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Anisong At AFA09 – Basara X Mylene: Macross 7 All Over Again

AlternateSam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:53:57 +0000

Just to share with you a picture of 2 cosplay characters at the recently concluded Anime Fest Asia.

Basara was great, performing my favorite macross 7 song Try Again (!!!) and Remember 16 (classic!!) amongst other songs including the popular Totsugeki Love Heart. And May’n sang a few songs from her latest album not released yet and also Northern Cross, Lion & 9pm Don’t be Late. As for the Pure WIN, it was the duet between them and they chose not to revise old material like the Totsugeki Love Heart song which they sang together in January this year. They sang Diamond Crevasse where May’n sounded slightly under-strength due to Fukuyama’s powerful voice and then Dynamite Explosion, which was AWESOME due to the entire power and meaning of the song. I had a remarkable fanboy night which was made really memorable by that song as it was a great ending song for the Anisong concert. Adding to the fact that I just finished watching Macross 7 less than 2 weeks ago just make the entire experience really magical for me.

And as for the last WIN of the day, check this out -> Was dying to get them together to pose for a picture when I saw them. Pardon the phone cam please

One of the best cosplay I have seen the entire weekend (and there were some pretty good ones – Black Rock Shooter girl, I’m referring to you) and kudos to their originality. Both of them were the first time I seen these 2 characters in cosplay.

Not really a big fan of cosplay myself but the outfits on these 2 characters were really good and those Altos/Sheryl Nomes/Rankas over the weekends just pale in comparison to both of them. Really capped off my weekend beautifully after the conclusion of AFA ‘09.

AFA09 Press Release + Events Highlights

AlternateSam — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:53:00 +0000

The AFA09 organizing committee held their press conference yesterday at Suntec City, highlighting the main draws for this year event and giving us all a peek into what will happen this year. Very very surprising news and I was delighted with the potential of the entire event.

AFA (Anime Fest Asia) started off last year as a showcase of Japanese animation and pop-culture in this region. Held around November, it was a success in the sense that it was one of the biggest events which brought this subculture to the masses and to the forefront on the public’s imagination. Located at the Suntec City Convention Hall as well, the highlight was May’n (Sheryl Nome of Macross F’s fame) and Ichirou Mizuki (Japan�s �King of Anime Songs / Aniki) performances as well as the assorted merchandise booths.

AFA09 will span over 5,000 sqm of space where highlights confirmed so far include the Akiba Town Marketplace, Anime Blockbusters, Kids Land, Regional Cosplay Championships, Moe Moe Kyun Maid Caf�, an AFA Exclusive Specialty Shop, and live acts straight from Japan.

For this year event, the highlights are undoubtedly the Anisong (Anime Music) events.

�AFA09 Music Concerts will be collectively themed as �I Love Anisong� and will feature a power-packed list of Japan�s top music performers. We wanted to take our music component this year to the next level and this year�s line-up of guests at �I Love Anisong� will thrill both anime fans and music lovers. They have performed at sell-out concerts and have a huge fan base not just in Japan but internationally,� – Shawn Chin, Executive Director, SOZO and Festival Director of AFA09.

May’n will be back!! I will probably get the diamond pass as her performance last year was awesome despite the atrocious acoustics at the convention hall. The place was not built for music performances and will never be a good place for such no matter how much you try to modify the speakers. Its built like a tin can and you can just imagine how the echoes and reverberations sound when they bounces off the metal walls. None the less, its Sheryl Nome the Galactic Fairy!

To add on to this Macross Love, Yoshiki Fukuyama will have his first overseas unplugged concert! Currently a member of JAM Project, he is more well known for his role as Basara in Macross 7. BASARA! Coming to AFA09 in Singapore! Yeah, you heard that right! I can just imagine the potential of him performing on stage with May’n like a Basara x Sheryl Nome performance. I managed to see it on Youtube and it was awesome! Rumors are already starting that both of them are scheduled to perform on the same stage so you might actually get to see them together!

Aniki will also be back for this year event. Ichirou Mizuki has performed over 1200 songs including songs for �Mazinger Z�, �Captain Harlock� and Tokusatsu (Sci-fi or fantasy) shows such as �Masked Rider�. He has gained international recognition as Japan�s most prominent Anime performer in his 40 year career as a singer for Anime songs. I’m not too sure with his repertoire or his performances but from what I can gathered from those who are acquainted with his songs, he’s a legend in the Anisong circle.

Last but not least, and certainly the most surprising one for the event, Shoko-tan is coming!!!! She’s quite a cult-figure in Japan for her quirky blog and her occasional excellent cosplay. She’s also an actress, seiyu and quite a talented artist! She’s rather amusing and very very bubbly. Best of all, she sang the first OP (Sorairo Days) and 2nd ED (Happily Ever After) for gar-anime Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann!

Danny Choo will also be coming to Singapore for the event. He will be speaking at the Animation Conference as a key speaker. I will be trying to get my hands on a ticket for this ^^ Besides, he well-known for being extremely generous with presents during his events. ^_^ At the actual event itself, he would also be hosting several events and showcasing his Mirai merchandise! Let’s see if the Mirai Figma is for sale =D

Other event highlights include a cosplay competition judged by Kaname, a very popular cosplayer in Japan and a World Gundam gunpla competition termed Bandai x AFA’09 x Dannychoo as he will be hosting it. The cosplay competition is slated to draw many of the best cosplayers from around the world. Very heady times for Singapore cosplayers indeed. Bandai, as the main sponsor for AFA’09, is planning a very large exhibition for their products as this year coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Gundam franchise.

Another draw for AFA’09 is a pretty well-done (from what I can see so far) Moe Moe Kyun Meido Cafe. This maid cafe is currently staffed by 7 moe girls and will no doubt be a crowd-puller for both maid cafe enthusiasts and photographers on the event days. Avoid the area if you want to skip the congestion at that particular corner but can you resist it? ^__^

The Akiba Town Marketplace and the AFA speciality shop look interesting and I wonder what kind of merchandise I can lay my hands on. Besides, the local anime merchandise shops will most likely also turn out in full force and its always interesting when you go to events like these, never knowing what stuff you might come home with.

Ticket sales and pre-registration are not open yet as there are probably many logistical details to pore over beforehand. I will post here once I get my tickets! ^^

Lastly, AFA09 website is now up after the press conference so please be sure to take a look. I can’t help but look forward to the event itself and meeting more people on the run up to the start!! See you there!

Pictures via afa09.com and dannychoo.com

Trip to the Singapore Art Museum

AlternateSam — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:03:06 +0000

There was a small Toy Carnival at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) today and I went for it along with some friends. Was supposed to meet with with the HWZ buddies but ended up everyone reaching in their own groups at separate timings so we did not go together in the end.

I only found out about this event a week ago and quickly made plans to go. Afterall, the lure of unearthing potential treasures was too attractive to ignore!

It was pretty crowded already at 11am considering it just started an hour ago. Guess the bargain-hunters were already coming in for the ‘kill’ early…..

Figures wise, there were quite a few on sale including figmas for SGD$25! Pity I have already bought the ones they have. There wasn’t any really ‘rare’ figurines on sale but bought Alpha X Omega Shirley and Kallen from Code Geass as the price they were going for were quite good. Will do a review on those 2 soon. I just hope my shelf has enough space to accommodate the new arrivals. I might go to Ikea soon to get those wall-mounted clear shelf to expand my display area.

We walked the 2 floors for about 30 minutes but didn’t find anything else of note. We left for CSC and the excellent ramen on the 3rd floor of Central after that. Meanwhile, here’s a shot of something we saw at the SAM. Pretty interesting….

Gurren Lagann Ichiban Kuji

AlternateSam — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:13:42 +0000

KKnM held the Gurren Lagann Ichiban Kuji (Sure-win Lucky Draw) today. I was there for the draw and tried my luck.

It was horrid. I didn’t get any of the top 3 prizes and had to settle for these. Planning to let them go at a low price if anyone is interested. I didn’t get Nia as well I took home Kamina, which was ok, Kattan which was meh… and that horrid white gunmen which I can’t remember who controlled. Probably Viral…

Weekly Pilgrimage to Chinatown

AlternateSam — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:33:57 +0000

I took my weekly pilgrimage to China Square Central today afternoon but didn’t find anything remotely interesting at all. Quite disappointing. Went to Mickel’D clearance sale at Lucky Chinatown but it was abysmally boring with very few stuff on sale. And to think that there was a long snaking queue to get in and I waited about 40 minutes just to step inside.

Preordered a Hatsune Miku Figma from him though as I couldn’t resist it anymore. Besides, it was a great price but only arriving in May(!!!)

Then, it was off to Cityhall to collect my online purchase of these 2 PVC figurines. I got them at a good price and was quite happy to be able to find them, especially the Saber/Zero as I was on the verge of ordering it from HobbyLink Japan when I saw it for sale online.

It was a rainy day & was stranded at cityhall for an hour or so. But still, it made the night very cooling.