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Cel Shaded
Jason Yadao
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Kawaii Kon set to ‘Rumble’ with new guest
When last we left the run-up to Kawaii Kon 2006, the anime convention set for April 14 to 16 at the Ala Moana Hotel, the guest list was made up of talent exclusively from the American side of the industry.
That changed on Wednesday when, in a post on the Kawaii Kon forums that was soon picked up by Anime News Network, convention organizers announced that they had their first Japanese talent: Jin Kobayashi, author of the love disconnection comedy manga "School Rumble." Kobayashi's manga, which has been adapted for an anime series and several video games in Japan, will make its formal U.S. debut as part of Del Rey's manga line next month.
Convention organizers are thrilled to host Kobayashi's first U.S. appearance.
"We were looking for a Japanese industry guest, whether it was a manga artist, seiyuu (voice actor), singer or otherwise part of the production side of the biz," Kawaii Kon chairman Stan Dahlin told me via e-mail. "Friends of ours in the industry contacted us about wanting to help us in our search, and after several e-mails and phone calls we had our first Japanese guest."
Dahlin and Chris Macedonio, assistant director of events and guest relations, also sent along the following news tidbits:
» The dealers' room is fully booked, with at least 20 vendors scheduled to fill 40 tables.
» Lauren Goodnight, another voice actress for ADV Films and AnimeonDVD.com's music reviewer, and Cause & F(X) Pictures co-founder S. Kai Bovaird are other recent additions to the guest list. This will be Goodnight's first convention and Bovaird's second.
» Manga Entertainment representatives will show up this year. Really. They promise.
Will there be more announcements? Anything can happen in 74 days, so stay tuned. Visit www.kawaii-kon.org for more information or to register ...
Cel Shaded, a look at the world of Japanese anime and manga, appears every Monday. Reach
Jason S. Yadao at
jyadao@starbulletin.com