Anime Festival Asia 09 – Press Conference
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.
Reiko, the bilingual MC, speaks better English than me
The suits
Here’s a bullet-point breakdown of AFA09 announcements so far:
- Confirmed performers:
- May’n
- Shoko Nakagawa – all-round otaku idol/blogger
- Ichirou Mizuki
- Yoshiki Fukuyama – JAM PROJECT! FIRE BOMBER!
- Regional cosplay competition – auditions to be held in various countries.
- Danny Choo – showcasing Mirai-chan merchandises, giving talks, and moving to some Stormtrooper groove.
- Bandai stuff – Gundam 30th anniversary, Power Rangers, Harumika, Cook Joy, BAKUC.
- Moe Moe Kyun maid cafe – a cafe. With maids.
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.
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.
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.
