AFA09

I just got home from the press conference for the second Anime Festival Asia and got a feel of what this year’s AFA09 will feel like.What feels like not too many daybreaks ago, a young innocent boy travelled through time all the way from 1989 to witness history unfold one fateful September day yesteryear with the birth of Singapore’s first anime convention. Now we are all grown up. *Sniff* It’s all so beautiful — a quintessential coming-of-age story.

But I digress.

This year’s Anime Festival Asia (AFA) will take place on 21st to 22nd November at the Suntec City convention hall (in Singapore) as per last year. In additon, there will be a one-day corporate event called Animation Asia Conference (AAC) on the 20th for industry sharing and shoulder-rubbing. So there’s something for not just the kids and the young-at-heart, but also suits looking to expandify and integratize their regional new-media social networking portfolios. Making up words is fun.

AFA09
Reiko, the bilingual MC, speaks better English than me

AFA09
The suits

Here’s a bullet-point breakdown of AFA09 announcements so far:

It definitely looks like the event is growing (literally in some sense), particularly the industry networking side which has expanded from a corner of the event hall to its own day. And of course with almost three months left to the actual convention, there will no doubt be more announcements coming in the official AFA09 website.

AFA09
The maids

AFA09
A random Minuki (Trucy Wright) cosplayer

Personally, I’m a lot more excited about Yoshiki Fukuyama than Shoko-tan. Although as with May’s performance last year, I doubt that the event organizers will be able to secure screening rights for Macross 7 footages, given the legal shit-storm that is the franchise’s international distribution rights — a sobering warning to all aspiring creative talents on the danger of selling out too early. What a pity. The songs were the only thing that made 7 fit for viewing and they worked great too.

AFA09
Bandai’s Cook Joy — It’s like Cooking Mama in tangible 3D

It appears inevitable that this blog will eventually become nothing more than a collection of distilled madness and PR mouthpiecing. Although the Gundam Unicorn series airing next spring may provide some rejuvenating blog fodder… But I digress again.

So anyway, I’m sure I’ll be seeing many of you at uncomfortably-close range come November at AFA09. (Please wash your hands and have a breath mint.) In the meantime, maybe it’s about time I get an external flash for my timeworn Canon 400D.

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