YeinJee's Asian Journal

Japanese pop starlet May’n will be performing live in Singapore at the Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2008 on November 23 [more on AFA and Darkmirage]

The 19-year-old singer is one of Japan’s hottest rising star. She made her professional debut in 2005, and her breakthrough came in 2008 as the singing voice for Sheryl Nome in hit anime “Macross Frontier”. Her two latest singles have both made it to the top 3 spots at Japanese Oricon chart… quite an achievement for a young talent.

While not exactly the same class (yet) with the likes of J-pop divas Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro etc… May’n’s performance is quite anticipated in this region that is so deprived of J-pop act. Besides, Japanese anime is getting huge in South East Asia these days; and Macross Frontier happens to be one of the most popular animes of the year. Plenty of otakus are awaiting her arrival for sure.

The inaugural Anime Festival Asia (AFA) will be held at Singapore’s Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre on November 22-23, 2008.

The festival will feature directors, producers, manga artists and creative individuals from Japan’s entertainment industries. The organisers are expecting turnout in excess of 80,000 visitors.

More information about the event available at AFA’s website; also check out some thoughts from bloggers CI, DM and IyB.

Anime and otaku culture is huge in South East Asia; there are a few notable anime events in the region, but mostly limited to cosplay fest because of the lack in contents from commercial exhibitors.

The announcement of AFA08 is certainly going to excite the anime fans; will keep an eye on this… might consider flying to Singapore if it’s creating enough hype by November, and I hope it does.