Anime Festival Asia 2009: Press Con (Nov 5th)
Anime Festival Asia (AFA09) held a press conference last Thursday November 5th with a key focus on the Animation Asia Conference (AAC'09) vis-à-vis "The Business of Japanese Pop Culture", and additional presentation/announcements of Regional Cosplay Championship finalists (Read more here), AFA'09 exclusives. The event wrapped with a demonstration and introduction of the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe. CLICK THRU for snaps of the event, accompanied by the official press release, and of my own opinions and records of the day's activities.
VENUE: The event was held at BOUNCE on the 7th floor of Iluma, Victoria Street. I did not manage to try the food at the event (very seldom do) so cannot ascertain quality of food, but the ambience was pretty nifty, even though it was mildly chilly, given that it was raining at the time and the venue was at the rooftop. (Cheers to Shaun for the invite!) ~ shown below is the Eneloopy kit that was given out as press-gifts during the press con
PRESS: LAUNCH OF NEW SANYO ENELOOPY KIT
In a bid to encourage consumers to reduce energy wastage, SANYO Energy (S) Corporation will launch a new ‘eneloopy’ battery checker during AFA09. This ‘eneloopy’ kit comes in a pack which includes two AA-sized rechargeable eneloopy batteries and a battery checker that takes the form of their iconic dog mascot, eneloopy. First available in Singapore at AFA09, the launch of the eneloopy kit at AFA also marks the celebration of SANYO’s sales achievement of 100 million cells, worldwide. A two-metre long, one-of–a-kind dog-shaped eneloopy projector will be specially flown in from Japan for AFA09.
“To remain competitive in the digital age, we need to continuously engage the increasingly technologically savvy public. Anime Festival Asia 09 provides the perfect platform for Sanyo to reach out to our target market and inculcate in them the importance of conserving our resources,” said SANYO Energy’s Senior Manager, Mr Takehiro Matsui.
SANYO is currently hosting an online eneloopy contest on the Anime Festival Asia 09 website. Participants stand to win complimentary passes to Anime Festival Asia 09 and eneloopy premium packs. For more contest details regarding please visit http://www.afa09.com/eneloopy/eneloop_giveaway.html.
[4 x images of AFA'09 Press Con presentation / CLICK for full-screen viewing]
Above-left shown is Mr Shawn Chin (Festival Director, Anime Festival Asia) and a lovely Ms Anna Teo (Conference Director, Animation Asia Conference). The other gentlemen in the panel discussion include Mr Gregory Ho (Animax Asia), Mr Wong Kah Fai (Bandai Asia) and Mr Takehiro Matsui (SANYO). A Q&A was in effect, with a little snippet of news gleamed from the ordeal:
- Japanese anime K-ON! will be coming to Animax.
- Select animation from October's Animation Nation event may be showcased during a luncheon (titles unrevealed at this time).
- Danny Choo's OTACOOL Book will be available at FA, with a special autograph session with Danny Choo to look forward to (details unrevealed).
- Summer Wars [wiki] will be showcased at AFA'09 ~ in what capacity, it was not divulged, but stands to reason as the anime's Director Mamoru Hosoda will be here for AAC'09 (absolutely lurved his "Girl Who Leapt Through Time").
PRESS: TOP ANIMATION STUDIOS AT AFA 09:
Six of Asia’s top animation studios: Tatsunoko Production, Madhouse, Production IG, Imaginary Friends Studios, Stormlion and Egg Story Creative Productions will take up booths at AFA09 and the public will have the opportunity to view past, existing and future works produced by these top studios.
PRESS: BUSINESS AND ANIMATION:
This latest move by Sanyo demonstrates the importance that businesses are placing with the animation industry. Animation has become an increasingly profitable business. This is because animation has a marketing reach that extends across wide range of age groups. Young children, teenagers, young adults and families are constantly exposed to animation content through mediums such as television, print and online on a daily basis.
In response, many companies are employing animation to market their services and products. Animation is increasingly seen as a key source of marketing potential.
The organizers of the Anime Festival Asia 09 have recognized this increasingly close relationship between animation and business. The result has been the organization of the Animation Asia Conference09 which is going to be held in conjunction with Anime Festival 09 and falls on Friday the 20th of November.
Besides attracting broadcasters looking to purchase new animation content, the conference also targets to draw marketers and advertisers. Through panel discussions and business networking sessions, it would a great opportunity for delegates to better understand the various industries and develop better strategies in their branding and marketing campaigns. For more information regarding AAC, please visit http://www.afa09.com/aac.html
[9 x images of exclusives for AFA'09 / CLICK for full-screen viewing]
PRESS: EXCLUSIVE MERCHANDISE AT AFA09
Bandai:
Exclusive Tamashii Nations merchandise will be made available for the public. These include: Autumn Limited Chogokin Saint Seiya Be@rbrick, Limited GX 24N Tetsujin 28 Naked version, Limited Myth Cloth Appendix Gemini Saga Original Color Edition and Limited Saint Seiya Myth Cloth Emblem Set. The first 120 customers to buy either Soul of Chogokin GX-45, GX-47 or 49 will get a Mazinger Z Tote Bag for free. 100 Masked Rider T- Shirts will be given away with any purchase of any three SIC products.
Cospa:
The exclusive Aquaplus Fiesta Bag is being made available to fans outside of Japan at AFA 09. The special set includes a Sasara and Maryan Senpai sports towel, Eruru hand towel, Konomi and Tamaki Bathroom poster and a special Aquaplus 2008 commemoration book! Spending $30 worth of merchandise at COSPA’s booth at AFA 09 will allow one to be eligible for the COSPA NIJIGEN JANKEN PON game. Prizes include: T-shirts, towels and cushion covers.
Bushiroad:
Bushiroad will present limited exclusive goods for the first time in South East Asia. There will be a limited number of The IdolM@ster sets and Da Capo sets for sale. For every 15 dollars spent, shoppers will receive a special promo card (Tenshin Rahman no Haruka). Character Operating System (CHAOS) and ALICE CROSS are two popular card games in Japan and will be taught at AFA09 by specialized players. Weiss Schwarz seiiyuus Izumi Kitta and Nakamoto Nobuhisa (the Mash) will also be making an appearance at the Bushiroad booth.
AFA09 MERCHANDISE SHOP:
Exclusive merchandise that will be available for sale at the AFA09 Merchandise Shop includes limited edition K-On! items, “I Love Anisong” concert T-shirts, and the Otacool books from Kotobukiya. Fans of anime music can purchase CDs of the respective artistes performing at the “I Love Anisong” concerts.
Takashimaya Singapore Limited:
For the first time, anime merchandise will be made available exclusively at AFA09. There will be products from popular series such as Code Geass, Shakugan no Shana, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, D.Gray Man, Tora Dora and many more. There will also be a full range of products for Domo-Kun, including Kid-size T-shirts and other exclusive merchandise!
I swear I am NOT an upskirt-snapping pervy-blogger, no! But from where I was seated at the press con, this was what I could see and snap. The lucky person is the journo from SPH Lifearts who roleplayed the "customer" to be served by the two kawaii Moe Moe Kyun "maids", one of which was a new addition to the group, Yoshimi!
[3 x images of Moe Moe Kyun self-introduction / CLICK for full-screen viewing]
Remarks: It would have been nice to have been perhaps given a little write-up for what the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe is about (an expansion of the previous little blurb in the first press con), and the profiles of the individual "maids" (as pervy as that may sound) to put a "personality" to a pretty-face, IMHO. Even little neo-prints / photo-stickers would be fun to be had by the journos and fans, innit? (Or are neo-prints too passe now?). More Moe Moe Kyun on their Facebook and on AFA09.com :)
[7 x images of Moe Moe Kyun with SANYO's mascot Eneloppy / CLICK for full-screen viewing]
Moe Moe Kyun Blog-Links:
Yoshimi @ ferlynyoshimi.blogspot.com
Tomomi @ tomomi-esutsuki.blogspot.com
Miyake @ www.myfatpocket.com/miyake
Yui / Tiffany @ how-to-love-if-u-first-wun-cry.blogspot.com
