The Rave Corner: Kawaii-Kon 2012 Recap

Hello fellow ravers! This is Aaron providing a short recap of my trip to Kawaii-Kon 2012. For those that don't know what Kawaii-Kon is, Kawaii-Kon is Hawaii's very own anime convention. This annual event invites special guests that are known in Japan and the US, with an attendance of over 6000 people this year. There are special guest panels, video game rooms, movie theaters, dealers room, and much more. This year, Kawaii-Kon 2012 took place on March 16 - 18. I admit that I did not stay during the entire event (opening - closing) for three days straight. I had other plans that weekend, but I did drop by often.

I arrived to the convention on Friday around 11:30 AM. Unfortunately, I already missed the opening ceremony and 1 Special Guest panel. According to WimpLo, the opening ceremony featured a very cool video intro by Vegeta that was voiced by Chris Sabat! Too bad I wasn't around to see it. Also, Chris was supposed to be in this years convention, but had to cancel his appearance at the last minute. This news disappointed a lot of anime/Dragon Ball Z fans like myself.

Despite Chris Sabat's absence, there were still a lot of other special guests who did show up such as:

Lisa Ortiz = Voiced Lina Inverse in Slayers.
Johnny Yong Bosch = "Black Ranger" Adam from The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
EyeShine = Johnny's band.
Yoshitaka Amano = Artist and illustrator, known for his work in Vampire Hunter D and Final Fantasy Series.
Vic Mignogna = Voiced Broly in Dragon Ball Z.
Ryo Horikawa = Voiced Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z (Japan).
Yuu Asakawa = Voiced Rider in Fate/Stay Night (Japan).
Kenichi Miya = Voiced Dragan in Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's (Japan).
David Williams = Brought out titles such as High School of the Dead, Angel Beats, and Clannad.
AKINO with bless4 = Popular band from Japan.

The main attraction to me was the dealers room. As you already know, I like to collect figures especially those based from big name movies and shows like Godzilla, Transformers, Dragon Ball Z, and so on. The dealers room sold a lot of collectible items as well as manga comics, DVDs, Blu-Rays, Shirts, cosplay uniforms, weapon replica's, and even electronic puppy dog ears that move according to your brainwaves or something like that. There was always a long line to get in just minutes before the doors opened.

If you prefer posters, art pieces, or other crafts, there is another room called the "Artist Alley" that could satisfy your needs. You can also enter into a scribble contest to show off your sketching skills. Winners receives a prize.

There were a lot of cosplayers as usual, but I didn't take many pictures because I forgot my camera one time. However, here are a few pics that were taken from Kawaii Kon.

I saw a lot of great events including a Q&A session from Lisa Ortiz, video game tournaments, and even a live-streamed show on niconico.com. My favorite events were two concerts held Saturday Night: One from Ryo Horikawa followed by Eyeshine. Both shows were great! I am especially impressed with Johnny's unique voice and Eyeshine's ability to improvise a song as they answered questions.

EyeShine

Well that's all I can remember. I hope all who attended this year had a blast. For the rest of my viewers, don't feel sad because there is always next year. Remember to budget your finances for the next trip and take advantage of Ala Moana Hotel's special Kawaii Kon discount.

If you are planning to attend Kawaii Kon 2013 (March 15 - 17, 2013), you can go on to Kawaii Kon's website: www.kawaii-kon.org for more information!

What kind of stuff did I buy from Kawaii Kon? Most of my purchases are pictured below. I will conduct more reviews and Fave Rave columns with these items as soon as I can.