Cel Shaded Jason Yadao

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Oahu Anime Explorer bids aloha to VP

By the time this column sees print, I'll likely be sipping a mocha latte and browsing through the selection of Super Eurobeat CDs at Kinokuniya while on vacation in Seattle.

Yet this is "Cel Shaded," the column that never goes on vacation -- partly because there's always stuff to talk about in the world of anime and manga, and partly because if I left this space blank, it likely would be filled with some story about, say, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. Eww.

Indeed, there's quite a bit going on here in this back yard that we call home. To wit:

» Oahu Anime Explorer: This month's meeting, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 23, marks a somewhat bittersweet milestone for the group. The meeting will be the final one for club Vice President Eric Kihara, who is moving to Las Vegas.

To send him off in style, the group plans to meet at HMC Academy, 555 N. King St., from 6 to 8 p.m. to watch anime, then adjourn to GS Studios in Waikiki, 320 Lewers St., for some late-night karaoke. For the latest information, visit www.oahuanimeexplorer.com.

» MangaBento: Remaining meetings this month for this group of anime- and manga-inspired artists are 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday and Sept. 24 at the Academy Art Center, 1111 Victoria St., Room 200. For more information, visit mangabento. doomdrgn.com/phpBB2.

Random plugging

Meet Kaito, the typical brooding pretty boy who makes female manga fans weak in the knees. By day he's a florist. By night he's an assassin, albeit one with a conscience. And then there's the mystery of his hospitalized brother.

The Tokyopop-published "X-Kai" plays out similarly to other assassin-with-a-heart-of-gold stories, and there's not much new to make it stand out from other series. Still, though, the "pretty boy" factor might draw in a few readers ...