforementioned Hoolaulea from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, where the Honolulu Printmakers will be hosting a hands-on manga printmaking activity and Gallery ‘Iolani will be open for visits. There’s also the final curator’s walk-through and artist meet-and-greet session from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, featuring Gordon Rider/Star-Advertiser “Calabash” cartoonist Jon Murakami and doujinshi artist Kyunyo.

You can also get a virtual taste of the exhibit at the excellent tie-in website hawaiimanga.com, with exhibit photos, sound clips of the featured artists and downloads for a treasure trove of materials including the exhibit booklet, Rose Dela Cruz’s tie-in manga and bookmarks with Audra Furuichi’s nemu*nemu pups. Brady, along with featured artists Tara Tamayori and Audra, also did an interview with Hawaii Public Radio’s Noe Tanigawa posted under the somewhat unfortunate title of “POW! Crossing Cultures: The Art of Manga in Hawaii.” (I’m sorry, but the whole “let’s add sound effects to something about comics, because when people think comics, they think of the Adam West-era Batman TV show” strikes me as a tired media cliche, ranking right up there with “MANGA! Wow! Girls are reading comics now!” on the irritation scale for me.)

Here’s a taste of some of the highlights from my visit to the exhibit, starting with … the entrance! There are several discrete sections to the exhibit: the history of manga (the first wall of which is shown here); a discussion of the local otaku community; and displays on a number of local series influenced by manga.

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Here’s curator Brady during the exhibit walk-through, talking about the nemu*nemu display. Worth noting in this picture:

  • The girl with the red backpack was wearing an Iwatobi Swim Club jacket. That club will be very familiar to those of you who know about the fanservice-for-fujoshi swimming anime Free! How she got that jacket that quickly, I have no idea.
  • It’s an Aiea Library young adult librarian sighting!

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And here’s Brady next to costumes of Fullmetal Alchemist’s Alphone Elric and Persona‘s Teddy in the Kawaii Kon section.

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There’s quite a bit of art on display, but here’s a figure study from one series that I haven’t highlighted very often in this space: Marisa Torigoe’s “Children of Aumakua,” one of the series from the Hawaii Star Manga Project anthology.

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Journey of Heroes writer Stacey Hayashi was the scheduled featured guest of the day. She talked about the creative process behind the manga depicting the World War II story of the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team in chibified form.

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Cacy & Kiara artist and MidWeek cartoonist Roy Chang also showed up as an unscheduled featured guest of the day. He and Stacey swapped books later on.

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And, of course, some Star-Advertiser anime/manga blogger dork is part of a display where local manga “dignitaries” — the others being Kawaii Kon senior administrator Roy Bann and Star-Advertiser “Bento Box” cartoonist Deb Aoki — shared some thoughts about the evolution of Hawaii’s otaku community.

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Roy Chang and I were chatting a little after Brady’s walk-through, and we both agreed that the exhibit’s production values were impressive, on a level with the Osamu Tezuka exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco in 2007. Certainly worth checking out if you have some free time over the next few days.

Ota-cool! September: Manga’s story, our story

Welcome to this month’s edition of Ota-cool Incoming! … which technically should have come out a few days ago, ideally before Sept. 1, so that I could have gotten one more Comic Jam Hawaii meeting in here. What can I say; work the past few nights, ever since I last posted something here, has been cah-ray-zy.

Art of Manga flyerThis month’s spotlight event is one for which yours truly served as an adviser: “Crossing Cultures: The Art of Manga in Hawaii.” The exhibit, at Gallery ‘Iolani on the Windward Community College campus, is a journey through the history of manga locally, from its origins in Japan through its influences on the local fan community.

There’s a veritable who’s who of local artists and writers spotlighted, including Audra Furuichi (nemu*nemu), Roy Chang (Cacy & Kiara), Jon Murakami (Gordon Rider), Marisa Torigoe (“Children of Aumakua” from the Hawaii Star Manga Project), Stacey Hayashi and Damon Wong (Journey of Heroes), Patsy Y. Iwasaki and Avery Berido (Hamakua Hero), Tara Tamayori (“Eternal Blade” from Hachi Maru Hachi) and Kyunyo (“Emperor’s Seal”). All of this is curated by Brady Evans, Pen & Ink Works founder and Hachi Maru Hachi contributor.

The number of special activities tied in to this exhibit could probably fill an average Ota-cool Incoming! calendar by themselves. Start with the opening reception, running from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday. Every Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. for the duration of the exhibit will feature the curator’s walk-through and artist talks, where you can meet some of the participating artists. And as part of the Windward Hoolaulea (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 28), the Honolulu Printmakers will be hosting a hands-on manga printmaking activity from noon to 2 p.m., and the gallery will be open on what will be the only Saturday it’ll be open for the exhibit’s run.

If you can only make it out to see the exhibit, it runs through Oct. 2; there’s an area where you can sketch to your heart’s content, so at least you’ll have that. Gallery hours are 1-8 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 1-5 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

After the break: the rest of this month’s highlights! And stuff beyond that, too! Continue reading “Ota-cool! September: Manga’s story, our story”

2012 Journeys: Anime art that amazed and amused

As I sit here typing this on Thursday night, there are four days left in all of 2012. There probably will be fewer than that by the time I finish this post and publish it … or perhaps you’ll already have crossed over into the brave new world of 2013. (In the latter case, dear future reader, please tell me if 2013 starts off a little happier than 2012’s melancholy ending.)

With that in mind, it’s time to pull out the classic chestnut that us bloggers commonly use when either (a) we can’t figure out what else to write about or (b) our regular jobs have managed to keep us busy enough to the point where we end up amassing all this great content over the year gone by and need to figure out some way to make that content relevant again (guilty as charged, sigh): the “year in review” posts.

So yes, for the few dozen of you who have managed to stick around reading this blog for this long, this does mean that I’m trying to get photos from Kawaii Kon, HEXXP, Mini Con and the Windward Mall Anime Day up sometime soon…ish.  But as I was typing out the working titles for those year-end posts, I noticed something: For a blog that tag-team partner in fandom Wilma J. and I started several years ago to talk about anime and manga … we really haven’t been talking all that much about anime and manga as of late. Notable for its absence from the queue, in fact, is any sort of “anime/manga year in review” post. Collectively, we just haven’t watched or read enough of the stuff this year to have any sort of commentary on it.

It’s not that we’re going to be retiring the anime/manga angle from Otaku Ohana any time soon. Heck, “review more anime and manga” is written in big red letters on my list of resolutions for 2013, between “lose more weight” and “keep Wilma from going insane before her wedding.”

But if anything, I’ll remember 2012 as the year anime/manga-inspired art and cartoon art took over a good chunk of this blog. Easy to do, really, when you have groups like MangaBento, Pen & Ink Works and Comic Jam Hawaii producing such great artwork. There were several spotlight events for that art, too, including MangaBento’s Nakamaboko exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art School (featured in this space in a threepart series) and the still-in-progress call for entries for the Liliha Library Anime Art Contest.

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A quick Anime Art Contest tangent

This shot of Audra was actually taken last year, though it could certainly be an accurate depiction of what awaits your esteemed panel of judges next week. So C'MON TURN IN MORE STUFFIt has come to my attention that there have only been a handful of submissions to this year’s Liliha Library Anime Art Contest. We’re talking waaaaaaaaay-down-from-the-past-two-years handful. To which I say, umm, hello? Copic markers? Wacom Bamboo tablet? Other great art supply swag? Don’t you people want this stuff?

I mean, it’s great that those who have entered so far may have the best chance of winning in this contest’s three-year history, but your esteemed panel of judges — myself, nemu*nemu artist Audra Furuichi, Kawaii Kon senior administrator Roy Bann — would like to have a bit of a challenge picking the winners. That’s right, interest in this contest in the past was so great, we added a judge this year to handle the volume of entries. And as of now, with the number of entries in hand, it looks like we could render a verdict in … mmmm, three minutes? I mean, sure, Audra and I appreciate the help, but we were expecting to go from an hour down to 45 minutes, not five minutes down to three.

So yeah. Don’t make us sad. You wouldn’t like us when we’re sad. There are two more days — Saturday and Monday — to turn in those entries, so read up on the rules, tromp on down to the library at 1515 Liliha St., and go encourage the students in grades 6 through 12 in your life to get cracking.

and now, back to my year-end retrospective, already in progress.

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There were two art showcases that I’ve yet to cover in this space, though. The first was the annual silent art auction display in Kawaii Kon’s Artist Alley in March. The works on display there drew from a number of anime series both classic (Trigun, Ah! My Goddess, assorted Studio Ghibli films) and contemporary (the ageless Pokemon and the recent K-On!). (The link for those of you slideshow averse to or lacking Flash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sumiyoshi/sets/72157632363712060/

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The other display that I visited but haven’t had a chance to talk about until now was an exhibit by members of Aiea Intermediate’s Comic Jam group, on display at the state Capitol around late April/early May. With art teacher/MidWeek cartoonist Roy Chang as its adviser, the group did something similar to what the Comic Jam Hawaii cartoonists do regularly: They gathered weekly to collaborate on various cartoons and just had fun drawing in general. Some of the personal projects they worked on were pretty cool in their own right as well. (Your offsite link for this gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sumiyoshi/sets/72157632363785030/show/)

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Next time in Otaku Ohana: More pictures from a year of local fandom! Or perhaps something completely unrelated. Our attention spans are fickle like thOOH A SQUIRREL

… happy new year, everyone.

The Cel Shaded Report, 12/7: “Madoka Magica” films make contract with Honolulu

There haven’t been many anime series that have lit the ol’ “hey, pay attention, this is garnering quite a bit of attention on the fan scene” light on my anime-monitoring radar as of late. And for good reason: With the fan base as fractured as it is, more into things like Adventure Time and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the Homestuck web comic and the Internet meme flavor of the moment than anime anime. Gone are the days when you could have big-time series like Naruto or Ouran High School Host Club or Hetalia unifying the masses; these days, it seems like there’s Pokemon, and then there’s a billion subsets of fandom.

Madoka and Kyubey, Nendoroid style. REVEL IN THE PUDGY CUTE.I have, however, heard more than my fair share of good things about Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It’s a mahou shoujo (magical girl) series that follows the triumphs and trials that high school student Madoka Kaname finds when Kyubey, a magical creature, offers her a contract to become a magical girl and fight the Witches who plague the world. Sure, she can get one wish of hers granted if she enters into the contract, but the burdens that she must take on and the despair of the world that she must see in doing so could be far too much for her to bear.

The 12-episode series is available for premium subscribers on Crunchyroll, or, if you have a few extra dollars to burn, you can also get it on DVD or Blu-ray from Aniplex of America. (Just remember, it’s Aniplex, home of the four-episode, $29.99 DVD/$39.99 Blu-ray … and that’s on sale.)

But some of you may not have the time to spare to digest five hours worth of TV show. That’s OK, because Shaft, the studio behind Madoka Magica, has you covered. In October, Shaft released a pair of compilation films, Beginnings and Eternal, with a total running time of … four hours. (A third film with new story content, Rebellion, is due out in 2013.) So yeah, watch the films, and you can save an entire hour of your life for other things! Yay?

Seriously, though, whether four hours or five, Madoka Magica does seem worthy of the time investment. The question, though, was always whether the U.S. distributors — Aniplex, in conjunction with Eleven Arts — would see fit to give Honolulu a shot at seeing the two films. The chances seemed remote at best, even as the double feature slowly started spreading from obvious locations (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco) out to other recognizable cities (Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia) and then other cities (Akron, Ohio! Raleigh, N.C.!)

And then on Thursday, two screenings popped up on the Honolulu Museum of Art website. Scheduled for 4 p.m. Feb. 27 and 28 at the Doris Duke Theatre, at that. And the people rejoiced. Oh, yeah, and if there are any readers of this blog in Greensboro, N.C., you’re getting it, too. But mostly YAY US.

If you want to get in on the fun, tickets are already on sale for $20 general admission, $18 Honolulu Museum of Art members. First 20 people each night will get a limited-edition poster. Just remember, it is two movies’ worth of content you’re getting in one night — with an intermission in between — so be ready to settle in for the long haul. Point your browser of choice at http://www.honolulumuseum.org/events/films/13340-puella_magi_madoka_magica_parts_1_2 and go from there.

Kawaii Kon encore for Bosch and Eyeshine

Sunday was Anime Day at Windward Mall, where — just as this blogger predicted — Yu x Me: Maid Cafe & Host Club performed “Mune Mune Kyun.”

Mune mune kyun, mune kyun, mune kyun kyun ...

More pictures to come sometime between now and 2032. The reason why I’m bringing up Anime Day here, though, is because a guest announcement for Kawaii Kon 2013 surfaced there: After a hugely successful appearance this year, voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch and his band, Eyeshine, will be returning next year for a repeat performance. Recapping Bosch’s resume for those of you new to this ballgame: He was the first replacement Black Ranger in the Power Ranger franchise and is best known as the voice of Vash the Stampede in Trigun, Ichigo in Bleach, Kaneda in Akira, Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass, Claus in Last Exile and Renton in Eureka Seven. Eyeshine, for their part, will be debuting their new album — 100 limited-edition copies also will be on sale — and shooting their new music video at the convention. (And yes, con attendees will get to be part of it, too.)

Bosch and Eyeshine join previously announced guests Todd Haberkorn, Colleen Clinkenbeard and Lisle Wilkerson — voice actors one and all. Kawaii Kon is March 15-17 at the Hawai’i Convention Center; three-day general admission passes are $48 ($38 children ages 5-11) through Feb. 28. Visit www.kawaii-kon.org.

More from the anime news desk

Roy Chang’s Cacy & Kiara library tour: Learn about the creative processes behind Cacy & Kiara and the Curse of the Ki’i, the new young adult novel by Roy, an Aiea Intermediate art teacher, MidWeek cartoonist and friend of the blog. This is Roy’s last scheduled library appearance for the year, so go see him if you haven’t already! 1:30-2:30 p.m. Saturday at Liliha Library, 1515 Liliha St. (Speaking of Liliha Library, don’t forget to submit artwork for the third annual Anime Art Contest. Deadline for that is Dec. 31.)

MangaBento: This 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 www.manga-bento.com for more information.

Moanalua High School Winter Craft Fair: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school, 2825 Ala Ilima St. It’s your last chance to get your nemu*nemu swag from Audra Furuichi and Scott Yoshinaga, and your second-to-last chance to get apparel and buttons from Terri Dux, Karl Miyashiro and the gang at idkwhat2wear. (The latter group will be at one last craft fair this holiday season — the Hawaii United Okinawa Center evening craft fair in Waipio Gentry from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.)

The Cel Shaded Report, 11/16: The abbreviated staycation-influenced edition

Welcome to the Cel Shaded Report’s “staycation edition,” in which your friendly neighborhood blogger, having spent most of his recent time and energy cleaning up and reorganizing his anime, manga and magazine shelves during a vacation that ultimately will have spanned 10 days by the time it wraps up on Saturday, sees a few events that are happening this weekend, does a quick writeup on them, posts them for everyone to see, then gets down to the real order of business: writing the first non-Manga Movable Feast-related review that I’ve written in this space in months.

Just because this particular edition is a bit abbreviated, though, doesn’t make what’s going on around town any less important. If you can make it out to any of these events, by all means do so:

cacy coverRoy Chang’s Cacy & Kiara library tour: Learn about the creative processes behind Cacy & Kiara and the Curse of the Ki’i, the new young adult novel by Roy, an Aiea Intermediate art teacher, MidWeek cartoonist and friend of the blog. 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at Aiea Library, 99-143 Moanalua Road; call 483-7333. After his talk is over, it would probably be worth it to browse at the library for a bit, step out for a bite to eat, or patronize MiniQ, because …

Comic Jam Hawaii: … this group of local artists is gathering to draw collaborative cartoons and other artwork and talk story for a special post-Cacy talk Jam at the library at 2 p.m. Saturday. Or, if you prefer, come to their meeting from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Pearlridge Center, on the Uptown side of the mall, in front of Hot Unique Imaging. Artists of all skill levels are welcomed. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/147779161986428 (Facebook login required).

nemu*nemu: Scott Yoshinaga and Audra Furuichi will be bringing their plush pups, prints, pins and other cool swag to the St. Andrew’s Priory Holiday Fair at the school, 224 Queen Emma Square downtown, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. (Look for them in the gym.) Visit www.nemu-nemu.com for a complete list of events they’ll be exhibiting at during this craft fair season (and check out their current story arc, a tribute to the Peanuts strips of yore).

idkwhat2wear: Hey, Hilo, it’s your turn this weekend to get a crack at the pins and apparel sold by Terri Dux, Karl Miyashiro and the gang … and I understand they’ll be debuting a never-before-seen T-shirt design, at that. Look for them at the 25th annual Christmas Craft “EG”stravaganza at Edith Kanakaole Multipurpose Stadium in Hilo from 5 to 10 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $2 for ages 12 and up. Visit www.idkwhat2wear.com for a complete list of their events this craft fair season.