From premieres of the latest anime titles, the best of Japanese entertainment, popular culture icons and a showcase of the region’s best creators, Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2023 (#AFASG23) returns to Suntec Singapore Convention Centre to enthral ACG (Anime, Comics and Games) fans and families from 24 to 26 November 2023.
Organisers of Southeast Asia’s largest and most followed J-Culture & ACG festival, shared a series of power-packed updates on a global live stream today on some of the key festival highlights. “We're proud to have played our part in the remarkable growth of the ACG community. From our modest beginnings in 2008 with just 30,000 attendees, we've seen AFA grow fivefold, hosting 145,000 attendees in 2022.
Anime has transitioned from a niche interest to a mainstream genre, captivating people of all ages. In 2023, we're thrilled to return to our pre-COVID offerings, promising the most popular and trending content to hit the market currently. Join us as we celebrate 15 years of Anime Festival Asia!”, said Shawn Chin, Founder of SOZO and organiser of AFASG23.
Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2023:
Three Star-studded Nights of Concert Entertainment Across 24 - 26 November 2023, music and anime fans will be treated to three nights of entertainment from across 20 artistes and groups. Organisers updated that tickets have been sold out for 25 November’s AFA x hololiveMeet, while few tickets remain for AFA x I LOVE ANISONG on 24 November, and AFA x SACRA MUSIC FES. on 26 November.
Highlights of AFA Night Concerts include:
● 24 November: I Love Anisong featuring artists ASTERISM, Liyuu, May’n, NANO, Survive Said The Prophet, and Tatsuya Kitani.
● 25 November: With nine artistes across three teams in one production, hololive Meet will see Sakura Miko, Hoshimachi Suisei, Ayunda Risu, Moona Hoshinova, Pavolia Reine, Kobo Kanaeru, Mori Calliope, IRyS, and Hakos Baelz in talk shows and a concert.
● 26 November: SACRA MUSIC FES. will feature artistes FLOW, ASCA, halca, spira spica, and a special appearance by Nami Tamaki.
The 3-Day VIP Ticket Packages have been sold out. In addition to access to exhibition grounds and day stage, the packages include additional privileges such as AFASG Fastlane access, ballot chances for artiste-signed posters, postcard packs and more.
Special Collaborations The festival will host a series of special collaborations, including:
● Bushiroad Expo Asia 2023 will hold trading card game tournaments, The Bushiroad Championship Series 2023 Regional Championship and Shadowverse: Evolve World Invitational 2023 Regional Qualifier. Attendees can also look forward to merchandise sales, video game demos, and teaching sessions to learn the game. World Wonder Ring Stardom, also known as STARDOM, is a Japanese women’s professional wrestling group. STARDOM is scheduled to appear in AFASG23 as part of the Bushiroad Expo.
● Ultraman: Brought to you by Tsuburaya Productions, enjoy a series of activities from Ultraman appearances, Live Stage performances, to booth activities. Attendees can also catch the life-sized Gomora inflatable only at AFASG23. Be the first to play the Ultraman Card Game where you can also get exclusive PR cards.
Day Stage Highlights The AFA Day Stage, at Hall 406, will play host to a series of screenings, guest talk shows and more over 24 – 26 November. The first wave of highlights include:
● 24 November (Friday):
○ SEA Special Premieres of “Chained Soldier” and “Tales of Wedding Rings”
○ Special Guests: Iori Moe (AFA 2023 Official Ambassador), Shigure Ui (Illustrator)
● 25 November (Saturday): ○ Seiyuus Ai Kayano and Yumi Uchiyama from “Mushoku Tensei: Jobless
Reincarnation Season 2”, and Sumire Uesaka from “Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian”, will share their thoughts on the Day Stage
● 26 November (Sunday):
○ Seiyuu Soma Saito from “Rurouni Kenshin” will be a special guest on the Day Stage
○ MAPPA: Special guests will include Manabu Otsuka (CEO of MAPPA), Yuichiro Hayashi (Anime Director) and Mari Okada (Anime Director and Screenwriter)
○ Cardfight!! Vanguard Talk Stage will feature Seiyuus Amane Shindo, Yuka Nishio and Hina Aoki
More Day Stage activities and content will be shared closer to date.
Exhibition: Akiba Town Attendees can get ready to dive into shopping galore at Akiba Town, more than 70 exhibitors showcasing their latest merchandise, some of which are exclusive to the festival. Highlights include:
● HoYo FEST 2023 will bring a series of online and offline events, exclusive merchandise, lots of prizes and live stage interactions. Attendees can also take part in web sharing events to get in-game rewards and physical prizes.
● Kotobukiya Store: Celebrating the 70th Anniversary, Kotobukiya will be bringing Kotobukiya Store Exclusives such as “TRANSFORMERS NEMESIS PRIME LIMITED EDITION BISHOUJO STATUE” and “DARKSTALKERS MORRIGAN LIMITED EDITION BISHOUJO STATUE”. Additionally, keep a look out for incredible deals on other Kotobukiya products at the event!
● Following a successful debut at AFA Creators Super Fest 2023, Lead Inc. returns to bring back its sold-out line of cat plush toys to the festival. The product line-up will include their new gigantic 120-cm plush toys.
● MEDIA LINK will be bringing exclusive merchandise – sold for the 1st time in Singapore, from popular anime, “Oshi no Ko”, “Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury” & “Chainsaw Man”.
● Attendees can also look forward to special anime Grab Bags from Muse Communication only at AFASG23.
● RURUSAMA, content creator/cosplayer is back with her own merchandise and this time, she is bringing her BIGGEST booth yet.
Exhibition: Akiba Stage Housed inside the exhibition areas, AFA’s Akiba Stage will see dazzling showcases of both Japanese and local artistes and talents. They include:
● Japanese Idol Group DEAR KISS, the crowd favourite, is returning to AFASG23 after getting great success in their previous performances. They are a dance and vocal girls' group consisting of members who love singing and dancing.
● Idol Group Forbidden Equation, introducing a new concept with live performances based on the roles of teachers and students, experience the Forbidden Equation.
● Singaporean Virtual Idol Group SO*DA, a new girl group who will debut the special version of their new music video at the Akiba Stage.
● Popular idol group KissBee’s selected four members will perform not only their original songs but also tunes from trending idol anime and idol game content.
● A music showcase by 4 V-Reverie talents, Lilrya Prisvielle, Nova Aokami, Ophelia Midnight, and Akiko Sushi, where they will perform and interact with the audiences.
● TikTok Live’s Friday Music Show is a live event where music live creators compete on TikTok LIVE. The third and current edition focuses on anime songs, and the winner will be performing on Akiba Stage.
● Virtual Talent Audition: Proudly organised by Ziku-management Inc. They specialise in managing virtual talents primarily in the Japan and US regions, with branches in Japan, Singapore, and Shanghai! The winner of the Audition will be showcased on the Akiba Stage!
● Amelia Khor, the talented songstress from Malaysia, would be bringing the house down with her band in her performance on the Akiba Stage!
● Pentel ft Manda Dayoyo stage where the veteran Singaporean Illustrator will show how Character sketches are done in a live demonstration using stationery from Pentel.
● Golden Mix is an anime music party platform based in Singapore, bringing the best anime music hits to many audiences over the years. At AFASG23, get ready for Golden Mix to rock the house down!
● A new multimedia project by Merryweather Media, ASTRALINE is a virtual talent agency marrying an international team of virtual streamers with the signature storytelling flair of the talents behind Merryweather Media comics. Join Lucius Merryweather, Alfhilde Odinsdottir, Lumi, Fredrik Knudsen and Nick Nocturne as they bring to the stage a production that blurs the boundaries of fiction and reality!
● In the Cosplay Singles Competition, the stakes have been raised. The winner of the Singles category will not only receive $1200 in cash but also have the opportunity to shine on a stage that can pave the way for their future as a professional cosplayer!
Creators Hub and Cosplay Hub Over 120 of the best creators from the world will be participating in AFA’s highly-anticipated Creator’s Hub. The world’s top cosplayers will also join AFASG23, including 26 cosplay celebrities such as:
● +Ely Cosplay+
● Angie0_0
● Amelia Khor 小飛鼠
● Baobao
● Charess
● HanaAme 雨波
● Kiyo
● Larissa Rochefort
● Xiaoyukiko
● Ying Tze
Enhanced Visitor Experience
AFAVERSE will return to the festival grounds for a more immersive game-like experience on-site. Visitors will get a specially-designed NFC-enabled band: after pairing it with their smartphones, visitors will have a better enhanced experience via a dynamic dashboard to access the festival floorplan, schedules and more. Visitors will also be able to interact with various touch points across the festivals, earning AFA-Coins to redeem exciting prizes.
Attendees can also look forward to a more streamlined entry experience from the moment they purchase a ticket. From advanced redemption times, dedicated entry lanes for different ticket types to streamlined security checks, organisers shared measures to help attendees get the best festival experience while ensuring safety.
Dive into all things J-culture at AFA Singapore 2023 with #AFASG23
All AFA tickets are available online via Ticketmaster at https://ticketmaster.sg/activity/detail/23_afasingapore.
Ticket prices start from S$28 per day for the exhibition segment. Stay tuned to the official site or connect on social media for the latest updates on the festival.
Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2023 Dates: 24 - 26 November 2023 Location: Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, Levels 3 & 4
Timing: 10am - 8pm