TV news article on Ichiro Mizuki

A short TV news report that i found on youtube which i want to share around.

It is about Ichiro Mizuki, a musician responsible for the creation of over 1,200 anime songs:

Many of the anime series Mizuki contributed to are popular throughout the world, so he has visited many countries like in Singapore for the AFA concert to perform live concerts for anime fans. Many international fans join in with his hand gestures, scream and sing along.

The report claims that the Ichiro Mizuki wikipedia entry has been translated into 91 languages. At the time this measurement was taken, it put him at the top of Wikipedia rankings for Japanese people, thus making him the “most famous Japanese person in the world.”

At the end of the clip, Mizuki sings part of his most famous song, the main opening theme of “Mazinger Z.”

AFA09 press and bloggers conference

Anime Festival Asia an event focusing on Japanese animation and popular culture, ones again returns at 2009. AFA2008 was a highly successful event that attracted many people even from other countries. This year, AFA is going to be bigger and better than last year. The impact of AFA’s success in South East Asia will be reach far and wide.

For the first press conference and the bloggers conference of this year’s Anime Festival Asia. The event organizers released many details that would attract many to attend the event on the 21st and 22nd of November.

Not only that, they left hints for us to figure out. Like the Danny Choo’s ( Don’t say lazy ) video, that was shown on the first press conference.

And the videos in the AFA face book section, that grows with more contents up till the bloggers conference. It already had about 10.6k followers !

The first highlight which I want cover first is the ‘I Love Anime Song’

This time there will be 5 artist flying down to Singapore. Surprise, both Aniki and May’n will be back this time.

Following them will be :

Shoko Nakagawa the singer of the opening theme of Gurren Lagaan anime series. She is a multitalented artist, ranging from being an idol, voice actress, blogger. Fans know her as ShokoTan. Here is a video : Shokotan sings "hare-hare yukai"

 

Yoshiki Fukuyama a member of the JAM Project. He is the singing voice of Nekki Basara of Macross 7. There are rumors that May’n and Fukuyama will be performing on the same day….. hmmm. A video of 突撃ラブハート (Duet Ver.) Live

Virtual Idol “Hatsune Miku” is also to perform. I got a feeling that it would be like her performance in Animelo09. Crypton Future Media, the creator with SEGA’s PSP game ‘Hatsune Miku –Project DIVA-‘ , will be bringing Hatsune Miku to life in Singapore for her very first overseas appearance. Below is a PV of her singing 'nebula' a song which is my favoutite.

And wow! I almost jaw drop at the news of K-On! Seiyuu coming to AFA09. It will be The K-ON! Experience. This will defiantly attract many fans to attend. The seiyuu of K-ON! will make an appearance for the first time overseas at AFA09. The cast will be doing a live dubbing a scene from the animation, in addition to a Q&A session on the main stage, accessible to all attendees. K-On merchandise are going to be flying off the shelves !

Also a Maid Cafe being set up in the event itself. The girls who will be serving at the cafe during the event, have the looks, personality and enthusiasm. Having been to Pinafore Maid Café at Akihabara, I don’t expect the settings to be accurate but closed … I can vision the long queue for the cafe itself. One may wonder.. what’s important, the maids or the food…hee.

For events like AFA, cosplay also form part of its attractions. This year cosplay will have a bigger presents in the form of AFA Regional Cosplay Competition. It is to reach out and open to the cosplayers of South-East Asia countries. It also create a chance for Singapore cosplayers to compete and network with other countries cosplayers.

One of the judges of the competition will be Kaname a very popular professional cosplayer, from Japan). Entry submissions is to made via dannychoo.com, plus the deadline had been extended to 12th October 12pm Japan Time, due to good responses. Top prize will be a pair of return tickets to Tokyo!

For the Animation Studios, AFA09 has managed to bring in a few heavy weights this year. They will be having their own booths.

Tatsunoko Productions, the company that animated classics such as Macross and Gatchaman.

Madhouse. Their recent works include Death Note, Chaos;Head, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and the upcoming Summer Wars. 

Bandai will also make a big come back to AFA09 with its 30th Anniversary occasion. The main feature will be a time tunnel showcasing the 1st Gundam series to the latest. They will be showcasing their Chokogin and other models.

How I wish they could bring in the Gundam 00 1/60 model for display. There will be a Bandai World Wide Gunpla competition in conjunction with dannychoo. And Bandai Action Kits Universal Cup Competition 2009, which winners will then go on to compete with winners from other countries at the grand finals.

And yes specking of Danny Choo, he will be fly down to Singapore for the event. He is famous for his blog covers and dressing up as a Stormtropper dancing in down town Tokyo. I do enjoy his videos. He will be a key speaker at the AAC, as well as hosting certain items at the event itself. Here is a video of him as a stromtrooper.

Genesis Frontier and KKnM are introducing Bushiroad and COSPA into AFA09.

Local fans in Singapore can now easily get their COSPA stuff anytime by heading to KKnM. Rather than ordering online. Even better, AFA09 will host Singapore’s 1st ever Weiβ Schwarz Grand Prix.

Lastly I going to cover the Ticket Prizing. Unfortunately, the mere mention of the ticket pricing even before it was release, created quite a hoo haa in a certain forum. This will confirm the ticket prizing and some people’s mouth to be silenced.

The normal ticket prize will be S$15 for a day and S$25 for both days.

Student ticket prizing will be S$12 for a day and S$20 for both days

The concert ticket will be prize at S$108 for a day and S$188 for both days. It will also cover the entrance fee too.

There will be free entry for children under the age of 12 and for cosplayers who meet adequate standards for the event.

The ticket prize is defiantly more than last years. But I do feel that this years event content is worth the money. And the AFA organizers also do take into consideration to have discounts for students, as they are not working yet. Kudos to them!

Anime Festival Asia will be at Suntec Convention Hall 403-404, on the 21st(Sat) to 22nd(Sun) of Nov 2009.

Singapore Lights Timelapse

A very impressive video done by the local photographer, Yeo Wee Han.

It is a side of singapore that many people overlook. Our city does look stunning in the night. It makes me proud to be a member of this city. I would like to share to everyone out there.

Video is credited to Yeo Wee Han.

Pathetic Female Drivers

I came across this news clip from CCTV china about how bad some woman drivers are.

Those who drove on the road would agree with me that woman drivers are pain in the ass

sometimes. But i must stress on, that not all ladies are bad drivers.

No offense to ladies but it make a good laugh.

Coverage on Super Import Nights 2009

Back for the 3rd year, Super Import Cars, Super Import Babes, Neon lights and a whole lot of noise was at the Singapore Expo Hall 4 over the long weekend.
In the exhibition there are mixture of booths from both new car importers as well as aftermarket advertisers dealing with products such as window-tints, tyres and other performance items.

Subaru Challenge was staged at the event, with sponsored mini-drift rides, available to various contest winners.

But the event that attracts the most attention was of course, the SIN showgirls and models exhibit, where once again, photographers in possession of Canon cameras were not allowed to enter the up-front staging area as it was an exclusive Nikon-sponsored event.

Too bad, I am a canon user. I had to use zoom lenses at stage events.

However, that did not stop the many photographic opportunities taken by show-goers, what with international import personalities.

Feeling like you missed out already? Maybe next year...hee

A gallery of pictures from the event.

Macross Frontier theme RC Race car !

During the first day of the event. A growing crowd of people and photographers alike begin to swarm around a particular car exhibit. Usually this happens when there is are showgirls around. But this crowd stay there for 3 hours ... even after i left the hall, they are still there !
There was a showgirl engaging in different sexy poses in front of the crowd.
It was too hot for many to handle....

A small crowd forming....it will get larger. 

 
Notice how close some photographers to the showgirl.

These photos are taken by a Huge friend who manage to squeeze into the crowd,
By that time, it was too pack with people for me go in. Past him my camera and
he took the shots... kudos to him !

A.C.M.E and Gundam Fesita

Gosh how late my blog entries have been since I was tied down by a 2 week NS reservist. Never the less I will still do a small coverage on the pass events. There you go … n_n”

Gundam Fiesta Singapore 2009 is held at Compass Point from the 2nd to 14th September and the admission is free. It is also the celebration of the gundam 30th anniversary. In this event, it shows the public the ‘inside’ of Gundam, such as the blueprint of the Gundam model and so on.

It featured new model kits from gundam variations and the Unicorn Gundam which will be a 6 part OVA.

Also are the 2 Gundam Girls which draw a crowd of photographers when they appear.. the power of 2.

Plus Every Gundam kit sold at the event is going at a 20% discount, and the 3-Kingdoms themed SD Gundam line has a big presence

Here are some of the pictures taken from the event:

Coverage of A Certain Magical Event that was held at Nafa on the 22 August

As per Charafest's or tradition every year, the KKnM team returns from the from Summer Comiket /Japan trip, with limited official anime chara-goods, and COSPA products.

WatzART was been held, and it also marks the come back of Singapore’s doujin event. It is a doujin-fair featuring both Singaporean and Malaysian doujin circles.

The Card Geeks, a Japanese moe-art collectible card game retail shop will also be present together with Gunpla specialty hobby store – Hobby Art Gallery

There are quite a lot of people present there, and involved in this event, with big local doujin names like CDS. It is also a place for fellow friends and fans to meet up, to have fun. Overall I see the event as a big success. Hope it will be even better andf bigger next year !