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 ^^

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

Fans of Anisong rejoice because for this year’s Anime Festival Asia 2011, there will be three straight days of concerts! The theme will be rock and everyone would be screaming until their voices go hoarse.

During today’s media preview of the Anime Festival Asia 2011, the organisers have confirmed the preliminary list of artistes that include May’N, Ichirou Mizuki, FLOW and LiSA. Past attendees of AFA would be familiar with Buchou (May’N nickname) and Aniki (Ichirou Mizuki’s nickname), so I will first talk about FLOW and LiSA.

FLOW

Most anime otaku would be familiar with FLOW since they have sung many awesome theme songs for popular anime series, including “Colors” (OP for Code Geass), and “GO!!” and “RE:member” (Naruto). This year, they released a rocking cover of SIAM SHADE’s “1/3 の純情 な感” (ED for Rurouni Kenshin), following by their latest single release “Hey!!”.

If you think their songs sounds good on CD, then you should listen and see them perform live!! The band of five had visited Singapore earlier this year for the JPlex concert which I had attended and their performance were mind-blowing and full of energy. Hence, I’m really glad that they are returning to Singapore for AFA 2011, and I definitely would love to see them perform again.

Here’s a youtube clip of FLOW performing Re:member, one of my most favorite songs from them.

LiSA

Fans of the anime series Angel Beats! would definitely be thrilled to know that LiSA, the singing voice of Yui, of the fictional band “Girls Dead Monster” will be performing live at I LOVE ANISONG.

Many of the singles and albums released under Girls Dead Monster garnered a lot of success on the Oricon charts. In the spring of 2011, LiSA released her own solo mini-album, ‘Letters to U”. In support of the album’s release, she toured Japan to perform to sell-out crowds nationwide.

Image Credit: ©Aniplex ©Sony Music Artistes. Inc.

Here’s a youtube clip of LiSA performing “Crow Song” at Animelo 2010. I hope she will perform that song at I LOVE ANISONG too!!

May’N

May’N is surely no stranger to Singapore. Not only this is the 4th year May’N is performing at AFA, she also recently held her solo concert and Screen Singapore movie debut here in June.

Buchou is definitely one of the top rising stars amongst anisong singers and I’m amazed that her vocals seemed to be getting better with each passing year. Her great vocals allows her to perform a wide range of music from pop rock, soul to R&B and grand ballad.

Image Credit: May’n

Personally I think “Iteza Kuji (射手座午後九時) Don’t Be Late” is one of her most brilliant songs:

Ichirou Mizuki

Few can be as charismatic on stage as Aniki when it comes to performing Anisongs on stage. Along with May’N, this is the 4th year that Ichirou Mizuki is returning to Singapore to perform.

With an amazing repertoire of more than 1,200 songs, its quite impossible for you to get bored of his songs. Last year, when he performed on stage with JAM PROJECT was the most amazing concert I’ve ever attended.

Image Credit: ©Ichirou Mizuki / yellow bird 

Definitely look forward to singing along to my favorite song “Mazinger Z”.

Meanwhile, the AFA 2011 organisers are still finalizing the full line-up and will share more closer to date. So expect more artistes to be perfoming at this year’s I LOVE ANISONG concert. I’m quite certain I will be gathering my friends to attend all three days of concert this year ^^

Japanese Rock band FLOW has unveiled the full music video for Hey!!, the band’s upcoming 22nd single that is being used as the opening theme song for the anime series “Beelzebub (べるぜバブ)”.

Its quite a cool PV where the band performs in hurrican conditions with gustry winds, thunder and even hail. I’m amazed Koushi can keep his hat on even in such strong winds

The new single is scheduled for release on 31 Aug 2011.

The concert was held in a Republic Polytechnic, and it meant that we get to see them really up close! I could still vividly remember how one of the lead vocals of FLOW, Keigo gave everyone in the first row a farewell high-five at the end. Right after the concert fans also got a chance to meet and greet their favorite band members and I managed to get two nice autographed posters of souvenirs of this wonderful experience.

During the handshaking and autograph session, we managed to talk with the guys from FLOW. So if you want to find out which is Koushi Asakawa’s favourite anime, then do read the full entry on the STYLE IXUS official website.

The single has been released and is retailing for around 800 yen. Folks who enjoy the music by FLOW should look forward to getting their next compilation album “ANIME BEST” that is due for release in two weeks time. Of course, it will contain all their great anisong hits such as DAYS (Eureka 7), World End (Code Geass), and Sign (Naruto: Shippuuden).

A special announcement was also made on the JPLEX Facebook page:

Special Announcement! JPLEX is giving out 50 anime movie screening tickets each day to cosplayers during the weekend on Saturday and Sunday! All giveaway movie tickets for this promotion are based on a first-come-first-serve basis. Cosplayers must be in costume at the redemption counter to redeem their free movie tickets. Tickets for the movies are only for the first 10am slots for each day, so do hurry! Redemption starts from 9.30am onwards, and is based on a first come first serve basis! See you all there! If you have any questions, please email us at jplex@sozo.sg

I think its pretty cool that the organisers decided to reward cosplayers for making the effort to attend the event in their costumes. I will be spending the entire Saturday at JPLEX to attend both concerts by FLOW and angela, and watch the anime movie screening of Fafner: Heaven and Earth, so see you there!

According to the media release, the concert will be taking place at the “The Republic Cultural Centre Studio” in Republic Polytechnic. angela will be taking the stage first on Saturday’s afternoon at 2pm. Then FLOW will be holding 2 concerts, 8pm on Saturday and 7pm on Sunday.

Tickets for each concert are priced at $98 and each concert will be limited to only 300 seats per show. The organisers have decided to hold Jplex concert differently from the ones at AFA because they wanted to allow fans to have an intimate session with the artistes, including the meet and greet session after each concert. Hence to offer such an intimate experience with the artiste, the organisers have decided to go for quality instead of volume and priced the tickets higher.

The organisers have also announced that attendees who have bought concert merchandise will receive autographs from the artistes but the details are still being finalised. To keep update on to the latest details on the concert, you can like the Jplex Facebook page.

Its a rare chance that awesome bands such as angela and FLOW would come down all the way to our tiny island to perform, especially FLOW is performing for the first time in Southeast Asia. Hence I’d encourage everyone who likes their music to turn up and show them our greatest support by cheering them on just like what you see at Animelo!

In order for our entertainment industry to grow larger so that organisers can keep on bringing in more quality artistes to perform in Singapore, we also need to show our support within our financial capabilities. Do remember that this is just Volume 1 of Jplex and if there are good reception, we will have more opportunities in future to see more of our favorite artistes from Japan!

The main features of this event will be two band concerts and the screening of three anime movies:

• angela concert – 05 Mar 2011 (2pm)
• FLOW concert – 05 Mar 2011 (8pm) & 6 Mar 2011 (7pm)
• Sokyuu no Fafner Heaven and Earth (scheduled tbc)
• Naruto Shippuden Movie 4: The Lost of Tower (scheduled tbc)
• Gundam Unicorn: Episode Three – The Ghost of Laplace (scheduled tbc)

The official website has posted information on the concert, where it will be $98 per concert and the tickets will be going on sale on 21 Feb 2011 (Monday) at 12pm via Gatecrash. Not only will fans get to hear their favorite songs from their favorite band, there will also be a meet and greet session for all the concert attendees.

This will be the first time FLOW performs in South East Asia. I’m really looking forward to hearing FLOW perform since I’ve been a fan of their music for a long time. One of my favorite songs that I kept listening when it was released was “Answer”, which was the opening theme for Tantei Gakuen Q.

Of course, anime fans would be familiar with angela since they already performed in Singapore during last year AFAX. But I think this time it will be more awesome because we would have a chance to hear them perform the theme songs that they performed for the anime movie “Sokyuu no Fafner: Heaven and Earth”.

Apart from the concerts, the three anime movies that will be screened are also worth mentioning. Sokyuu no Fafner: Heaven and Earth is a theatrical feature film from the Soukyuu no Fafner anime series. The film recently premiered in Japan on 25 Dec 2010, and I was still waiting for its DVD to be released. Now I can get to watching it on a big screen XD

The more surprising screening would be MS Gundam Unicorn Episode 3 – The Ghost of Laplace. The movie is set for release only in April so I will take it that it is an early preview for the lucky folks in Singapore! But actually thats a headache for me since I have not caught the first two episodes yet XD

So stay tuned to the Jplex official website and their facebook page for the latest information on the ticketing information on the concerts and anime movie screenings. I will also keep my blog updated once I hear more news of this exciting new event.

I always enjoyed the rock ballads from FLOW and Tabidachi Graffiti is definitely another awesome song.