The inaugural Anime Festival Asia (AFA) was held last weekend (Nov 22-23) at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore. Was planning to travel south for the event but couldn’t make it; had to attend a wedding dinner in the northern Ipoh city instead.
Besides some minor hiccups, AFA08 seems to be a successful one. Sharing some pictures by Singaporean blogger Parka [complete Flickr set with 200+ photos]…
A Japanese man has recently started an online petition to urge the government to legalise marriage with a two-dimensional (i.e. anime and comics) character… more than 2400 netizens have signed the petition so far.
The fella states that he is no longer interested with real three dimensional world, but wants to become an inhabitant of a two-dimensional world. He reckons though, that it’s impossible to achieve his dream with present day technology… thus thinking of the possibility to legalise marriage with a two-dimensional character instead.
He also said that he would like to marry Asahina Mikuru (pic) from popular Japanese anime/manga “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” [via Gaijinheart]
342 video game fans joined forces in London last Saturday (Oct 25) to set a new world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as video games characters.
The Japanese must have no idea about the existent of the world record yet… they could easily smash the record by in one of their gamers/comics/anime festivals.
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.
Beijing’s Forbidden City has long been one of China’s most popular tourist spots and iconic landmarks… but now, online visitors can experience the old dynasty culture without having to set foot on the Chinese soil.
After three years of development, the Palace Museum and IBM have unveiled on Friday (Oct 10) a virtual palace where online tourists can peek into the history and culture of the former imperial palace in a game-like 3D environment.
The project will allow people who cannot visit Beijing to experience the Forbidden City, while also providing a platform for further learning and refences for those who have visited the place in real life.
The project looks pretty cool at first glance, but the loading speed is killing me… seems like it might take forever to download the software.
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.
According to iF Magazine, Hollywood producer Erwin Stoff is working with 20th Century Fox to develop a live-action film adapted from popular Japanese anime “Cowboy Bebop”. [via Shrine]
Seems like Hollywood are really into making live action movies adapted from Japanese anime recently… first there was “Speed Racer”, then the “Dragon Ball” and now “Cowboy Bebop”. I wonder if the Hollywood film makers are really short of ideas or whatever… hmmm, writers’ strike perhaps.
I don’t really like the idea of adapting Japanese anime to live action movies… but if it’s becoming a trend, Cowboy Bebop is probably one of those few anime that should look great in live because of the real-to-life characters.
There are rumours that Keanu Reeves will be involved, but the speculations are probably based on the fact that Stoff is Reeves’ agent. Not many details are available yet… the production is still in early stage obviously.
