Cel Shaded Jason Yadao

---

MangaBento picks winners of art contest

It's been a fine time to showcase local student-artists working in the anime/manga style as of late. A few weeks ago, I talked about the exhibit staged by the Aiea Intermediate School Manga and Anime Club; this week, it's time to check in with MangaBento and the results of their annual art contest.

While I wasn't able to attend this year's awards meeting like I have in years past, I have seen what the entries looked like this year; you can, too, at tinyurl.com/5lekem. And those entries are impressive, perhaps some of the best I've seen in the few years I've seen the art contest entries.

"Unless you look at the entry label, age was not evident," Kaimuki High School industrial arts teacher and MangaBento staffer Devin Oishi told me via e-mail. "Even compared to my own work, many of the pieces were as good as or better than I can make. This resulted in the unusually high number of honorable mentions."

Here are the winners, first in the middle school division:

» First place: Cordelia Xie
» Second place: Shelly Amine
» Third place: Amelia Murray
And here are the high school/professional winners:
» First place: Greg Usam
» Second place: Isamu Jaman
» Third place: Trina Pham
» Fourth place: Carolyn Weber
» Honorable mention: Diana Harriete Gonzales, Kara Kansaku, Jazmine Nakamura, Tabitha Taraya and Brandon Taira

Congratulations to all ...

KAWAII COUNTDOWN

Hard to believe how time flies, but Friday is the first day of the three-day anime/manga celebration that is Kawaii Kon at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Roy Chang, Aiea Intermediate School teacher and MidWeek cartoonist, wanted me to pass along the word that he will be available in the Artist Alley this year to offer one-on-one critiques of sketchbooks and portfolios. Artists who want help with a specific aspect of their art also can get help from Chang. It's a cool opportunity and one well worth pursuing for all those aspiring artists out there.

Also, for those of you who aren't staying at a hotel and are planning to drive to the convention center, here's an advisory: Parking may be tight on Friday, 6 to 10 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., due to a bridal expo that takes place in the same building.

It should be also be noted that if you see anyone dressed up in bridal gowns or other related wedding attire on those two days, they may not be "Wedding Peach" cosplayers. Just sayin' ...

COMING UP IN HILIFE

Mari Iijima may be best known as the voice of pop idol Lynn Minmay in the early '80s anime classic "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross," but she's marking a rather significant milestone this year: the silver anniversary of her debut album in Japan. Join me in HiLife this weekend as I profile Iijima in advance of her appearances at Kawaii Kon ...