Cel Shaded Jason Yadao

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Event allows fans to meet voice actress

Voice actress and entertainer Haruko "Halko" Momoi will be appearing at the 14th annual Honolulu Festival this weekend. That should be old news to anyone who regularly reads this column, since I already wrote about this on Feb. 18.

Ever since then, though, things have changed a bit. For starters, the performance times have shifted slightly; while Momoi is still performing on Saturday and Sunday, the shows will be taking place a little later than I originally noted. The Saturday show will be from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m.; the Sunday show, from 2:50 to 3:20 p.m. Both shows still will be held at the Hawaii Convention Center stage.

I'm also happy to report that there is now a bonus for Momoi's fans, made official just last week: A meet-and-greet autograph session lasting from 30 minutes to an hour will be held following her concert on Saturday. So if there's any "Nurse Witch Komugi" swag or anything from her other series that you want to get signed, you can certainly bring it.

Also making an appearance at the post-concert signing will be folks from Kawaii Kon, the anime convention that will be occupying that same convention center a little over a month later.

For more information on this year's Honolulu Festival, visit honolulufestival.com ...

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A 'Death Note' threat

And now, a public service message to all anime and manga fans: It's possible to get too passionate about your favorite series, to the point where dangerous things start happening.

That ought to be obvious to anyone with even a little bit of common sense. But as one particular recent incident proved, not everyone adheres to the disclaimer, "This work is a piece of fiction and has nothing to do with real life, so PLEASE don't try any of this at home or school or anything like that."

The scene: Hartsville Middle School in Hartsville, S.C. According to an item posted Feb. 29 by the Morning News, a South Carolina newspaper, at scnow.com, a Hartsville student recently was removed from school, pending a disciplinary hearing, for carrying around a Death Note with seven students' names written in it.

For those unfamiliar with the series, "Death Note" follows Light Yagami as he gradually transforms from above-average student to virtual death-dealing god. This is thanks to the Death Note, a notebook from a shinigami (death god) that has the power to kill anyone whose name is written in it.

So let's review: South Carolina student crafts Death Note. Student writes real people's names in said Death Note. Conclusion: Either student is having fun with certain classmates or legitimately wants certain classmates dead. While it could be the former, you certainly don't want to take chances of it being the latter.

My advice? If you want to bring your favorite series into the real world, stick with cosplay. At least that's not dangerous ... that is, unless you start introducing too-authentic replica weapons into the mix. Or get males to dress up as schoolgirls in uniforms, for that matter. Eww.