It makes sense that the person emotionally closest to a particular subject is both the best and worst person to write about it, whether it be a eulogy or a movie review.

So the argument applies when I leaped at the chance to review the movie Gyakuten Saiban, based on Capcom’s video game of the same name that was released in the U.S. asPhoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS. In case the analogy isn’t clear, I am a fan of the game, which is why I allowed myself two viewings of the movie — renamed Ace Attorney for U.S. audiences — before I was ready to render my verdict.

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One of the neat things about local anime and manga fandom is how it’s spawned an entire generation of people eager to whip out their sketchbooks and draw things inspired by the series that they love. I’ve seen that talent manifest itself in the Liliha Library Anime Art Contest for the past two years now, MangaBento’s art exhibits, and the Artist Alley at Kawaii Kon and HEXXP, and the art’s been really, really nice.

Well, it’s time once again to nurture that talent. Pen & Ink Works has a neat event coming up from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday to do just that — a Sketch Meet where artists can hang out, participate in some drawing games and trade tips with one another.

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It’s that same heart that allows him to differentiate which American voice actors are good. “It’s about knowing the character, giving life to the character,” Horikawa said.

Kawaii Kon marks Horikawa’s first visit to Hawaii, along with fellow seiyuu (voice actor) Kenichi Miya. The two shared a panel on Friday, talking about their careers, their inspirations and the industry in general.

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Need I say any more?

… well, okay, I was tempted to just post that and call it a day, but that would be unfair to you, the few, proud (I hope?) Otaku Ohana readers who keep checking your RSS feeds, Twitter or Facebook to see if I’ve posted anything new.

Yet there’s no denying that this weekend will be a busy one, packed with panels and events and wacky spur-of-the-moment happenings and other weird and wonderful stuff that the local fan community seems to come up with every year.

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2012 is shaping up to be quite the year for local fans of the Final Fantasy video game franchise. The latest game in the series, Final Fantasy XIII-2, recently arrived in stores. Yoshitaka Amano, who’s contributed character designs and artwork to the franchise over the years, will be a major part of Kawaii Kon next week.

Today, the other pop-culture convention in town, the Hawaii Entertainment Expo (HEXXP), is showing its hand for the first time regarding what’s up for this year’s show. There are now official dates — Sat., Oct. 20 and Sun., Oct. 21 — and a venue — the Aloha Tower Marketplace Waterfront. They’re teaming up with Babel Entertainment and Houston-based anime convention Oni-Con to bring in their first official guest of honor, and it’s a doozy of an announcement — longtime Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.

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With Studio Ghibli’s latest film to be released in America, The Secret World of Arrietty, breaking box-office records for Ghibli films, I’m reminded of director Hayao Miyazaki’s 2009 film, Ponyo, Ghibli’s former top-grossing champion.

Being that Miyazaki is a perennial favorite of mine and my fiance, we had eagerly attended the early preview screening of Ponyo in Ward Theaters with high hopes. Afterward, however, we came out feeling, “…Huh?”

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The Honolulu Festival, a celebration of all things Asian-and-Pacific-Rim culture, is this weekend. Having attended it for the past three years, I consider it one of those Really Big Deals on the local otaku community schedule, an event where you feel like you’re missing something if you skip it. I take a bunch of pictures and post them here, just to emphasize that fact. Yet while I went last year, all I’ve managed to post since then are a handful of pictures, the promise of more dangled like a fresh, crisp carrot in front of your eyes, just out of reach.

Let’s correct that. Just in time for the 2012 Honolulu Festival, here are highlights from those pictures I shot from the 2011 Honolulu Festival. Better late than not at all, right?

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Well, Ghibli fans, you did it. Thanks to your getting the word out — or perhaps because of the buzz that this animated adaptation of The Borrowers is really good — The Secret World of Arrietty made another $4.35 million, 10th place on last week’s U.S. box office weekend top 10 list. I can vouch for that quality — I saw it for myself last week. It’s quite a calm film, filled with subtle moments — ants crawling, grasshoppers hopping, ladybugs flitting about — that look great on the big screen. So calm, in fact, that a person in the front row of the theater curled up and fell asleep. Yeah, don’t think I didn’t notice you, person at the 12:30 p.m. showing at the Mililani theaters Feb. 23. At least your snoring wasn’t TOO loud.

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As some of you may know, I am a big fan of the “Ace Attorney” video game series, called “Gyakuten Saiban” in the original Japanese. So when news of a live-action “Gyakuten Saiban” movie came out, I jumped on it. Thanks to tag-team partner in fandom Jason Y., I found and watched a subtitled trailer several times (not several dozen, I admit — there’s only so much drool that my keyboard can tolerate), feeling the chicken skin rising with every second. I tweeted like a madwoman every time fresh bits of news about the movie would come to light. Various conversations Jason and I later had led me to hope beyond hope that the esteemed Hawaii International Film Festival would be bringing in the movie.

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Any mention of the name Osamu Tezuka is guaranteed to make dedicated manga fans’ ears perk up. Astro Boy, of course, has crossed over into being a cultural icon. I’ve gushed about Black Jack before. Digital Manga Publishing recently held successful Kickstarter drives to reprint Swallowing the Earth and publish Barbara in English. Everyone’s oohing and ahhing over Vertical’s recent release of Princess Knight, and I for one can’t wait to see what the publisher does with the license-rescued Adolf, the tale of three men named Adolf in World War II-era Germany. The archive page for this month’s Tezuka Manga Movable Feast, hosted by Kate Dacey over at The Manga Critic, is testament to just how much we manga bloggers can discuss the man regarded by many as the “god of manga.”

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