The excited call came from Kawaii Kon Vice Chairman Chris Macedonio Friday afternoon. New guest announcements, with the T's crossed, the I's dotted and the ink freshly dried on the contracts, were afoot, with the big reveal scheduled for the next day.

Macedonio had reason to be excited. For the past few years, Kawaii Kon has landed a good number of guests from Japan, many of whom have made their U.S. anime convention debuts here in Hawaii. And now we can add two voice actors from the “;Bleach”; anime to that list in what's become the largest contingent of Japanese guests at Kawaii Kon in its six-year history.

One of those is the star of “;Bleach,”; Masakazu Morita, who provides the voice of series hero Ichigo Kurosaki. He also voiced the character Pegasus Seiya in “;Saint Seiya,”; the series U.S. audiences know as “;Knights of the Zodiac.”; If Square Enix didn't keep dubbing over its Japanese-language game soundtracks with English-language soundtracks, you'd probably also know him as the voice of Tidus in various “;Final Fantasy”; and “;Kingdom Hearts”; games.

Morita will be joined by Hideo Ishikawa, who “;Bleach”; fans will recognize as the voice of Jushiro Ukitake, the captain of the 13th Squad protecting the Soul Society in that series. “;Naruto”; fans can claim Ishikawa as one of their favorites as well, as the voice behind Itachi Uchiha, the enigmatic older brother of series regular Sasuke. He's also gives life to Auron and Squall Leonhart in various “;Final Fantasy”; and “;Kingdom Hearts”; games.

Among the announcements came news of this year's musical guests. Making their public debut will be local band ALT/AIR, comprising Aly Ishikuni and DJ Kowai Kowai. While the band might be new, Ishikuni is already a music industry veteran, having been a “;Brown Bags to Stardom”; finalist at age 18 and having worked with such Japanese pop stars as BoA and M-Flo.

The announcements are the final ones planned for the 2010 event. To recap, the guest roster also includes “;Appleseed”; director Shinji Aramaki; English voice actors Johnny Yong Bosch, Vic Mignogna and Wendy Powell; Japanese voice actor Daisuke Kishio, artists Robert and Emily DeJesus, U.S. anime producer David Williams and animator Samantha Inoue Harte.

In other convention-related news, those interested in attending the Moonlight Magic Ball, the formal ballroom dancing event at Kawaii Kon, have until Feb. 28 to pre-register at the special $15 rate. (It's $20 at the door.) This cost is separate from regular admission. Visit http://www.hsblinks.com/209 for the full dress code.

Kawaii Kon takes place April 16-18 at the Hawai'i Convention Center. To pre-register, visit http://www.kawaii-kon.org. Use the discount code “;celshaded2010”; during registration to save $8 on the cost of three-day passes through March 31.

Meeting roll call

» Oahu Anime Explorer: 6 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at HMC Academy, 555 N. King St. Visit http://www.oahuanimeexplorer.com for a list of shows screening this month.

» Aiea Library Anime Club: 3 p.m. Saturday at the library, 99-143 Moanalua Road. This month, librarian Diane Masaki will be screening the ever-popular anime “;Fruits Basket”; — “;as much of it as we can,”; Masaki wrote in her e-mailed announcement. For more information or to RSVP, e-mail Masaki at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Jason S. Yadao is the author of Rough Guides' “;The Rough Guide to Manga,”; now available. For more anime and manga news and commentary, check out “;Otaku Ohana”; at blogs.starbulletin.com/otakuohana. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jsyadao or e-mail him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).