Lovers of Japanese pop and rock music have another new event to look out for as the creators of Anime Festival Asia has just launched a new brand called “J-Live ASIA”.

Here’s the description on their facebook page:

From the creators of Anime Festival Asia, comes J-Live Asia! A new platform created with the key purpose fo showcasing and engaging JPOP and JROCK fans in Asia.

Artistes showcased on this Facebook page are looking towards coming into Asia for future performances and showcases. Please give your support towards the artistes that you like, who knows you’ll get your chance to see them soon!

A little bird had told me that a couple of awesome bands and artists are being planned for J-Live Asia so do like their facebook page and keep your eyes peeled for the next update ^^

SCAPE Orchard might soon become another popular hangout for lovers for anime-related pop culture because the organisers of the annual Anime Festival Asia (AFA) has opened up an AFA shop at SCAPE Orchard. Of course, SCAPE Orchard is always a hangout for AKB48 fans because it houses the AKB48 Singapore Theatre, Cafe, and Shop.

The AFA shop will be opened daily from 2pm till 8pm. The shop is currently selling the exclusive merchandises from AFA’11 (e.g. MMK Cafe meido photosets, I LOVE Anisong Concert T-shirts and merchandises, etc). However, there are immediate plans to collaborate with the rights owner for more unique anime-related merchandises and even tie-up with other artists for exclusive events.

Another good reason to make sure you bring more money when you head down to SCAPE Orchard this time ^^

I will make time to visit the shop and bring you more photos from inside the shop next time. Meanwhile, do check out the report by our comrade from Ani-Culture.

Even though there are crowds of mob filling up the Festival Hall, I really enjoyed myself visiting the booths and checking out there display or merchandises for sale. This year, my favourite booths of mine has gotta be Nico Nico Douga (ニコニコ動画), which had live streaming sessions throughout the 2 days and fans in Singapore were able to interact with other comrades all over the world. It was simply great fun to see the interesting comments float by while our Singapore cosplayers and otakus shout out their messages on Nico Nico.

Another lovely display was the DannyChoo’s booth which was setup by kodomut together with my dear friends from WLNF. It amazing to know much much effort it required to setup a booth one day before AFA, and then to tear it down again on the final evening.

Really thanks to everyone that came down to support my Figurine Photography workshop.

Well I’d be heading out for CGM Night at the AKB48 cafe, so below are a collection of photos that were shot inside the Festival Hall. For everyone who attended the event and for those that were unable to make it, I hope everyone can relive the excitement inside the hall.

With each passing year Anime Festival Asia has become a grander celebration of Japan’s popular culture and this year the event is still held at Suntec City but it starts off with a very special date 1 1Nov 2011 (11.11.11).

The press preview for this year AFA took place this morning and we were treated to the awesome star-studded cast of celebrity cosplayers, idols, awesome vocalist and rock bands that will definitely get everyone rocking during the “I LOVE ANISONG” concerts.

Cosplayer Kaname has returned to Singapore again with a new cosplaying comrade Usagi and both of them look so gorgeous on stage cosplaying as Kaito and Luka from Vocaloids. We were also introduced to each of the stars that will be performing at this year’s  “I LOVE ANISONG” concerts. I sure hope you have bought your tickets to see them since its a rare chance to see them perform in Singapore.

Day 2 Performers:

•  Sea☆A
• LiSA
• Ichirou Mizuki
• FLOW

Day 3 Performers:

• Itou Kanako
• Milky Holmes
• angela
• Kalafina
• May’n

The organisers have certainly put in a lot of effort to bring all these amazing stars down so I do hope that everyone show your fullest support during the concert ^^

Of course, the “I LOVE ANISONG” is just one of the many fun-filled segment for AFA’11. There are other exciting events such as the Regional Cosplay Championship, special live dubbing session by seiyuu Chiwa Saitou, talk by the staff behind the anime series Anohana, MMK Meido Cafe & AR Butler Cafe, and not forgetting my Figurine Photography Workshop. You can check out the full list of events happening at AFA’11 with the event guide.

I’m certainly looking forward to kicking off AFA with tonights’ Hatsune Miku Live Party in Singapore 2011. Hope to see everyone there ^^

As some of you might have already known, I will be holding two sessions 30 minute workshop at this weekend’s Anime Festival Asia to talk about figurine photography.

I understand that many folks are interested in figurine photography but their level of understanding for photography might vary. Hence, for this year, I will be covering different topics on the two days. On Saturday, I will share some tips on how to take good shots using a compact camera, while on Sunday, I will be touching on shooting with a DSLR.

Here’s the outline & schedule of the talk, which will be held at the Canon Cosplay Zone located in the Festival Halls:

Shooting with Compact Cameras (Saturday 11.30am -12 pm)
1. Why Compacts Cameras might be handy when shooting figurines
2. Getting good lighting for shooting figurines
3. How to compose your photos so they look more interesting
4. Injecting some creativity into your photos
5. Q&A

Shooting using DSLR (Sunday 2.15pm – 2.24pm)
1. Why I prefer shooting with a DSLR
2. Getting good lighting for shooting figurines
3. Basic composition tips
4. Advanced composition (injecting design elements)
5. Simple discussion on equipment
6. Q&A

I’m looking forward to seeing all my fellow comrades and meeting new friends at AFA’11. Hopefully those who are interested in figurine photography can attend my workshop as well ^^

I’m sure everyone is looking forward to Anime Festival Asia, the largest annual anime event in Singapore that is scheduled to take place from 11-13 Nov 2011. We are less than 3 days from the start of the event and to celebrate the countdown, alafista.com will be having a special “Countdown to AFA’11 – Concert Tickets Giveaway”.

For this giveaway, the prize is a pair of Day 2 VIP Tickets to the “I LOVE ANISONG” concert on 12 Nov 2011. The performing artists for that night include FLOW, Ichiro Mizuki, LiSA and Sea☆A.

Contest Instructions:

• Head over to alafista.com Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/alafistadotcom
• Click on the “like” button if you had not done so before
• Tag yourself in the photo of the giveaway contest
• The contest will close on 10 Nov 2011, 2359 hours (GMT+8) or when the tagging limit is reach (whichever first)
• The winner will be randomly chosen by myself and announced in the same post
• I will contact the winner via Facebook message with instructions on how to collect the prize

Contest Rules:

• The contest is open to everyone
• If the winner is uncontactable by 11 Nov 2011, 2359 Hours, I will select another winner
• For ticketing information, please visit http://www.animefestival.asia/ticketing.html
• Collection of the prize will be done in Singapore outside the AFA11 event halls
• My decision is final

The AKB48 official blog has confirmed that 3 members will be making a special appearance at this year Anime Festival Asia 2011. Their stage appearance is scheduled on the third day (13 Nov 2011) at 12pm.

The 3 members are Nakaya Sayaka (Nakayan), Tanabe Miku (Tanamin) and Abe Maria. This is quite a good lineup because it includes 2 of the WOTA4 members, which is a group from AKB48 (consisting of Nakayan, Rabutan, Tanamin, and Mayuyu) that enjoys the otaku culture including anime, cosplay, and gaming.

I wonder if we will get to see Tanamin in any of her cosplay outfits during the stage appearance cause that would be really cool.

We are now less than a month away from Anime Festival Asia and I’m definitely looking forward to the 3 days of “I Love Anisong” concerts. The official youtube channel has been updated with a couple of short clips featuring the various artistes inviting you to join them for an unforgettable experience together.

I’m so excited that I’ve been blasting songs by LiSA and May’n for the past few days. Can’t wait to see them perform live on stage and I’m sure I would be able to get a great view since I’ve gotten tickets for the front row XD

Anime Festival Asia steps into its 4th year and this year it will be held on 11-13 Nov 2011 at Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre Halls 402 to 404.

We already had a taste of what’s to come during the previous media preview, here’s a quick run through of the latest updates that was announced at today’s Anime Festival Asia 2011 press conference.

Ticketing Details

• Basic One Day Festival Pass: $8
• Standing Concert Ticket: $48
• 1-Day VIP Ticket: $148
• 3-Day VIP Ticket: $368

*All concert ticket categories include access to the stage and festival grounds. I have given a quick introduction to the performing artists in an earlier post. Concert tickets will be on sale via SISTICS on 1 Oct 2011.

I love Anisong – Rock Your Soul

Details of the performing artist have been confirmed:

• 11 Nov – Asian Premier of Hastune Miku 3D Concert
• 12 Nov – FLOW, Mizuki Ichirou, LiSA, Sea☆A
• 13 Nov – Kalafina, Itou Kanako, May’n, Milky Holmes

Cool Japan Forum

• Topics will focus on areas of music, novels, anime and digital content
• Confirmed speakers include President of Bushiroad Inc Mr Takaaki Kidani, legendary character designer Mr Haruhiko Mikimoto, Sony Music Artists’ Senior Vice-President Sampei Yamaguchi
• Tickets for the forum are priced at S$85 per delegate

Stage activities and Premium Movie Screenings

• Premier screening of “Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn 4: At the Bottom of the Gravity Well”
• Sora no Otoshimono: A Clockwork Angeloid
• Naruto “Shippuden: Blood Prison
• Full Metal Alchemist: The Star of Milos
• Seiyuu Chiwa Satou (Akemi Homura from Madoka) will be doing a live dubbing session
• Producer Atsuhiro Iwakami will share his insights on the producing the anime series Fate/Zero
• LiSA will be appearing on the day stage to perform the opening theme song for Fate/Zero

Moe Moe Kyun Meido Café and Atelier Royale Butler Café

• New butlers and meidos added to the café
• Atelier Royale, the butler café, will transform itself with a “Wonderland” theme

At this morning Anime Festival Asia 2011 Press Conference, details of this year “I Love Anisong” is finally confirmed and it promises to be truly an awesome three days concert that will “ROCK YOUR SOUL”!!

11 Nov – Asian Premier of Hastune Miku 3D Concert
12 Nov – FLOW, Mizuki Ichirou, LiSA, Sea☆A
13 Nov – Kalafina, Itou Kanako, May’n, Milky Holmes

Concert tickets sales will be sold through SISTIC from 1 Oct 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$368. 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.

During the first media preview, I had already talked a fair bit about FLOW, Ichirou Mizuki, May’n and LiSA. So for this round I will proceed straight to introducing the rest of the performing artistes/bands.

Kalafina

Fans of Kara no Kyoukai and the recent popular anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica would definitely be familiar with their awesome theme songs.

The trio debuted with ‘Oblivious’ from the Original Video Animation Kara no Kyoukai, released in January 2008, with ‘sprinter/aria’ and ‘fairytale’ following in the same year. The three singles all hit top 10 spots on the Oricon Weekly charts. Their Oricon success has continued with their subsequent singles and two albums, all reaching top 10 spots.

Here’s a youtube clip of Kalafina’s heavenly performance of oblivious:

Itou Kanako いとう かなこ

Kanako Itou is one of the Japanese gaming industry’s most prolific artistes, with more than eighty songs to her name. My favorite song from her would be “Hacking to the Gate” which was used as the opening theme for the anime series Steins;Gate.

Of course, here’s the music video of “Hacking to the Gate”:

Hatsuna Miku 3D Concert

I’m sure our favorite virtual idol Hatsune Miku needs no further introduction. Anime Festival Asia will premiere the first Hatsune Miku concert in Asia. The concert will be a sequel to the most recent live production in Sapporo, which pushed the live Miku experience to a whole new level.

The 3D concert is definitely worth experience, especially if you are a Miku fan:

Milky Holmes

The kawaii unit of Suzuko Mimori, Sora Tokui, Mikoi Sasaki and Izumi Kitta will be returning to Singapore again! For those that are unfamiliar, Milky Holmes is the representative unit of the anime series and PSP game Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, performing both the theme songs and voicing the main characters.

In 2011, Milky Holmes embarked on a sell-out nation-wide tour of Japan, performing in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. They released their third mini-album in August and in September, a live DVD of their performance in Yokohama BLITZ was released.

Sea☆A

They are out homegrown anisong idols. Winnie, Beryl, Valerie and Estelle were formly from AFA’s Moe Moe Kyun maid cafe, and they recently debuted in Japan. Their first single, Dream Shooter, has been featured as the third ending theme of the hit TV anime, Cardfight!! Vanguard. Their next single, ‘DELI-DELI☆DELICIOUS’, will be the ending theme of Toriko.

The name Sea☆A is made of three parts. SEA is short for South-East Asia, as all four members who come from South-East Asia. The star represents the stars that they hope to be. And finally, A is for their passion for Japanese anime and the wish to spread their songs throughout Asia with their activities.