Anime Festival Asia 2012 @ Singapore Expo (Nov 9-11)
And while I may not have booth this year at Artists Alley, I aim to have a looksee at the annual Anime Festival Asia 2012 - happening between November 9th to 11th November (3 days instead of the usual 2) - with the venue this time around to be at Singapore Expo Halls 7 & 8 (Previous years' were held at the Suntec City Convention Center). The only hesitation I would have is that SG Expo is an exceptionally HUGE sprawling venue encompassing an extremely vast space that needs navigating, and I'm just afraid of getting tired (trust me, post-Stroke, my energy levels are piss-poor ;p) but I'm not worried about getting around alone, so I'm set :)
A quick glance thru their event website @ www.animefestival.asia/afa12 sees an extremely music-heavy tone, with their successful 'experience' being the I LOVE ANISONG concerts - this year's theme being "Electric Groove" - keeping J-Pop alive and kicking, amidst the onslaught of K-Pop Wave washing over Asia.
What would grant me the most amount of happiness and joy - and it does not necessarily include cosplay-(*nosebleed-worthy*)-beauties - would more likely be "Akiba Town", where I can find anime-themed toys! Am keeping a keen eye put for Danny Choo's Mirai Suenaga Nendoroid with Good Smile Company (am wholly unsure if this will be released in time for AFA tho, but I'd like to keep the dream "alive" haha), and perhaps have a longer look at what's available from vendors (last year was a desperate last moment exercise in 'rampage-buying' LOL), compared to the years before when I was actively covering the event/s instead. I think tis high time I get to "gawk", no? :)
What seems interesting as well, is the "Japan Future Entertainment Zone" - whereby "For the first time, top Japanese artiste management companies and record labels will pool together resources to showcase some of their latest artists, dramas and movies" - targeted for a business-concept opportunity. (I'd be looking at free postcards, mind you lol). And one thing I did not notice as prevalent in the previous years, was actually "manga" - or perhaps I might find more of that at Artist Alley.
Interestingly, I know of a couple of local-based friends having booths at Artist Alley - namely Kelvin Chan of Rocket Raygun and ZiQi Wu of Monsterlittle - so will pop by to say *HI*. The irony of it all, was that last year I had rooted myself at my own booth, I barely had a chance to see the rest of Artist Alley!
And while I may not profess to be a "hardcore" anime or manga fanatic as the throes of folks who throng the convention halls might be, I truly hope to experience the festival from other point of view, and that is an extremely enticing notion to look forward to indeed! See you at AFA, folks!
