It's “;new guest announcement”; time with the folks over at local anime convention Kawaii Kon, so let's get right to it, shall we?

Announced on the convention's official Web site (kawaii-kon.org) this morning was news that English voice actor Illich Guardiola, who's been a featured performer most often with ADV-licensed shows, will make an appearance next year.

Guardiola may be best known as the voice of the purple-mohawked dense delinquent Shinjiro Hayashida in “;Cromartie High School,”; Kaleido Stage star acrobat Yuri Killian in “;Kaleido Star”; and “;Kaleido Star: New Wings,”; and Krad, the homicidal blond rival to the Phantom Thief Dark, in “;D.N.Angel.”;

The actor joins a guest roster that already includes English voice actors Laura Bailey (Tohru Honda in “;Fruits Basket,”; Shinnosuke Nohara in “;Shin-chan”;), Travis Willingham (Roy Mustang in “;Fullmetal Alchemist”;) and Caitlin Glass (Winry Rockbell in “;Fullmetal Alchemist”;). More guest announcements are expected in coming months, of course.

Kawaii Kon will be held April 10 to 12 at the Hawaii Convention Center ...

Halloween planning

Halloween—or as I like to call it in this column, “;National Cosplayer Recognition Day”;—is coming up a little over two weeks from today. I bring this up because an e-mail that I received from Oahu Anime Explorer President Kell Komatsubara last week suggested that now might be a good time to think about joining the group for its Halloween night event.

Only five spots are left for the anime club's fourth annual gathering in Waikiki, which will include dinner at Gyukaku at 6 p.m. and a cosplay stroll through Waikiki. And, of course, it wouldn't be an Oahu Anime Explorer event without a stop at GS Studio for karaoke.

For more information, visit the club's Web site at oahuanimeexplorer.com; to RSVP, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Can't make it to that event? Check back with this column next week as I look at two events full of cosplay craziness that will be taking place on Oct. 25 in Kaimuki ...

More digital anime

Soon after last week's column about how more anime series are being shown online went to press, one more new series announcement managed to make its way down the informational grapevine.

Anime studio Gonzo's partnership with streaming video site Crunchyroll (crunchyroll.com) is responsible for this newest addition to the roster of digital anime. The series, “;Linebarrels of Iron,”; is about a teenage boy who has a giant robot and a beautiful naked girl suddenly crash into his life.

It sounds like pretty standard fare; indeed, early reviews of the first episode have been lukewarm at best. Still, though, it's free, so it might be worth sampling once ...

Meeting roll call

» Aiea Library Anime Club: 3 p.m. Saturday at the library, 99-143 Moanalua Road. This month, librarian Diane Masaki will be screening “;Vampire Hunter D.”; For more information or to RSVP, e-mail Masaki at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) ...