Tomorrow marks exactly one month until the start of local anime convention Kawaii Kon.

But say you can't wait a month. You want your fix of anime-fan fun NOW. For that, I'd like to direct you to this weekend's Honolulu Festival celebrating Asia-Pacific Rim culture, which will have a big anime presence in its 15th annual edition.

All anime-related events will take place at the Hawai'i Convention Center:

» The Anime Corner will be hosted by Kawaii Kon all weekend and feature convention information, a manga library and a maid cafe that will be staffed by students in University of Hawaii-West Oahu professor Jayson Chun's class. Convention founder and co-director Stan Dahlin will be there as well.

» The 2006 “;Doraemon”; movie, “;Nobita and the Little Dinosaur,”; will be shown with English subtitles at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.

» Japanese voice actress/ singer Haruko “;Halko”; Momoi, who performed at last year's festival, will be back to sign autographs and perform again this year. Her autograph session is at 1 p.m. Sunday, with the show to follow at 2 p.m.

Also, if you see a bunch of people romping around in school uniforms at Ala Moana Center on Saturday, please remain calm. Some fans will be taking part that day in the first Gakusei Romp, with a scavenger hunt followed by a jaunt up to the convention center to help out at the Anime Corner. Sounds like good fun for all.

PUPS ON THE ROAD

Audra Furuichi and Scott Yoshinaga, co-creators of the online comic “;nemu*nemu,”; will be at the Mid-Pacific Institute Hoolaulea Friday at the school, 2445 Kaala St., from noon to 7 p.m. While the latest print volume of the plush pups' adventures isn't available yet — that'll have to wait until Kawaii Kon — other series swag, including new shirt designs, will be available.

For more information, visit http://www.nemu-nemu.com.

VICE IN PARADISE

Regular “;Cel Shaded”; readers will recall that I recently plugged Portland, Ore.-based anime/manga journalist Gia Manry and her work as managing editor of online anime news site Anime Vice (www. animevice.com).

Turns out Manry has a local connection: Her parents own a condo on Maui. So while she was vacationing (and getting scuba-certified, to boot!) on the island for most of February, she was also posting regular updates to Anime Vice.

She also filmed a series of short videos, “;Vice in Paradise,”; where she talked about topics ranging from “;Yotsuba&!”; to anime convention do's and don'ts. Also included among those videos is a quick interview she did with yours truly, who flew out to Maui for a day to talk story over lunch.

You can watch me talk about local fandom at http://www.hsblinks.com/4c, or the full range of “;Vice in Paradise”; videos at http://www.hsblinks.com/4d.

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