Over. Singapore’s first anime convention is. It’s been an eventful two days and I’m quite happy with the way it ended. Now we can start looking forward to next year. Also, I just woke up and my head hurts.

Pre-Event

The convention area is divided into a few zones. The white rectangle at the bottom right is where the staff and invited guests rest. You can read up on more background information about the event from my past entries.

Again, the invited guests were May’n, Yasufumi Soejima, Koji Morimoto, Kunio Okawara, Ichiro Mizuki. I uploaded a YouTube video of the Q&A session on Saturday.

Crowd

The queue got better later in the day

Graphite drawing competition organized by NUS Anime Club

The stage area was always crowded whenever there was any performance. My 17-50mm lens couldn’t get any picture of what went on. There was a cosplay competition on the second day.

It’s a sign

Ultraman vs. a furry teddy bear

Also, since I was using a DSLR with no live preview, I had to shoot blind while holding it above the crowd.

Displays

Genius Party concept art

Koji Morimoto

There’s a display for Studio 4°C’s Genius Party. Koji Morimoto was there on Saturday for an hour to sign GP merchandises.

Animax Asia showcasing LaMB, their first in-house production

Yasufumi Soejima

LaMB is Animax Asia’s first in-house production and it is being produced right here in Singapore. It’s a one-hour sci-fi anime movie with storyboard by Yasufumi Soejima, a former GONZO animator.

I want this… D:

The figurine displays drew a constant crowd. Although the whole thing was handled by a local distributor, there were Japanese representatives from Good Smile Company and others around, and apparently they were quite impressed by the turnout. Bodes well for the future. ;)

Event limited 1/60 Exia Trans-Am mode

Airbrushing demonstration

Those of you waiting for episode 8 review can make do with this

Bandai and Gundam have quite a presence at the event because Bandai recently set up an Asian branch in Singapore. No questions were asked about why there were so many Gundam 00 fans in Singapore when the show is not available here. *cough*

Imaginary Friends Studios’ display at NUS Graphite

Pepper

Pepper too

There were many pieces from Imaginary Friends Studios on display both at their own both and at the NUS Graphite booth. IFS is a Singaporean art studio with an impressive repertoire and has many major foreign clients such as Electronic Arts (e.g. Mirror’s Edge), Intel, Nokia, DC Comics and Penny Arcade.

I bought a copy of their latest release, The Pepper Project, which is a compilation of artworks featuring Pepper, the mascot character created by Artgerm aka Stanley Lau, the head of IFS. I got him to sign my copy.

Some works from Collateral Damage Studios

Yes May’n signed it

Anime showcases from everyone’s favourite company

Hehe

Seriously though, Odex did a decent job

Local distributor Chuangyi Comics

Some manga-related displays

Cosplay

I apologize for my poor photography as usual… I should really get around to getting a Speedlite. If only some kind soul would donate a 580 EX to me. My birthday is in January by the way. :D

Awesome

It’s running away

This can only mean one thing: giant cockroaches

Miku got a haircut

Concert

Ichiro Mizuki performed on Saturday night and May’n performed on Sunday night.

I didn’t attend Mizuki’s concert but I heard it was pretty awesome. I did watch him perform during rehearsal on Friday and during the cosplay competition on Sunday. (He was one of the judges.)

Waiting for May’n

I did attend May’n’s concert. It was one of the most awesome moments of the past year and a perfect end to the event. Her stage presence is truly captivating and her vocals are the real deal. I was standing right at the front and the atmosphere was just perfect. Sheryl Nome was on stage.

Unfortunately, photography was banned during her concert so I don’t have anything for you to see, especially since I was at the front where all the staff members were…

Okay just kidding. I have obtained some top secret photographs taken by other people. Many Bothan spies died to bring us these pictures. Not that you can see much in them.

The MCs

Camera LCDs

Pictures taken by LianYL of RIUVA. Please arrest him instead

May’n’s dancers, Junko and Mizuki

Picture taken by Double. Please arrest him instead

Picture taken by Windbell. Please arrest him instead

By the way, the Sheryl cosplayer (first picture in this post) was actually a Diamond VIP ticket holder who went on stage to shake hands with May’n and receive a signed board.

And yeah, I had a Diamond VIP ticket too. Also, vicious rumours of my snubbing of May’n are competely untrue. The reality is that I did shake her hands, but at that very moment Jim (extreme right), the design director for AFA08, introduced me to May’n’s manager (centre right) all of a sudden as “the guy who translated all the interview questions” and I ended up in a deer-in-the-headlight situation with me fumbling for words while attempting to bow and greet simultaneously. As any reasonably sane deer would do, I fled. orz

So yeah. I didn’t snub her. I merely ran away. >_<

People love to spell my handle as two words :(

I was asked to join Dentsu, the event organizers, for supper after the whole thing ended because I had been translating all media interview questions for the various invited guests, and the people at Dentsu wanted to thank me. May’n was there too! She signed Crazy Crazy Crazy (her debut single) for me. :D

It was worth all the time I spent on doing translations during my final year A’ Level exam period. orz

Next

What’s next? I’m sure many of us will be looking forward to the next Anime Festival Asia if it happens. Personally, I think the chances of that are quite good. From what I heard, representatives from various Japanese studios were quite impressed by AFA08, so no doubt Singapore will be receiving plenty of good publicity when they report back home.

Looking forward to next year.

P.S. Gundam 00 episode 8 post will be delayed this week due to Post Event Syndrome.

I attended the press preview for Anime Festival Asia 08 today. The actual event starts tomorrow at 9am. The preview itself consisted of a short tour around the booths that were being set up and a press conference to introduce the invited guests.

Note: This post is backdated because it took longer than expected to upload a 25-minute video to YouTube…

In case you’ve been ignoring all my posts on the topic, AFA08 is Singapore’s first anime convention and it will be held on Saturday and Sunday at Suntec Convention Hall 403 and 404.

The guests are (left to right):

• May’n (singing voice of Sheryl Nome in Macross F)
• Yasufumi Soejima (director of LaMB, former GONZO animator)
• Koji Morimoto (Studio 4°C founder)
• Kunio Okawara (original designer of Gundam)
• Ichiro Mizuki (anime and tokusatsu singer)

The press conference itself is just a short sales pitch of the whole event, and you can already find all the information on the official website, including the details on exclusive merchandises.

Shawn, the head honcho

There is a Q&A session at the end with each of the five guests. I’ve uploaded a video recording of the whole thing to YouTube using ShakyCamâ„¢ technology.

The best part of the whole thing was actually after everyone else left and they started doing stage rehearsal. May’n performed all the songs she’ll be doing for the concert. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed for the rehearsal, so you have to use your imagination for that, or catch her actual performance on Sunday. All I can say is that she is one of the few singers who sound even better in real-life than on CD.

Also, for no reason, here’s a picture of a Sheryl cosplayer who was a member of the press.

Head down to Suntec City tomorrow or on Sunday if you want to see more. I’m really tired now, so I shall retire…to the world of Azeroth. Well, Outland actually.

UPDATE: Yes I realize that this post is really, really late. The YouTube video took years to upload overnight before failing and I had to upload it again using the non-beta uploader. Just pretend that you are reading this post on Friday night, okay?

On another note, I just got back from AFA08 day one. I’m really tired. Will blog about the whole event tomorrow because I didn’t get enough pictures today. (I forgot to put a CF card into my camera and only managed to borrow one from Windbell just before I was going to leave the venue.)

If you haven’t already read about it on other blogs by now, details on the VIP tickets for May’n’s life performance are out on the official site. (Normal AFA ticket holders will be able to enjoy the concert from less optimal positions.) Diamond VIP tickets, which get you an autograph and a handshake from May’n in addition to front row seats, will sell for S$118 (80 USD), while regular VIP tickets go for S$68 (46 USD). They will be on sale through the website starting from 1st November.

I am helping AFA08 compile a list of questions from fans in Singapore (and other English-speaking countries) to send to May’n. She has gracefully agreed to answer them through email correspondence.

I will be sending the questions in both English and Japanese and the event organizers will help to edit and forward them to May’n. I will be translating her replies and the final result will be posted in both languages on the official website.

So, if you have anything you want to ask May’n, please submit your questions through the form on the official site. The deadline is Wednesday, 22nd October 2008.

UPDATE: The interview is up on the official site.

AFA08 pre-registration is now up. Only the $8 two-day ticket is available for pre-registration. Details on the special VIP seating for Mei’s concert (tier pricing and sales location) will be released early next week. Head to the official ticketing site more for information.

Yes, this is NOT a joke. May’n (May Nakabayashi), the beautiful voice behind Sheryl’s songs in Macross Frontier, will be making her way down to this tiny-red-dot island to perform live at the inaugural Anime Festival Asia, previously introduced on my blog, to be held on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2008. This will be her first live performance outside of Japan and will possibly mark the greatest moment in Singapore’s short and pathetic history.

More details after the break.

Dentsu, the organizer of AFA08, held a small informal session today to announce a few new details on the upcoming event.

Here’s a list of things about the concert that have been officially confirmed by the organizers:

• May’n will be performing at least 7 songs.
• There will be an autograph session but the exact procedure for it is to be determined.
• No additional ticket purchase is required for the concert; everything is included in the convention entry fee.
• There will be premium tickets for reserved seats, but the details are yet to be confirmed.

Here are some other things about the convention that have been confirmed:

• Kunio Okawara, the mechanical designer of Mobile Suit Gundam and Gundam 00, will be appearing at the event to sign autographs and judge the Bandai Action Kit Universal Cup Competition (BAKUC).
• Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, Kaiyodo, Alter, Square Enix, Revoltech, and other companies will have retail presence at the convention.
• Kotobukiya is releasing an exclusive limited edition Armored Core model for sale during the convention. Other companies may have exclusive merchandises too, but details are not yet available.
• Jump Super Anime Tour will be part of the convention.

Unconfirmed rumours:

• There is at least one other seiyuu yet to be announced.
• She is not Megumi Nakajima.
• Possible Revoltech release.

See, I told you AFA08 will be awesome. So yeah, come down to Singapore in November if you want to see May’n live! You can read up on all the above details on the official AFA08 website. Once again, the ticketing details for AFA08:

Date: 22nd and 23rd Nobember
Time: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Venue: Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centure, Halls 403 and 404
Ticket: $5 for one day, $8 for two days, children under 6 free

Cosplayers who pre-register will be able to enter for free.

P.S. Nyan Tora is pretty good but it doesn’t have Maaya’s cover of AIMO!

As part of the previously-mentioned AFA08, NUS Comics Animation Society is organizing Graphite 2008, an illustration competition. There are two categories: Character Design (i.e. well-exposed moé girls or homoerotic bishounens), and Short Story Manga (i.e. complicated in-jokes that no one but the author and two other fan girls understand.)

Deadline is 28th September 2008. Refer to official website for more information.

Do you know that graphite carbon atoms are sp2 hybridized and are weakly bonded between layers of macromolecular covalent structures?

A press conference was held today at the Japanese Association of Singapore to announce the inaugural Anime Festival Asia (AFA) to be held at Suntec City conventional hall on 22nd and 23rd of November. The event is organized by I-Promo and the Singaporean branch of Dentsu and it is sponsored by Bandai. The official site is up at afa08.com. You’ll probably read about it in tomorrow’s news.

Yes, Singapore is finally going to have a real anime convention!

What is it?

AFA is intended to be a regional event that celebrates Japanese pop culture. The long-term goal is a large scale event on par with TAF and Anime Expo, but the current target is 80 thousand people over two days.

After a recent shift in policy, and the appointment of Doreamon as Japan’s Cultural Ambassador, soft power through pop culture is becoming a larger part of the diplomatic toolset of the Japanese government. Although it is kind of funny to picture a bunch of serious-looking Japanese politicians in suits talking about promoting anime, we shall put that aside and accept this. So anyway, as part of this renewed effort to export the hikikomori phenomenon to an international market, the Embassy of Japan in Singapore is building a Japan Creative Centre here to brainwash Singaporeans with moé propaganda. Awesome. This happens to coincide with the Singapore government’s desire to turn this country into a regional media hub, which is a euphemism for an outsourcing animation factory, and everyone is happy.

But I digress. AFA08 (pronounced “ah-far-oh-eight”) is original conceived as a pre-event to the opening of the JCC. It will feature upcoming animation, merchandises, cosplay and performances, some of which is making quite excited about November, almost enough to make me forget that that’s when my A’levels will be. Take a look at the AFA08 website for information.

Why should I care?

I know, I know. We’ve all been here before. “Anime” conventions in Singapore are generally not very appealing to real anime fans. Lack of content and local commercial presence means that the organizers often have to turn to non-anime stuff, ostensibly to appeal to a wider target audience, but mostly just to fill up the booths. But AFA08 might just be different. Here’s why.

Guests

There will be Japanese guest speakers and performers appearing on the main stage during the convention. Currently only Kouji Morimoto and Marimi Sakurai from STUDIO 4°C are named, but more will be announced on the website. (i.e. the organizers want to do it like Anime Expo) I can’t give any specific names because everything was totally off-the-record, but let’s just say that the “song performances” listed in the programme booklet will not be performed by some random guy they found in the park. The names that were unofficially floated around were highly intriguing, to say the least. ;)

Exclusives

There will be exclusive merchandises (including figurines) being sold during the event. Bandai has already confirmed that some limited edition Gunpla will be available, although they are saving the juicy details for a later date. Several other hobby and toy companies will also be involved, but again I can’t name them. All I can say is, this could be the first local event where I end up spending any money.

Organizers

Bandai Asia is a major sponsor, and of course it has a lot of ties with its parent company in Japan and…Sunrise. Dentsu is one of the largest advertising companies in the world, and no doubt its Singaporean branch benefits from Japan-side connection. The event has been in planning for more than a year (I first heard about it last year around this time) and from the looks of it, it is going to be the most well-funded and resourceful attempt at organizing and sustaining an annual anime convention in Singapore.

Also, I could tell that the event organizers were credible because they read my blog, and my Code Geass entries in particular, lol. This will definitely be an event to look out for if you see yourself as more than a casual Naruto viewer. I’m pretty excited about it. :P

Details

Date: 22nd and 23rd Nobember
Time: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Venue: Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centure, Halls 403 and 404
Ticket: $5 for one day, $8 for two days, children under 6 free