Time just seem to pass so fast when you are having fun and we have crossed over to another exciting New Year!!!

Happy New Year

明けましておめでとうございます

Selamat Tahun Baru

Felice anno nuovo

ein gutes neues Jahr

새해 복 많이 받으세요

szczęśliwego nowego roku

สวัสดีปีใหม่

felix sit annus novus

gelukkig nieuwjaar

bonne année

С Новым Годом

As we welcome the brand new 2012, I have made several new plans to bring more interesting content for everyone.

• Kicking off today would be my new tumblr (threesixfive) where I would post interesting figurine photos that I take everyday.
• I have already gotten a few people to help me out on contributing guests post for this site. I will probably be introducing them in the coming weeks. Of course, readers who are interested to contribute can still check out the page on recruiting guest writers and drop me a note.
• Apart from reviving the “Otaku Lingo” section, I also plan to insert another new section called “Cool Japan” where I will talk about the cool and awesome aspect of Japan. I’m planning to have both the “Otaku Lingo” and “Cool Japan” section up every fortnight
• Lastly, I would like to start sharing my experiences on figurine photography. Something that I’m sure many has been interested in and I had planned since last year and still have yet to share because of procrastination. Hopefully, it can benefit everyone and expose more like-minded friends to the fun aspect of figurine photography.

Its the holiday seasons and I hope everyone has the chance to spend some quality time with their loved ones.

Here’s a Christmas e-card which I had made for everyone and I wish that each and every single one of you would be able to enjoy the wonder and magic of Christmas.

圣诞节快乐
メリークリスマス
Selamat Hari Natal
fröhliche Weihnachten
buon Natale
С Рождеством Христовым
joyeux Noël
메리 크리스마스
maligayang pasko
vrolijk Kerstfeest
feliz Navidad
god jul
boldog karácsonyt
un Crăciun fericit
کریسمس مبارک
Krismas ki subhkamna
ميلاد مجيد
Nathaar thina vaalthukal
สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส
Mừng Chúa Giáng Sinh
felix dies Nativitatis

2011 was a great year and its coming to a close. After factoring my own personal work commitments, I’d realised it is has been increasingly difficult for me to cover as much content as I would like on my site. Hence, I’m looking for talented guest writers to join me in the coming new year. If you enjoy writing and think you might be a good fit, then continue reading to see what I’m looking for:

• You enjoy the Japanese popular culture
• Keeping up with the latest news on your interests (e.g. JPOP, Cosplay, Anime/Manga, Idols, Tokusatsu etc) is part of your average day
• You understand basic photography and photo editing skills
• You are able to read and understand some basic Japanese

If the few things above describe you well, then you could make a good guest writer for this site. As a guest writer, you’d be tasked with writing a few posts on a specific aspect of Japanese popular culture. If things work well, there’s a possibility of a more permanent position that allows opportunities for you to be a representative for media briefings and events.

If you’d like to apply, drop me an email using the contact form. Nationality is not a problem as long as you are contactable by skype. Here’s what to put in your email:

• 4-5 sentences about yourself, why you’d like to become a guest writer, and what would make you a good fit
• A couple of links to something you’ve written (especially blog posts) and other interesting projects you’re proud of
• Your availability

Image Credit: Mike Szmigielski flickr

For the Nendoroid Nagi Sanzenin Giveaway, the correct answer is [3pm, 217]. Hence the prize goes to Otaqueen for giving the closest answer!

For the 1/7 Konomi Yuzuhara PVC Giveaway, it was tough deciding between the three submissions. In the end, both Maha and myself picked Jorge‘s submission as the winner. Congrats!

For the Anime PVC Figurine Giveaway, there were many quality submissions and I was really glad to see everyone putting in their best efforts. In the end, my favorite submission was from Nekomimi036 because it was simple and yet told a story that Haruhi was resting on the bench after using the paint cart to draw out the words.

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves taking part in the contest and I will be contacting the winners pretty soon about their prizes. In the meanwhile, do keep coming back to this site and I promise there will be better content with every anniversary passed. ^^

Today’s giveaway will require you to exercise your creativity:

1. Submit an original artwork or a photograph. Within your submission, there must be something that reads “Happy 4th Anniversary Alafista.com”

2. Head over to HobbyLink Japan and select an anime PVC figurine you’d like as the prize

Just like the previous giveaway, this contest is strictly for the loyal readers of my site. To qualify for the contest, you would need to have commented at least 10 times on my site. Alternatively, you will qualify also if you are following my twitter account or have liked my facebook page, but I would need you to indicate your facebook or twitter username as part of the answer so that I can identify you.

Here are the rest of the contest rules and some hints:

• You can submit as many entries as you like
• Pls submit your own original creation, I strongly discourage any plagiarism
• Upload your submission(s) online and leave the image link in the comments section
• You can only select figurines that are currently in stock
• If you happen to win the contest but the figurine you chose has been sold out, then you will need to select another figurine
• I will announce the winner at the end of the contest and you need to send me your address. HLJ will be sending you the figure.
• Deadline is 29 May 2011 12pm (+8 GMT)

For this contest, I didn’t set much criteria so everyone can exercise their own imagination. You can draw anything you fancy, photograph random people holding signboards, photograph your Dollfie or Figurines, etc.

So once again thanks to HobbyLink Japan for their generosity (do show your support by shopping there).

While browsing my site, you might notice a kawaii little fox featured in my top banner of my site. For those that are unfamiliar or has just recently started reading this site, it is actually my site mascot Akari. Akari was designed by one of my long term reader and good friend Maha during the 2nd anniversary where I had held Mascot Design Contest for my readers to participate. Apart from being featured on my banner as the site mascot, I had used Akari as my identity as my avatar icons and even on my namecard.

I had been wanting to organise this contest for quite sometime but never had a chance to do so. Hence I thought I would do it for this giveaway where I would request everyone to send in their fanart submissions of Akari.

There are not many rules for this contest:

• Everyone is allowed to enter and you can submit more than one entry
• Once you completed the fanart, you can upload it onto any image hosting site and leave the image link in the comments
• I will be inviting the original mascot designer Maha to help select her most favorite piece of fanart as the winner
• Deadline is 28 May 2011 12pm (+8 GMT)

I’m planning to feature all your works somewhere on the site. Probably as part of a new banner or something else, so pls send in more entries XD

So once again thanks to Hobby Search for their generosity (do show your support by shopping there).

As you have probably read by now that AKB48 is holding regular performance in Singapore and their first concert was held last Sunday. Even though I was helping out as one of the official photographer, I had bought myself a concert ticket to show my support for my favorite idol group. Below is a shot of my ticket stub and if you noticed, I had purposely photographed it in such a manner that certain details at the top are blurred out.

For this contest, I need you to answer two very simple questions:

1. There were two performance. Which timeslot did I attend is this ticket for?
2. What is the last three digit of my ticket? (e.g. 123, 654, 222)

Just like the previous giveaway, this contest is strictly for the loyal readers of my site. To qualify for the contest, you would need to have commented at least 10 times on my site. Alternatively, you will qualify also if you are following my twitter account or have liked my facebook page, but I would need you to indicate your facebook or twitter username as part of the answer so that I can identify you.

Here are the rest of the contest rules and some hints:

• Everyone is allowed one try and you need to provide your answers in the following format (e.g. 12pm, 376).
• The person with the closest answer for the last three digit will win the prize
• The tickets were colour-coded for the different performance timeslots (Ticketing information is found somewhere in my blog)
• There were about 600 attendees for each performance
• Deadline is 28 May 2011 12pm (+8 GMT)

I hope everyone would have good fortune for this giveaway. If not, you can always try out the other giveaways XD

So once again thanks to Hobby Search for their generosity (do show your support by shopping there).

This post will be made the main sticky post and will contain the links to all the ongoing giveaway that I will be holding. The winners of each prize will also be announced on this page, so I strongly recommend that you temporarily bookmark this page and check back frequently.

4th Anniversary Giveaway:

- Nendoroid Nagi Sanzenin [Guess the details on my AKB48 concert ticket]

- 1/7 Konomi Yuzuhara PVC [Fanart contest of site mascot Akari]

- Anime PVC Figurine of your choice!! [Exercise your creativity]

Once again I would like to thank everyone for they continuous support. ｍ（．＿．）ｍアリガト

The site anniversary is always a good checkpoint for me to thank every single reader for their kind support. While I might be too busy sometimes to reply, I always enjoy reading your comments on my articles, or replies on my twitter and the Facebook page. I also appreciate the occasional emails and news tips that some of you had sent to me.

At the start of this year, I had set out some goals to achieve for the site but due to my busy work schedule I didn’t had time to realise many of them yet. One of the features that I did introduce was Otaku Lingo and I hope that it proves to be an interesting read for many of you.

The past year had been really fruitful for me. Apart from meeting new friends, many new doors have opened up in my life and it has helped me professionally to widen my horizons and experiences. In the last anniversary post, I shared with you folks that I wanted a job that I can be truly passionate, and I just might be getting really close to achieving my dream job soon. Hence I would like to borrow DannyChoo’s words to encourage everyone: “Identify and live your passion and the rest will justfollow – it always does.”

Do remember to check back often this week as I will be organising a couple of giveaway contests! As usual, I would like to invite everyone to leave behind your valuable feedback:

To share with me why you love this site and what (would) keep you coming back here?

I’m planning to get the machine this weekend and I’ve worked out an initial configuration. I thought I’d just share it with you folks and see what other valuable suggestions you folks might have XD

• Intel i7 2600k with Asus Sabertooth p67 B3
• Noctua u12p se2 cpu cooler
• Kingston 4gb ddr3 1333 x 4 pcs
• EVGA GeForce GTX 580 SC 1.5gb graphics card
• Intel 120gb C510 Solid State Drive
• WD 1tb sata3 black
• LG blu ray rewriter drive
• Seasonic X-760w power supply
• Silverstone FT-02B case with AP181 fans
• Microsoft windows 7 home prem 64bit oem
• LG 2360V 23″ led monitor x 2