ANIME FESTIVAL ASIA - LET'S GO!

Running for 4 years in a row, Anime Festival Asia is to us more than just a convention.

It really is at the heart - an experiential platform. Countless time, energy and huge investments have been put in to plan and craft the experience of every single attendee who will be walking through the doors of the festival. To us, every bit of interaction with every part of the exclusive content we have for our attendees is really the result of months of careful planning by the committee. For AFA 11, we are again looking to create great value by providing the ultimate J-POP Culture experience for our attendees.

Shawn Chin
Festival Director
Anime Festival Asia

Anime Festival Key Highlights:

Excerpts from 26.09.11 Press Release:

Anime Festival Asia 2011 to Bring a New Multi-dimensional Experience to Anime and Japanese Popular Culture Fans

• Exclusive platforms and experts to give fans a rare insight of the various aspects of today's most successful anime and Japanese popular culture content
• I Love Anisong concert marathons to showcase the largest pool of A-List anisong artistes outside of Japan

Singapore, 26 September 2011 – Local and regional fans of anime and Japanese popular culture can look forward to seeing the latest and most popular content with fresh eyes this Anime Festival Asia. The festival takes on a multi-dimensional approach with open discussion sessions with top character designers and behind-the-scene industry experts held throughout the weekend. Anime song concert marathons will be held with one of the largest groups of top-tier anisong artists ever to perform in an event outside of Japan. Popular favourites such as the merchandise areas and the highly successful maids and butler cafes will return to offer visitors a shopping and dining experience to remember. Organisers of Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2011 shared these as they gave an update on the upcoming festival, to be held between 11 to 13 November at Suntec City Convention Centre.

On the business front, AFA 2011 will see a list of high-profile speakers from various industries, sharing their experiences with businesses that are keen to collaborate or explore Japanese content.

• Reinventing a highly successful regional festival – AFA to bring a whole new experience to fans and newbies alike

  The festival, which expects to draw at least 85,000 visitors this year, will see an integrated approach to present the various dimensions of today's top anime and J-pop content in greater depth. Organisers announced strategic partnerships with major content providers, including Aniplex, to showcase talents involved in various creative stages of anime production. Visitors will gain first-hand insights into how the most current and successful Japanese animation titles are conceived.

  Highly regarded character designers, invited to AFA and Singapore for the first time, will join a pool of top producers, voice actors and script writers of highly popular titles to discuss and share their experiences with visitors. Exclusive platforms such as panel discussions and talks will be held on stage in conjunction with screening sessions to give visitors a rare insight and better appreciate the work that goes behind anime legends and current successes.
  
  

• 3 Days of I Love Anisong concert marathons presents 3D Live Hologram performance and Largest Gathering of Anisong Artists Outside of Japan

  This year's AFA will see one of the largest gatherings of anisong artists ever to participate in an event outside Japan. Organisers announced a concert marathon format, with three nights worth of power-packed entertainment. The concerts will be held from 11 to 13 November 2011.

  On 11 November, the concerts kick off with the Asian premiere of a "live" Hatsune Miku concert – a 3D live hologram performance accompanied by musicians on stage. Fans will be able to see a holographic 3D female character, Hatsune Miku, dance and sing on stage, just like a real-life artist. Hatsune Miku started out as computer music software developed by Crypton Future Media in Sapporo and powered by YAMAHA's VOCALOID (Vocal + Android) technology in 2007. It has since seen over 30,000 songs and movies created, and a series of fan-related activities and events.

  Fans are set to also be wowed by top quality music performances from a wide repertoire of top-tier anisong artists – including iconic masters, highly popular and established artistes, and rising stars. Some of these artistes will be making their South-east Asian debut in AFA 2011.

  Concert tickets sales through SISTIC will begin from 1 October 2011. Fans who want to gain premium viewing seats and exclusive fan treats can purchase a 1-Day I Love Anisong VIP Concert ticket at S$148, or a three-day ticket at S$366. For more casual concert goers, 1-Day I Love Anisong Standing concert tickets are available at S$48 each. Single day tickets are inclusive of day stage and festival access for the day, while the three-day ticket includes day stage and festival access for all days.
  
  

• Cool Japan Forum to focus on Music, Novels, Anime and Digitial Content

  The Cool Japan Forum returns with speakers and panellists from Japan's entertainment industries. In addition to renowned novelist Hirano Keiichirō, confirmed speakers include President of Bushiroad Inc Mr Takaaki Kidani, legendary character designer Mr Haruhiko Mikimoto, Sony Music Artists' Senior Vice-President Sampei Yamaguchi. Topics will focus on the areas of music, novels, anime and digital content. Tickets for the forum are priced at S$85 per delegate. Ticketing details will be available on the official Anime Festival website (www.animefestival.asia).
  
  

• From the Latest Titles to Familiar Favourites – Something for Everyone in AFA

  Other key highlights of AFA 2011 include:

  • Stage activities and Premium Movie Screenings
    Movie and anime buffs here can look forward to watching 'Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn 4: At the Bottom of the Gravity Well' on the same day as Japan during the festival in the main stage area. A dedicated movie screening area will feature 2011's top Anime movies including Naruto Shippuden: Blood Prison and Full Metal Alchemist: The Star of Milos.

    Other stage activities featuring top anime titles like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and more will include 'live' dubbing sessions with anime voice actors and meet-and-greet sessions with cosplayers and special guests.

  • Merchandise galore
    For the 4th year in a row, AFA's popular Akiba Town returns with an even wider selection of toys and merchandise from top Japan brands and anime titles, spanning almost two halls of the exhibition grounds. Exclusive anime and event branded merchandise designed just for the festival, as well as concert-related merchandise, will also be sold.

  • Maids and Butler Cafes return with fresh faces and a new look
    The Moe Moe Kyun Maids Café (MMK) will seek to strengthen its branding this year as the events-based mobile café continues to be the premium maids' café in Singapore. Maids will be decked out in unique MMK branding uniforms and the café will be styled likewise. Atelier Royale, the butler café, will transform itself with a "Wonderland" theme. Diners can look forward to a dining experience to remember as they interact with the specially trained maids and butlers.

Spanning 3 halls, AFA 2011 will be held at Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre Halls 402 to 404. Tickets for the festival start from $8 onwards for a basic one-day pass to the festival grounds, and will be available online as well as at the festival grounds in October. For more information on the festival and ticketing details, members of the public can check out www.animefestival.asia and www.facebook.com/animefestivalasia.

Dentsu Singapore
A wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's Dentsu Inc. and an 'Asian-born' agency, Dentsu Singapore is a fully integrated communications agency, providing total communications solutions to both regional and local clients. The Dentsu network dates back to 1901 and has at its disposal powerful network support and resources. According to Ad Age Global, it is now the world's number one agency brand and the biggest among all major networks in Asia. Dentsu is today an award-winning player, spearheading innovation and changes in the global digital landscape. For many years, it has also ventured into many successful anime franchises and has a dedicated entertainment and contents division overseeing its operations.

SOZO
SOZO represents a cutting edge entertainment and youth-marketing driven company. Made up of a diverse talented pool of industry professionals, SOZO is focused towards interactive marketing, developing animation and entertainment content and service platforms geared at engaging young adults at both regional and global levels. SOZO's main mission is focused on delivering highly entertaining pop culture experiences, contents and products that will constantly engage, thrill and excite this young and restless market.