anime festival asia 2008 @ suntec city, singapore (nov 22-23)
[AFA08 Promotional Video]
For the first time ever in South East Asia, Singapore will celebrate the diversity of Japanese Pop Culture - with the inaugural ANIME FESTIVAL ASIA 2008 [AFA08] *Otakus Rejoice!*
Taking place on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2008 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Center - AFA08 will showcase a wide array of Japanese Pop Culture related content, spanning over 5,000 sqm of space with 6 experience zones: Akiba Town, Anime Live, Anime Blockbusters, Industry, Mangaka and Planet Mech [PEEP highlights]. Visitors will gain access to exclusive content, merchandise and live acts straight from Japan, including one of Japan's hottest J-pop star May'n (the singing voice of "Sheryl Nome" in “Macross Frontier”) - will be performing "live".
Included in the festivities will be an exclusive showcase of Japan's anime-maestros Studio 4°C and it’s latest creation GENIUS PARTY BEYOND (which premieres in Japan on October 11th). Director Koji Morimoto (co-founder of the Studio) will also be making a guest appearance [www]. CLICK THRU for more event details. Meanwhile, check out the trailer for Genius Party Beyond (the sequel to 2007's "Genius Party" - which I'd missed entirely gggrrrr)
Making a guest appearance @ AFA08 is Kunio Okawara - Mechanical Designer for Gundam! [www] Kunio has designed mecha for titles such as Science Ninja Team, Gatchaman, Mobile Suit Gundam, and is currently developing mechanical design works for Sunrise, on projects such as Gundam Seed Destiny and Gundam 00.
PLANET MECH [www] is one of the 6 key thematic zones of AFA08 and will feature products and activities from BANDAI - who is also the key sponsor for AFA08! With their eye-popping display arena from the recently concluded Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008 (tagged / which I still have loads of pics and video yet to be processed :p) - I would be looking forward to what Bandai has to showcase @ AFA08, IMHO :)
- BAKUC Competition is Singapore’s Annual Bandai Action Kits Universal Cup (BAKUC) and will be showcasing all things Robot!
- Tamagotchi Connection
- Sangoku-Den (The series of Gundam based on the story that came from the legendary Romance of the Three Kingdoms story). New PV will be previewed, as well as a Quick Assemble Contest.
New Product Releases include:
- 5 Second Stadium
- Edamame (popable toy beans with faces inside a pod)
- Cook Joy (Live Demo)
- Cook Joy Series - Norimaki Makki Sushi Roll Maker
- Cook Joy Series - Ichi Ni Sando Sandwich Press
- KONAPUN (A toy that lets kids create imitation snacks that resemble the real thing).
Product Showcases:
- Spacewarp
- Aqua Drop
- Sonny Angel
- Puchi Puchi
AKIBA TOWN [www] brings Akihabara right to the shores of Singapore with a market place that retails all things anime and Japanese related! Brands and Vendors currently listed include: Art Storm, Alter, Bandai, Fun2Square, Gamescore, Good Smile, Kaiyodo, Kotobukiya, Medicom Toy, Organic, Revoltech, Square Enix, Magma Heritage, Rapid Culture, The MAGE Shop and many more.
Do watch out for exclusive limited edition collectibles. (Will try to update if I get info)
COSPLAY MANIA COMPETITION [www] is organized by the Singapore Cosplay Club in conjunction with Anime Festival Asia. The Competition will see participants in groups not less than 2 participants cosplaying in Japnese Anime, Manga or Game themes/titles. (For both days at AFA08, passes for free entry into AFA will be given to cosplayers who pre-register themselves and turn up at the event.)
Currently 18 years old, May'n [www] performs the singing voice of Sheryl Nome, a pop idol character in the highly successful hit Japanese animation series “Macross Frontier”. She will be performing live on the main stage on Sunday, 23 November 2008.
"In May 2008, her CD single release launch event was so successful that it became the most well-attended CD launch event in the history of the Japanese music scene. She has also achieved 2 consecutive single releases that topped the Japanese Oricon charts at number 3 – which is by itself a feat for an anime J-pop performer."
Created as a universal symbol of Anime and Japanese Popular Culture for the festival - AFA KUN is designed by Ryosuke Tei (previously the Creative Director from Furi Furi) Tei is currently the Executive Director with Peach Blossom Media for the multi-media, multi-platform animation production LaMB by Animax Asia. Will we get to see any AFA KUN products? Maybe even a vinyl figure? (My toy-wish, since I missed out on loadsa goodies for STCC'08 LOL) Time will tell .... :p
EVENT DETAILS/DATE:Anime Festival Asia ’08 will be held at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Halls 403 and 404 from 10.00 am to 9.00pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door at $5 (1 day) and $8 (2 days). Children under 6 years of age enter for free.
PRESS:
Anime Festival Asia 2008 (AFA08) is organized by I-Promo Events & Marketing in partnership with Dentsu Singapore. AFA08 is sponsored by Bandai, Japan’s leading toy manufacturer, with Animax as the official regional media partner.
The festival is a pre-event introduction for the Japan Creative Centre that is scheduled to open next year in Singapore. The Japan Creative Centre’s primary objective is to be a platform for showcasing Japanese-related content and culture in Singapore.
(Cheers for the headsup, Aiko!)
