Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2016 presents a non-stop Weekend of the Best in Japanese Popular Culture and Anime
JPop and Anime Fever runs high as ticket sales see strong response
Over 130 Exhibitors with 200 booths of exclusive merchandise, content, showcases and more
Star-studded experiential festival to showcase industry talents from behind-the-scenes Content Creators to Anisong Legends
Variety of options across two floors, with something for everyone
Singapore, 25 November 2016 – Anime Festival Asia, the region’s largest and most followed Japanese Popular Culture and Anime Festival, kicks off its three-day experiential showcase today in Singapore. With over 200 booths by more than 130 exhibitors spanning the entire Level 4 (12,000 sq metres), a stellar line-up of industry guests and acclaimed artistes, and an action-packed programme, fans can look forward to an exhilarating weekend of non-stop surprises and insights on Japanese Popular Culture and Anime.
Into its ninth year, Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2016 (AFASG16) is held from 25 to 27 November at Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre’s Level 3 & 4. Organised by SOZO, the Dentsu Group and Zepp Live, the show saw over 90,000 local and overseas attendees in last year’s Singapore edition.
The festival consists of three main components – the Exhibition Hall with exclusive merchandise, displays and experience zones as well as a mini stage (Akiba Stage), the Main Day Stage where activities with featured guests and anime are showcased at various timings, and the I Love Anisong concerts in the evenings.
Attendees and aspiring cosplay enthusiasts can also look forward to meeting celebrity cosplayers from the region during AFASG16. New festival highlights include the inaugural ANiBEATS, a 1-night only after party on 27 November, featuring DJs who blend EDM (electronic dance music) with anisongs (anime songs).
Today’s Top Trends and Titles in J-Pop Culture and Anime, Under One Roof
Admission tickets for the Exhibition Hall and Main Day Stage saw strong response during its pre-sales stage, with 80% of the allocated pre-sale tickets snapped up in the first 3 days of the pre-sales period in early November.
With over 200 booths, attendees are bound to find something that will delight their senses. Attendees can look forward to immersive experiences at various experience zones, including a Sword Art Online centric exhibition booth that showcases artwork and animation cuts of all seasons of this beloved series.
The Creator’s Hub is one of the biggest zone within the Exhibition Hall. A mainstay for the festival, it brings together the collective talent of local like-minded hobbyists, and will feature fan-art, crafts and illustrations for sale by 80 doujin circles (interest groups).
Original merchandise direct from Japan, including merchandise exclusive to the festival, will be available for savvy shoppers. Attendees will also get to find out more about their favourite anime titles and music from content providers such as animation studios and record labels.
Be Entertained and Meet the Talent Behind Today’s Top Anime Titles
Attendees can look forward to behind-the-scenes anime producers and seiyuus (voice actors), DJs, to a line-up of Asia’s top cosplay guests on the Main Day Stage and Akiba Stage. Featured Anime titles, as well as the talents behind each title’s success, will offer attendees a rare glimpse and in-depth understanding of their favourite anime titles. Titles include: SWORD ART ONLINE THE MOVIE – Ordinal Scale –, Assassination classroom, I’ve always liked you – Confess Your Love Committee-, Kuromukuro, My Hero Academia, Sound! Euphonium 2, Thunderbolt Fantasy, and Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru.
Other guests include Tokyo performance dolls and idols Tokyo Performance Domo, Anime-fan dance group Real Akiba Boyz, idol groups Iketeru Hearts and Nijicon and the father of kawaii culture and creator of 6%DOKIDOKI, Sebastian Masuda. To support local talent in the community, AFSG16 has opened up its stage to a variety of local acts this year, from idol dance cover groups to DJs and anisong performers.
Power-packed Performances by Anisong Legends and New Artistes
Concert lovers can look forward to 12 artistes and artiste groups over the three-day concert series.
Six returning Anisong legends (T.M.Revolution, JAM Project, HoneyWorks / CHiCO with HoneyWorks, Aimer, KOTOKO, and May’n), will be joined by six new additions (HOME MADE KAZOKU, Minori Chihara, Ami Wajima, Alisa Takigawa, Konomi Suzuki and Wake Up, Girls！) on stage.
“It’s our 9th year in Singapore with the latest instalment of Anime Festival Asia in Singapore. We look forward to seeing familiar faces and Japanese Pop Culture fans come together in one of the largest Japanese Pop Culture festival in the region. With the strongest showing ever of content partners, Japan and Singapore governments, sponsors and exhibitors this year, we hope that we can continue to satisfy our customers with the best of breed content, guests and experiences to ever grace Singapore and the region. With all the strong support of our partners and customers, we look forward to anchor AFA Singapore as a key part of the events and festival landscape in Singapore”, said Shawn Chin, Anime Festival Asia’s Executive Festival Director and SOZO’s Founder and Managing Director.
Tickets for AFASG2016 start from S$13 per day for Exhibition-only access, and limited tickets can be purchased on-site. For more information on the festival, members of the public can check out www.animefestival.asia and www.facebook.com/animefestivalasia.
Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2016 Dates: 25 – 27 November 2016 Location: Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre (Levels 3 & 4) Exhibition Timing: Friday & Saturday: 9.30 am ~ 8pm Sunday: 9.30 am ~ 7pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anime Festival Asia 2016 Key Organiser Profiles: About SOZO Tapping on Japan’s diverse wealth of entertainment content, SOZO has positioned itself to be the ‘bridge’, connecting Japan to SE Asia – by showcasing quality concerts, engaging retail experiences and creating meaningful online engagement to audiences and businesses across South East Asia.
Established in 2009, SOZO entertainment platforms include Anime Festival Asia, I Love Anisong, J- LIVE ASIA, Japan Music Festival and many more. Previous projects by SOZO includes solo concerts for J-Pop artistes such as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, May’n, Moshi Moshi Nippon 2015 in Singapore, Miku Expo in Jakarta, Funan Anime Matsuri, Penang Anime Matsuri and many more. In 2014, SOZO moved forward with a capital alliance with one of Japan’s largest talent management company Horipro. In 2015, SOZO also formed a capital alliance with Sony Music Entertainment (Japan).
For more information about SOZO, visit: www.sozo.sg.
About the Dentsu Group Dentsu is the world’s largest advertising agency brand. Led by Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004), a company with a history of 115 years of innovation, the Dentsu Group provides a comprehensive range of client-centric brand, integrated communications, media and digital services through its nine global network brands—Carat, Dentsu, Dentsu media, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum—as well as through its specialist/multi-market brands including Amnet, Amplifi, Data2Decisions, Mitchell Communications (PR) and 360i.
The Dentsu Group has a strong presence in 140 countries across five continents, and employs more than 48,000 dedicated professionals. Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., its global business headquarters in London, oversees Dentsu’s agency operations outside of Japan.
The Group is also active in the production and marketing of sports and entertainment content on a global scale.
For more information about the Dentsu Group, visit: www.dentsu.com.
About Zepp Live Zepp Live engages in concert promotion as well as events planning and production. The company is engaged as an organizer or co-organizer in shows at concert halls as well as large music festivals both in Japan and overseas.
For more information about Zepp Live, visit: http://www.zepp.co.jp.
About Amuse Entertainment Singapore Amuse Entertainment Singapore Pte Ltd is supporting Japanese artists’ business development in Asia regions, organization of live events, artist booking, investment in local entertainment products, and artist development.