Renewed effort brings diverse manga anthology back to life

For nine years now, Kawaii Kon’s Artist Alley has served as a place where local fans of anime (Japa­nese animation) and manga (Japa­nese comics) can either show off their artistic creativity or admire and buy others’ works.

This weekend’s anime convention, which includes cosplay, gaming, panels, videos, a concert and the Moonlight Magic Ball, marks the return of one such project: Hachi Maru Hachi, a manga anthology showcasing the talents of local artists and writers. (The anthology’s title is Japa­nese for the state’s area code, 808.) It’s the brainchild of 23-year-old Jordan Take­moto, who conceived the project in 2009 as a member of the Entrepreneurs Club at the University of Hawaii.

"They encourage their members to work on an idea that they’re passionate about," Take­moto said. "Story writing was kind of my passion, and anything that was related to it, like manga. Although I could never draw myself, I knew a lot of people who could draw."

His idea was to create a homegrown publication similar to Sho­nen Jump and other manga anthologies regularly published in Japan. When the first issue of Hachi Maru Hachi debuted at Kawaii Kon 2010, it arrived with four manga series and two short stories and the promise more would be coming every month.

Subscriptions were sold at the anime convention. The first few weeks after the convention saw copies making their way to the shelves of Haku­bundo and Barnes & Noble, with the latter even hosting a pair of signings with the artists.

But the effort could not be sustained, and copies languished on the shelves and subscription fees were refunded.

"At the end of it all, it was a lot of work, but it actually didn’t make any money because I printed too many books," Take­moto said. "So it was a lot of burnout, and school kinda crashed in on me, so I didn’t really want to work on it afterward."

It would take a trio of fellow 23-year-olds — one holdover from the first issue as well as some fresh talent — to revive Hachi Maru Hachi in time for this year’s Kawaii Kon. It would also take a more conservative approach, with the second issue being published through Cre­ate­Space, a print-on-demand service offered by Amazon.

While the three stories contained in the new issue reflect the group’s lifelong interest in anime and manga — count "Pokemon," "Sailor Moon," "Dragon Ball Z" and "Ranma ½" among their childhood influences — the anthology is also very much a showcase of diverse styles.

Tara Tamayori’s humorous fantasy tale of a legendary sword and a shape-shifting, perverted panda, titled "Eternal Blade," is the only story to continue in the second issue. Tama­yori was the one who kept pushing Take­moto to do another issue.

"This is probably the only motivation I can get to actually starting a manga and sticking with it because I’ve always had stories and characters from old," Tama­yori said. "Way back in school I was thinking, ‘OK, once I’m sure of myself I’ll start a manga.’ It was always hard to stick with it; I always lost interest or something came up. It always got pushed back."

Takemoto also recruited two people from Pen & Ink Works, a local group of anime- and manga-inspired artists: Rose Dela Cruz and Brady Evans. Dela Cruz teamed up with Take­moto to bring his short sci-fi story, "When the Music Stops," to life as a manga.

The story, set in a world where technology reigns supreme over humanity in all areas save for the creative spirit, follows a composer and his discovery of an invention that could shift that balance forever.

Evans’ story, "Sleep," is about a woman who goes through terrifying experiences that seem to be dreams but turn out to be something more sinister. He draws on a variety of historic influences, with a setting loosely based in Japan’s Heian period of roughly 1,000 years ago and concepts grounded in Buddhist enlightenment.

"I’ve been reading a lot of Japa­nese literature, like ‘The Tale of the Heike,’ short stories by this early 20th-century author, Aku­ta­gawa Ryu­nou­suke, or even Mura­kami Haruki," Evans said. "There’s always a sense of darkness or a foreboding nature in all of those stories, and I enjoyed that and I wanted to explore it in my manga."

With the second issue of Hachi Maru Hachi published, the group is already looking ahead to the third issue — likely to be released at Kawaii Kon 2014, filled again with self-contained stories.

"I think a yearly thing would work," Take­moto said. "We managed to get it out in a year, although it is a lot of work. So it kind of depends on the artists, All I can do is push them and bug them."

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Copies of Hachi Maru Hachi Issue 2 will be available for $10 at the Nippon Addiction booth, tables 71 and 72 in Artist Alley at Kawaii Kon. Copies also are available on Amazon.com at goo.gl/slTS7.