This week, I'm going to do something a bit different for a column about anime and manga ... namely, I'm not going to talk too much about anime and manga.

As I was beginning to think about what to write for this column a few weeks ago, I realized that “;Cel Shaded”; would be part of the final edition of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as we now know it. Tomorrow brings the beginning of a new experience for all of us who work here: the first day of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. It made me pause to look back at the time I've spent here at this paper so far.

It's been an amazing ride working at the Star-Bulletin, one that I never imagined I'd be a part of many years ago when, growing up, I'd regularly read “;Kokua Line”; (written by Harriet Gee back then), columns by Dave Donnelly and Ben Wood, and Corky Trinidad's cartoons. (My parents have been Star-Bulletin subscribers for as far back as I can remember. It must have been fate.) Even when I started working here nine years ago this month, I just thought I'd be a humble little copy editor, editing stories and writing headlines behind the scenes.

But there are two reasons this column exists today. The first is my oft-mentioned tag-team partner in fandom, Wilma Jandoc. Wilma's really the pioneer of anime and manga journalism at the Star-Bulletin, the woman who wrote about series such as “;Ranma 1/2”; and “;Outlaw Star”; back when Gary Chun and Burl Burlingame started this paper's “;Drawn & Quartered”; column in 2001. She also helped fuel my fandom with the frequent conversations and e-mail exchanges we'd have—conversations that would lead me to start contributing to “;D&Q”; and eventually lay the groundwork for “;Cel Shaded”; and “;Otaku Ohana.”;

I'm not even sure when I started using the phrase “;tag-team partner in fandom”; in print, but it certainly made enough of an impression on me to have stuck all these years. That's what she is, really, a tag-team partner, a dear friend and one I'm happy to have had along on this journey.

And the second reason? It's the local anime and manga fan base. When Kawaii Kon, Hawaii's own anime convention, started up in 2005 and 2,000 people packed the Ala Moana Hotel, I felt like there was enough of a demand—and enough anime and manga-related news going on—to carry a weekly column. When a spot for a column opened up, I pitched the idea to features editor Nadine Kam and she said, “;Sure.”; That's a direct quote and all it took to set the gears in motion—and here we are.

I realize that this column, being as filled with esoteric information as it is (and words like “;esoteric,”; for that matter) will never be as heavily read as those columns I read when I was younger, but I know I have my small share of devoted readers—some of whom may actually understand what I write about week after week—and people who have become my friends. I feel grateful and blessed for that.

I'd be remiss if I didn't also tip my cap to fellow journalists at what I've always considered our esteemed competition up South Street, the Honolulu Advertiser. Some of them will be joining me as colleagues; others will be beginning new lives elsewhere. Wherever they may have gone after producing the last edition of their paper, I wish them all nothing but the best.

So we move forward to the Star-Advertiser era. Coincidentally enough, my first column next week will also be the fifth anniversary edition of “;Cel Shaded.”; Join me in that celebration as I ask the question: So what ever happened to the subjects of that first column, the young artists of Monkey-AME?

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).