Shopping Guide
For three days from Nov. 8-10, the large-scale Japanese pop culture event Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2013 was held at the Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre in Singapore. This year, attendance reached 85,000, well exceeding that of last year’s event.
Among this year’s festivities, one that stood out was the concert “I Love Anisong” which was consecutively held each day of the event and drew in throngs of attendees. When T.M.Revolution and Nana Mizuki performed together on the last day, fans’ stomping shook the walls and enveloped the venue in an enthusiastic and cheerful atmosphere.
Another big part of AFA 2013 were the booths, and we visited the most popular ones!
Good Smile Company
This booth was full of goods that tickled the hearts of the otaku attendees, such as the popular Hatsune Miku and SAO Nendoroids! The figure that had otaku in a sweat though was the Maiko Madoka figure. People crowded around this figure with their eyes glued on it, and the amount of people taking pictures of it in a state of awe was neverending.
From the first day, there was a constant line in front of the register, and the booth staff seemed very busy. On the morning of the third day, many products on their signboard had “Sold Out” stickers over them. No need to fret though, the Tokyo Otaku Mode Premium Shop is stocked with many great products from Good Smile Company including the Maiko Madoka figure, so check it out!
Microsoft
On display here were “Internet Explorer-tan (IE-tan)” aka Inori Aizawa and the Windows 8 exclusive tablet Surface. By the way, Inori Aizawa, the new mascot for Internet Explorer, was produced by TOM Special Creator Collateral Damage Studios. In only a few days after being released, the original animation featuring Inori Aizawa to promote Internet Explorer has already reached over 2 million views, and this number keeps growing. Don’t take your eyes off IE-tan from here on!
IE Original Anime
IE Official FB Page
Manga Festival in Singapore
This booth was set up to promote Japanese manga culture. At this booth, attendees could try out manga, and even though it was in Japanese, many people could be seen standing and reading them. Even at the booth’s digital manga area, many people were happily glancing through manga on tablets.
Also, original pictures from manga artists that can’t normally be seen were on display, and upon seeing these, a great number of manga fans’ eyes lit up like that of a kid in a candy store and they stared fixedly on them. This was a booth for being reminded of Japanese manga culture’s definite permeation into foreign countries and the powerful content that will be driving it forward in the near future.
SEGA
Continuing from AFA Indonesia, SEGA also held a booth at AFA Singapore. At the booth, products related to Sonic such as figures and apparel were on display. Sonic, the personification of a blue hedgehog that was created in Japan, was the center of attention. Also, a display and selling area for the Segakawaii line was held at a different part of the booth. A voting contest on cutely designed images in the motif of Segakawaii was also held. Lovely SEGA Saturn goods were also popular at the event.
BANDAI
Tamashii Nation is no stranger to otaku conventions all over the world, and they even had a booth at AFA 2013. Many attendees stopped in their tracks to gaze at figures from popular titles like One Piece, Valvrave, and, of course, Gundam. The elaborateness and high sense of movement in their figures is a must-see. Attention was also high for the Sailor Moon series, which turned 20 this year. On display was a figure of Sailor Moon that looked like it would spring to life at any moment. Many girls and guys were pulled in by this one.
Asia Kawaii Way
Asia Kawaii Way is a brand that transmits kawaii culture through cosmetics and beauty products. In the wig and nail testing areas, highly beautiful otaku girls were enjoying Japanese makeup. The brand also transmits anime culture, and character wigs from popular series like Madoka Magica and Kuroko’s Basketball were on sale. At one point, Alodia, a famous cosplayer from the Philippines, even stopped by the booth. Asia Kawaii Way showed that through taking the word “kawaii” worldwide, they are also establishing a worldwide otaku culture.
ANIMAX - Daisuki
At the ANIMAX booth was an area where, through the use of a collage of scenery photos, attendees could experience an anime world. A collection of the photos taken can be downloaded from the company’s exclusive site and from their Facebook page.
Despite having their pictures taken, it goes without saying that many attendees lined up for this experience. Another reason for its popularity was the paper bag filled with Space Dandy goods that everyone who tried out the experience received as a present. This catchy package of goods picked up popularity, and everywhere you looked throughout the venue you could see someone holding one.
TOYOTA x STUDIO 4°C
This was a talked-about collaboration. In succession with PES (Peace Eco Smile), the key visual for a new work was shown for the first time at AFA 2013. The work is by Fukuoka-native Tatsuyuki Tanaka (famous for his work as an illustrator under the name Cannabis) and is titled Toruru’s Adventure.
Also, members from the Anime Support Project even came from Japan to lend their support. The handshake and signing event and the rock-paper-scissors event attracted so many people, the walkway was blocked.
Tamstar Records
Tamstar Records is a label that many popular DJs such as the well-known Livetune and Hachiouji-P are attached to and that has sold goods at Comic Market in Japan. For the first time, this label brought their exclusive Comic Market goods with them for otaku in Singapore to enjoy. The booth was packed with Vocaloid fans for the entire duration of AFA 2013. From here on, keep an eye out for this record label that is supporting otaku culture through music!
Culture Japan
The well-known Danny Choo even had a booth at AFA 2013! This year, along with selling goods of his original character Mirai-chan, there were also figures on display. What’s more, the man himself, Danny Choo, was at the booth and interacting with attendees, talking with them, giving autographs, and lightheartedly taking pictures with them. His stand on spreading otaku culture could be seen through his active participation. There was also a cosplayer at the booth dressed as Mirai-chan who helped attendees and made a huge impression.
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article written by Daiki Nakata, and translated by Jarrett Meuser.
