AFA 2014 Singapore:The Report

AFA Singapore 2014

AFA Singapore 2014 happened over the weekend at Suntec Convention Center.
This year which is the 7th installation of the much anticipiated even was the largest ever.




Spanning the entrie Level 4 of the Suntec Exibition Center, that is a whopping 12,000 sqm of exibition space. As well as having 3 Full days of Exibition rather than only having I love Anisong on the first day (05/12/2014, Friday). In fact the Day stage activities started on Thursday itself with the screening of The Assorted Horizons:Theatrical Edition by Revo. There were many other milestones that the event made this year.

Nico Nico KUNIKAIGI

1st ever Nico Nico KUNIKAIGI festival outside of Japan. Nico Nico Douga held is first ever Nico Nico Kunikaigi festival outside of japan at AFA Singapore 2014. From Stage Activities to friendly matches of the game  Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, from Karaoke Singing to Nico Nico Dance, from experiencing the trills of Sword Art Online through Oculus Rift to experiencing the adrenaline rush of manuvering on the Attack on Titan (SnK) 3D Gear through a reverse bungge system, its a festival within a festvial. Oh did i mention that its being live streamed on NND as the hive of activies where happening?      


Live Recordings(Stage)

Live Recordings(Solo Karaoke Room)

    

Akiba Town

If you have been following my AFA2014:what to expect blog post you would have known the extensive merchandise available at Akiba Town, Many of the exclusive mechandise was sold out within hours of the opening of the festival. There were also Several official booth that feature guest/artistes apperances where fans get a upclose encounter with thier favourite guest/artistes.

Creators Hub.

"For Fans. By Fans.". Creators hub is where the doujins (fanarts) booths are. From Touhou to Pokemon. From Love Live to Anohana. Fans are sure to find thier own fandom here. (PS: I personally spend around $100 here this year, IMO each year the quality and Variety of the good on sales are improving.) 

May'N Special apperance at AFA Future Entertianment Stage.

Over at AFA Future Entertianment stage guest apperances by Horipro artistes & guest Cosplayers were aplenty. Fans not only get a chance to meet them upclose, they also have thier merchandise signed by the artistes and have thier photos taken with the guest cosplayers. Other activites include Piano Minon performance and Photography talks.

ARCC 2014 Regional Cosplay Championship

ARCC 2014 saw the battle between Team kera tampan of Indonesia,Team Manboobs of Malaysia,Team SM of Myanmar, Team Underkitties of Singapore, Team Northen Rose of Thailand and Team Kanor Cubes of the Phillppines. With Team kera tampan of Indonesia impressing the Judges and the Crowd with thier Dragon ball GT performance walking away as Champions of this year. 1st runner up was Team Kanor Cubes of the Phillppines. While our very own Team Underkitties was the 2nd runner up.

Evelia cosplaying as Jilbril from NGNL for the ARCC Cosplay Singles.

The Cosplay Singles of the ARCC championship happened on Sunday at the Future Entertianment Stage saw Evelia who cosplay as Jilbril from the anime No Game No Life Winning the competition after the audience and judges votes.

Official Media Statement:

" Singapore, 12 December 2014 – Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2014, South-east Asia’s most established experiential festival for Japanese Popular Culture, drew to a close with resounding success. Over 90,000 local and overseas visitors, up from around 85,000 in 2013, thronged the 12,000 square metre festival grounds at Suntec City Convention Centre, the largest since the festival started in 2008.

Featuring 140 exhibitors from 10 countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Japan and USA, AFA 2014 showcased the latest content, culture, music and key industry personalities through a myriad of engaging activities. From sold-out anisong concerts to hotly-contested championships, visitors were treated to the best of Japanese Popular Culture and Anime-related talks, merchandise, activities and exclusive showcases.

Something for Everyone – 3 days of adrenalin-pumping non-stop content 

With 6 halls consisting of exhibition booths, stage activities and concerts, fans were spoilt for choice over the three days. Anchor events included the I Love Anisong Mega Anime Festival, with tickets sold out for Saturday and Sunday’s concerts and almost sold out for Friday’s concert, as 13 anisong artiste and artiste groups performed to 7,800 music and anime enthusiasts. The AFA Regional Cosplay Championships saw Indonesia’s Mohamad Yusuf Kurnlawan (27 years old), and Ingga Puji Salria (30 years old) beat contestants from Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines.

New festival highlights included the inaugural niconico KUNIKAGI (Japanese Internet Culture Festival) held outside Japan. Auditions and results of the first Asia Anisong-singer Audition were announced, with “Usagi”, 18 from Singapore and “RINRIN”, 19 from China emerging victorious among 202 contestants to secure a contract as an anisong artiste with a major Japanese record label.

 Industry Players Confident in the Market Potential of Japanese Popular Culture in South-east Asia

A B2B networking session was held on 4th December, as part of AFA 2014, where 6 industry stakeholders, including JETRO Singapore, Sozo, Japan Content Expansion Department, Aniplex, GAINAX and Bushiroad shared trade insights. Key exhibitors at AFA 2014 included major record labels, talent management companies, anime content owners and more.  

“We are delighted by the growing support from our customers every year. The bumper crop of content this year is a reflection of the increasingly sophisticated preferences among fans here, as well as the confidence industry partners have for the region. We will continue to work closely with key market players to push the J-Wave to new heights and help promote top quality Japanese content across South-east Asia,” said Anime Festival Asia’s Executive Festival Director and SOZO’s Founder and Managing Director Shawn Chin.

Anime Festival Asia will hold a satellite event in Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) from 31st April to 3rd May 2015, in collaboration with BEC-Tero TrueVision (BTTV). Details of its 2015 line-up of overseas satellite events, as well as dates for its annual flagship event in Singapore will be announced closer to date."

With that I shall leave you with the Pictures gallery,I would recommand you to Full screen it:

As for I love anisong and Day stage coverage i would reccomend you to check out http://www.afachan.asia/ and  AFA Channel Youtube  Meanwhile i would share the highlight videos made by them below:

  Updates 12/12/2014 2320 hours- Added in official media statement