Web Exclusive: Kawaii-Kon

It feels like Halloween at the fifth annual Kawaii Kon conference at the Hawaii Convention Center; everyone is in costume, from high schoolers to working professionals, dressed up as their favorite anime or manga character. Many of the costumes are elaborate , some of them homemade. We even spotted a Star Wars bounty hunter. But mostly people gathered to play video and card games and shop for Japanese trinkets, books and hand-drawn or computer generated prints. The first day of the convention also included a karaoke contest—with your better-than-average singers—a Harajuku fashion show and cosplay theater, where participants act out scenes from their favorite anime and manga series.

For those interested in the anime industry, Kawaii Kon offers several guest panels featuring big names such as Laura Bailey, who is a voice actress for video games and anime series; local artist Stan Sakai, who created the Usagi Yojimbo comic book; and Shinji Aramaki, who worked on Japanese anime and American cartoon productions of Appleseed, Robotech, Wolf’s Rain and more.

For more information, visit www.kawaii-kon.org.