Tag: Anime

Eisner Hall of Fame: Rumiko Takahashi!

It’s the year of Rumiko Takahashi! She is the FIRST female mangaka to be inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame!

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Maison Ikkoku cheers via giphy

Let’s briefly start with what the Eisner Hall of Fame is, from the Comic-Con International website:

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, considered the “Oscars” of the comic book industry, are handed out each year in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego. Named for renowned cartoonist Will Eisner (creator of “The Spirit” and pioneer of the graphic novels), the Awards are given out in more than two-dozen categories covering the best publications and creators of the previous year.

Big deal? It’s a big deal. More at the Comic Con International website. She joins Osamu Tezuka (2002 inductee), Goseki Kojima (2004 inductee), Kazuo Koike (2004 inductee) and Katsushiro Otomo (2012 inductee).

Rumiko Takahashi’s works include:

  • Urusei Yatsura – 34 volumes
  • Maison Ikkoku – 15 volumes
  • Mermaid Saga – 3 volumes
  • Ranma 1/2 – 38 volumes
  • One-Pound Gospel – 4 volumes
  • Rumic Theater (Short story anthologies)
  • Rumic World (Short story anthologies)
  • Inuyasha – 56 volumes
  • Rin-Ne – 40 volumes
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Rumiko Takahashi and manga via giphy

She had been nominated for the Eisner Hall of Fame previously in years 2014, 1016, and 2017. Ms. Takahashi won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in 1980 for Urusei Yatsura and in 2001 for Inuyasha, both in the Shonen category.

Congratulations to Rumiko Takahashi!

Cosplay Your Heart Out!

We had a successful turnout at our first ever Cosplay program!

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The wonderful Jen F., the Artist Librarian presented on:

  • The definition of Cosplay
  • Her Cosplay progression
  • Cosplay planning (time, budget, accuracy)
  • Creation versus Purchasing
  • Props
  • Resources
  • Local conventions Cosplayers meet

I was enraptured and impressed by our presenter. Her love of Cosplay grew from her hobby of sewing! Our library is very grateful for having a Cosplay program possible this summer and based on the positive feedback received, I would definitely be open to hosting the program again. I highly recommend having Jen present on Cosplay. She reads the crowd easily, goes into detail, answers questions, and is knowledgeable in many aspects of this niche art.

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Learning Outcomes
I feel our patrons were able to be exposed to a different pop culture niche. Cosplay has been increasingly popular in the U.S. to the point of people becoming professional Cosplayers, creating and modeling their own creations for conventions and publishers. At several conventions I’ve attended, there are panels on Cosplay that normally you can only enter with a paid ticket however our library was able to offer this informative panel for free. Attendees learned feasible ways of planning their Cosplay with the understanding that anyone can dress up! From accurate-on-the-spot renditions to crossplay to genderbending cosplay, there’s something for everyone.

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I’m itching to cosplay again. *Looks at cosplay-less closet* In due time, in due time. Following Jen’s tip, gotta plan it first!

Today’s Menu for Emiya Family

Crunchyroll recently released Today’s Menu for Emiya Family, a cooking spin to the normally action-charged Fate/Stay Night anime series. Each episode is shorter than others, clocking in at a little over 12 minutes. Shiro Emiya, our protagonist, shops and cooks for the household. As this is a spin-off, he interacts with characters that are normally viewed as enemies in the main plot line with hilarious and intriguing results. I also like the portrayal of a young man who is cooking for the rest of the household, all of whom are women. Everyone cooks! Everyone eats! Everyone wins!

This has been a fairly popular series to show at my library’s ani-mazing anime programs due to how quick the episodes are. However be warned when showing this without snacks or having lunch yourself. Just be aware that if you laugh or discuss about the characters in relation to Fate/Stay Night, unless the attendees have seen it, it would be best not to bring it up and keep it light.

 

 

Kawaii Kon – A Volunteer Saga

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Kawaii Kon has come and gone. An excited event filled with numerous events and guests from all over the world. To a happy Kon!

This year was my second year volunteering for our public library system booth located inside Kawaii Kon’s Artist Alley. I must say, it was a fun and interactive experience, learning new things as time goes on. My partner in crime being Hillary C., my co-presenter from our 2017 Hawaii Library Association panel on graphic novels.

I was only able to stay for 1 hour due to a last-minute schedule change with my volunteering time for Kawaii Kon but what an hour! We interacted with 80 people in 1 hour! Considering how quiet Sundays usually are for a convention and we came in after the lunch rush, I’d say that’s pretty awesome.

How it worked: Attendees who show their library card can get a choice of a manga or book! This year there were puzzle books and superhero graphic novels aside from manga and literature. No library card? No problem! Get a free pencil or sticker! Grab a library card application to fill out and turn in to your nearest library to have a card and account set up.

Why volunteer: Get the library out into the community! Libraries are just filled with classical literature. There are still people surprised and happy to see the public library booth at the convention, it makes us happy to be noticed.

Is cosplay mandatory at the booth? Not at all, go with yourcomfort zone. Cosplay? Always a good idea! Also an excuse to wear cute costumes! No cosplay? No problem! If anyone asks, say you’re displaying as an otaku librarian. I can say that as my official “cosplay” for 2 years.

I hope to continue my volunteer saga so we’ll see about next year! 😄

Anime Programs

I just did my first official Ani-mazing Anime Showing!

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Yay! It was quite exhilarating I’ll say. However I have to wonder, with technology widespread and anime being available (pirated or streaming), is it worth showing anime at the public library anymore?

First thing is to pre-screen the series to be shown. The series have been pre-screened by me so to make sure the series can also be good for middle schoolers who want to watch, so context can be mentioned if there are questions.

How it works: The program is set at two Fridays a month after school (3 pm). Audience members can choose from a list of anime titles that can be shown at the next showing. In essence, it would be beneficial for an audience member to come to the first showing because they have a chance to vote for a series they want to show at the next showing, and so on. The trick also I had was to mix titles up, that way the audience doesn’t know which series I’ll be showing, it’ll be based on a vote by the audience members.

The thing is, I had to learn from previous YA librarians who held anime showings at their libraries. One librarian had teens suggest a series to show and when the time came, he didn’t show up. When she saw him later and asked why he didn’t show up because she showed the series he suggested, he replied that he had already seen it.

From that example, I had decided to the the aforementioned voting and mix and match series. However… Out of the participants (all of 3 people) have already seen what Crunchyroll had to offer, even the Premium episodes. Premium episodes can only be viewed by a paid member of Crunchyroll and will be free to watch after a certain time frame. There’s only so much that the library is licensed to show. From that, where does anime programs fit if it is so easily accessible? Another point to consider is that, because the series have been pre-screened, that means the series has to have finished already. Unless it is a remake of an old series, under that rule I cannot show brand new anime series that comes out each season.

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*Updated