AFA08: Event of the Year!

As all of you guys know by now, Anime Festival Asia is going to be held right here in Singapore from the 22-23 Nov in Suntec Convention Halls 403-404. From initial information, we all know that animation director Koji Morimito of STUDIO 4°C would be speaking at the event. The Bakuc finals will also be held there as well.

Now, we had some updates and rest assured, it was well worth the wait.

As per the last update, the event will be split into different sections, where each section showcases the different aspect of otakuism.

First off, Mangaka, where partnering with Chuang Yi, the festival has managed to grab Shounen Jump to showcase their works, as part of Shounen Jump 40^th anniversary.

Anticipate popular titles which has graced the pages of the longest running weekly manga compilation in Japan. Bleach, Naruto, Death Note will all be making an appearance at the event.

Manga competitions such as Mangaka and the GRAPHITE will also be holding their prize giving ceremony and exhibition there.

Then to the Anime Blockbuster, obtaining permission from Japanese licensors and broadcastors, we will be able to get a first hand look at the latest anime titles being aired in Japan.

So far, titles confirmed are Gundam 00, Code Geass, Shakugan no Shana, D gray man, Domo-kun, as well as Skip Beat, but expect more titles in our future updates, which might include even new unannounced or unaired titles.

Next, to add to the hype of the Bakuc finals, last year’s Bakuc winner, Leon Ku will be attempting to finish, including airbrushing, a PG Strike Gundam by the end of the event.

The Akiba Section, the shoping section of the Festival, popular Japanese companies such as,

Goodsmile company,

Organic,

Alter,

Square Enix

Revoltech,

Kotobukiya,

Bandai,

as well as, local shops such as, KKNM, La Tendo and The MAGE Shop, will be making an appearences. So you can expect to see the full line-up of revoltech, new and upcoming nendoroids as well as figmas, along with the some of the latest line up of figurines from the respective companies.

Many more will also be announced in a later date, but there’s a chance Yamato is coming too… shh… i didn’t say that..

Kotobukiya even let slip that an ‘exclusive’ Armoured Core Seraph Nineball unit model kit ,not to be confused with the one already out in the market, will be exclusively available then only. Event exclusive memorabilia will also be sold there.

Standard AC: Nineball Seraph

Cosplay events are also a must, therefore there will be competition held for cosplayers. Free admission would also be provided for cosplayers that pre-registered early. Click here for more details.

In the Anime Live, where the stage is, a few highlights have been added other then the previously announced Anime Screening of studio 4°C’s project, and etc… New Highlight have been uncovered.

Mechanic designer for Gundam, Kunio Okawara, will be gracing this event, and be part of the judging team for the Singapore Bakuc Finals.

More details about the his involvement with this year’s show will be announced in near future.

And finally,

YES! The hottest news yet, when the festival was announced, the first press conference, there were some rumours that Megumi Nakajima would be making a special appearance. Well She’s(Megumi) not coming…

Instead of that,

It is now confirmed that May’n, Sheryl Nome of Macross Frontier will be performing “Live” at the festival itself!! Can’t wait for her performance here.

She will be singing atleast 7 songs, all from the Macross Frontier series, and also be doing a meet the fans and autograph signing event.

More details here.

Other then May’n, Dentsu is also looking for other singers to grace the event… and this time they are very tight lip… So there is no idea who.

Pre-registration will also be opening soon, guest are encouraged to pre-register for the event, since you will get to walk the express lane… ^_^

So as the event get nearer by the day, more announcement will be made by Dentsu confirming the logistical arrangment, the updated list of performances, and etc. So do keep looking forward for more!

The official Press release for, well you can read right?

May’n Live at Anime Festival Asia 2008

Hottest J-Pop Sensation star will perform first show outside Japan at Asia’s inaugural Japanese Pop Culture Festival

Singapore, 06 October 2008 –May’n, Japan’s hottest J-pop star who performs the singing voice of Sheryl Nome in popular Japanese anime “Macross Frontier” will perform live at Anime Festival Asia 2008 (AFA08). Visitors to AFA08 will be able to catch May’n live on the main stage on Sunday, 23 November 2008.

Possessing a natural talent for “live” shows and coupled with her unique and dynamic vocal abilities, May’n takes pride in engaging her audiences profoundly during performances and this peformance in Singapore will be her first show outside of Japan.

Currently 18 years old, May’n performs the singing voice of Sheryl Nome, a pop idol character in the highly successful hit Japanese animation series “Macross Frontier”. 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.

May’n has been singing since the tender age of 3, and when she was 13 she topped the “Horipuro – Talent Scout Caravan – Love Music – Audition” beating a total of 35,000 contestants to win the competition. She has since made way to become a professional singer thanks to her exceptional singing prowess.

Taking place on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2008 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Center, Anime Festival Asia 2008 (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, where visitors will gain access to exclusive content, merchandise and live acts straight from Japan.

Tickets for AFA08 will cost S$5 for a single day pass and S$8 for a 2 day pass.

-end-

For image of May’n, please click here.

Update 1: There will be Premium seatings for the performances, which will be charged. Price is currently unknown…

Update 2: The list of companies setting up shop in Akiba Town just increased!

Post Credit: This article is writen in part or whole by Koemushi and some pictures from Ken061(you can see from the watermark) Editor Tueac… ^^; Others are copyright to the respective party.